Dallas Wings guard Paige Bueckers #5 talks with Dallas Wings guard Azzi Fudd #35 in between points against the Las Vegas Aces during the game on May 03, 2026, at the Moody Center in Austin, TX.
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The WNBA kicks off its 30th season on Friday.
A new CBA shook up free agency and began a new era in the league where top players are bringing in seven-figure salaries. Women’s basketball, especially the WNBA, has never been more popular or more lucrative. And the 2026 season promises to deliver.
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The Connecticut Sun begins its final season in Connecticut at rival New York Friday night (7:30 p.m. on ION). The Sun, which will relocate to Houston next season, is not only focused on winning more games than last year (ended with a franchise-worst win record of 11-33) but also on making this final year special for fans. Connecticut hosts Seattle on Sunday in its final home opener at 3 p.m. at Mohegan Sun Arena.
Down in Texas, the Dallas Wings begin their second-straight rebuilding year with a new head coach and a new UConn women’s basketball star. Azzi Fudd was selected by the Wings first overall in April’s WNBA Draft, making her the second-straight Husky to go No. 1 following Paige Bueckers, also being the top pick by the Wings in 2025.
Fudd, Bueckers and the Wings open the season Saturday at 1 p.m. (on ABC) in Indianapolis against Caitlin Clark and the Indiana Fever.
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Including Fudd and Bueckers, 16 former Huskies were named to opening day rosters following the league’s three-week training camp.
While Caroline Ducharme (Golden State) and Aubrey Griffin (Minnesota) participated in training camps, they were waived by their respective teams before the start of the regular season.
Also notably missing from opening-day rosters this season are Nika Mühl and Bria Hartley. Mühl was drafted by the Portland Fire in the expansion draft in April but will miss the entire 2026 season after suffering her second ACL injury in as many years during the offseason. Hartley started 32 games for the Sun last season, averaging 8.9 points and 3.1 assists in 22.8 minutes. However, she’s yet to sign with a team for this upcoming season.
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Here’s a list of which Huskies made opening-day WNBA rosters:
Azzi Fudd – Dallas Wings
Fudd begins her rookie year in the league after getting drafted No. 1 overall in April’s college draft. Despite some early foul trouble, she averaged eight points and one assist in 18.5 minutes across the Wings’ two preseason wins.
Serah Williams – Portland Fire
The Portland Fire’s draft-night trade for Williams worked in her favor as the former Husky earned a spot on the Fire’s opening day roster. The former Wisconsin star put up impressive preseason performances, including recording a team-high 12 points and a game-high eight rebounds in the Fire’s game against Los Angeles.
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Paige Bueckers – Dallas Wings
Last year’s Rookie of the Year begins her sophomore campaign in the WNBA. The Wings reloaded their frontcourt and brought in a whole new coaching staff as they look to reach the playoffs for the first time since 2023.
Paige Bueckers #5 of the Dallas Wings reacts during game against the Las Vegas Aces in the second half at Moody Center on May 3, 2026 in Austin,Texas.
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“(I’d like) to be process driven and not results driven,” said Bueckers. “It was tough to go from a national championship-winning season to then a losing season, and remaining consistent in who I was every single day.”
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Kaitlyn Chen – Golden State
Chen also begins her sophomore season with Golden State. Despite getting waived during training camp last spring, the guard has become a staple fixture among the Valkyries. Last season, she averaged 2.0 points, 1.0 assists and 0.9 rebounds in 10.3 minutes per game.
Aaliyah Edwards – Connecticut Sun
Edwards begins her first full season with the Sun after joining the team mid-season last year via a trade with Washington. As announced on Thursday, she’ll sit out Connecticut’s season opener on Friday with a left thigh injury.
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Kia Nurse #11 of the Toronto Tempo and Aaliyah Edwards #8 of the Connecticut Sun look on during the preseason game at Coca-Cola Coliseum on April 29, 2026 in Toronto, Canada.
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Dorka Juhász – Minnesota
Juhász returns to Minnesota and the WNBA after sitting out the 2025 season to focus on rest and her overseas commitments. The time away paid off as Juhász became the youngest player ever to be named EuroLeague MVP. Unfortunately, she missed the EuroLeague final due to a foot injury. Lynx head coach Cheryl Reeve confirmed this week that Juhász will remain unavailable to start the WNBA season because of the injury.
Olivia Nelson-Ododa – Connecticut Sun
Nelson-Ododa is now the longest-tenured Sun player. The former Husky has elevated her game to new heights on the professional/WNBA stage. Expect her to remain one of the Sun’s most reliable frontcourt pieces as she signed a new two-year contract with the franchise.
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Olivia Nelson-Ododa #10 of the Connecticut Sun shoots a free-throw against the Toronto Tempo during the preseason game at Coca-Cola Coliseum on April 29, 2026 in Toronto, Canada.
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“I always love playing here. It’s just always good energy,” she said. “The fans are amazing. That’s just a big part of (me) trying to come back and really finish off this last season here with such a strong presence. That was just a huge part of my decision. But I mean, CT has become home. So, I just want to embrace it.”
Napheesa Collier – Minnesota
Collier strung together back-to-back MVP-caliber seasons before a pair of ankle injuries sidelined her late last season and this offseason. The former Husky superstar underwent two surgeries in the winter and remains unavailable to start the WNBA season. Minnesota announced Collier is expected to return to “on-court activities” in early June.
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Katie Lou Sameulson – Seattle
Samuelson will also likely miss the first portion of the regular season as she wraps up her recovery from a May 2025 ACL injury. During the 2024 season, the former Husky averaged 4.3 points, 2.3 rebounds, 1.4 assists and 0.3 steals in 18.2 minutes for Indiana.
Gabby Williams – Golden State
Williams made one of the biggest free agency splashes by leaving Seattle and signing a multi-year contract with the Valkyries. The WNBA GMs named her the league’s most versatile player in this year’s survey. Expect her to become even more of a do-it-all threat in the Bay Area.
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UConn alums Gabby Williams of the Golden State Valkyries and Stefanie Dolson of the Seattle Storm interact after a preseason game on April 25, 2026 at Chase Center in San Francisco, CA.
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“I want to be on a team that you always see in the playoffs, in the finals, and I truly believe that this can be that team,” said Williams.
Azurá Stevens – Chicago Sky
Stevens became a WNBA Champion during her first stint with the Sky in 2021. She returns now as a more mature, dependable player ready to prove her leadership with a franchise looking to turn the page into a new, more competitive era.
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Kia Nurse – Toronto
It was only fitting that the Hamilton, Ontario native scored the first preseason home bucket for the Tempo. Nurse begins her eighth year in the league playing for her home country’s first WNBA franchise.
“I think being able to play at home now, it all kind of makes sense, and it all feels like it’s where it’s exactly supposed to be and where I’m exactly supposed to be,” said Nurse.
Breanna Stewart – New York Liberty
The Liberty have their Big 3 back in Stewart, former Sun star Jonquel Jones and Sabrina Ionescu. Stewart looks to help lead New York back to title contention after injuries derailed their season last summer.
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Aneesah Morrow #24 of the Connecticut Sun fouls Breanna Stewart #30 of the New York Liberty in the first half at Mohegan Sun Arena on May 3, 2026 in Uncasville, Connecticut.
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Kiah Stokes – Golden State
Stokes is a three-time WNBA Champion after most recently winning it all, again, with Las Vegas last season. However, the former Husky left the Aces in free agency to join the Valkyries, where she joins her former UConn teammate in Gabby Williams.
Stefanie Dolson – Seattle
Dolson is playing on the West Coast for the first time in her career this summer. The 13-year veteran begins this season wanting to prove she still has it and can help lead a young Seattle squad.
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Tiffany Hayes – Golden State
Hayes and Stokes overlapped at UConn just for one season. Now, they’ll team up again in the Bay Area. Like Chen, Hayes, who was drafted by Golden State in the 2024 expansion draft, has become a prominent presence in the franchise. Last year, in the team’s debut season, she averaged 11.7 points, 3.8 rebounds and 0.5 assists in 26.9 minutes per game.