Rutgers guards Matee Ajavon and Essence Carson also were among the first 10 picks, highlighted by the overall No. 1 choice of Tennessee junior center Candace Parker by the Los Angeles Sparks.

Los Angeles also took Virginia guard and Highland graduate Sharnee Zoll at the top of the third round.

Ajavon went fifth overall to the Houston Comets, followed by Langhorne to the Washington Mystics. The New York Liberty then picked Carson, of Paterson, N.J., as the seventh pick, and Harper went 10th overall to the Sacramento Monarchs.

Langhorne, one of the most celebrated players in Atlantic Coast Conference history, had no idea where she might land, even though several projections had her going to the Mystics.

"When Washington came up [on the clock], I was thinking, 'Hopefully, they pick me,' and they did," she said.

The Terrapins center will get to play this summer near the Maryland campus and also not far from home.

Parker officially became a pro only hours after leading the Vols to a second straight NCAA title and the school's eighth overall by beating Stanford. Eligible for the draft because of a missed freshman season due to a knee injury, she was named most outstanding player of the Final Four for the second straight time Tuesday night.

The Chicagoan, who has played with WNBA stars on USA Basketball international teams, will be alongside Lisa Leslie, who missed last summer because of pregnancy.

"Lisa Leslie has been one of my idols ever since I was younger," said Parker, who most likely will also be with her new teammate on the Olympic squad in Beijing, China.

Center Sylvia Fowles, whose LSU team lost to Tennessee at the buzzer in the national semifinals, went second overall, to the Chicago Sky. She will be playing alongside former Temple star Candice Dupree, who quickly became one of the WNBA's top young players after her first-round selection in 2006.

"Candice is really smooth," Fowles said.

The Minnesota Lynx took Stanford star guard Candice Wiggins as the overall third pick in the first round.

Under the new collective bargaining agreement, the first four picks will earn $44,064 this summer, increasing to $56,182 in the fourth year of the deal between the players' association and the WNBA.

Langhorne and the two Rutgers players will initially earn $40,759, while Harper, who falls under the 9-14 first-round grouping, will earn $36,353.

Second-round picks will initially earn $35,000, while all other newcomers will receive $34,500 this summer.

Harper should get to see action in Sacramento, which just lost all-star veteran center Yolanda Griffith, a free agent, to the Seattle Storm.

"When I heard my name, I was euphoric," Harper said. "I didn't know if it was a dream or what."

Rutgers coach C. Vivian Stringer saw her former stars selected just two years after Cappie Pondexter went as the second overall pick to Phoenix. She went on to lead the Mercury to the WNBA title last summer and was MVP of the playoffs.

"It helps our fans and everyone else understand the magnitude of the backcourt at Rutgers," Stringer said. "For those three to have played together, it speaks volumes. Obviously, I have a tough job trying to find people who can fit in that field. It speaks well for the respect the [WNBA] owners have for the program. Ajavon and Carson are going to be great pros and great ambassadors for women's basketball."