“We’re really excited,” Storm general manager Talisa Rhea told The IX Basketball over the phone after the lottery. “I think a top three pick in any draft is great. I think especially in this draft, we’re really excited to be able to add someone who we think is going to be able to impact us right away.”

The top of the upcoming draft is filled with talent. Many experts, including our own at The IX Basketball, think that Spanish international Awa Fam is the best overall prospect available and will be picked first. Dallas Wings general manager Curt Miller, who currently controls the No. 1 overall pick, thinks six players have distinguished themselves at the top level. After Fam, the other five players who could interchange spots and see their stock rise or fall with the college season are 6’7 UCLA center Lauren Betts, TCU point guard Olivia Miles, UConn shooting guard Azzi Fudd, LSU guard Flau’jae Johnson, and South Carolina guard Ta’Niya Latson.

When it comes to deciding who to draft, the Storm feel good about a comprehensive evaluation process that involves watching players on film and in person, and talking to coaches and the players themselves (after their season ends) to get a feel for who the players are as people in addition to their basketball talents.

“I think we always look for the culture fit as well. You know, are they a good teammate? How do they interact with their coaches?,” Rhea said. “And then in terms of [what we are looking at on] the basketball piece, being dynamic, being able to play multiple positions, guard multiple positions, their IQ, and how quickly they’re making decisions. And then, position need and fit, and how we think they’ll complement the rest of our roster as well.”

The Storm obtained their top pick in 2026 during a trade two years ago that sent their 2024 first-round pick (which ended up being Rickea Jackson) and Kia Nurse to the Los Angeles Sparks.

The team plans to attack free agency first, as it will partially determine their draft strategy, but still have to plan for a variety of scenarios with two picks in front of them that they are unlikely to have any certainty on before the day comes.

With 6’6 Malonga locked down as a key piece of this team for years to come there is an argument to be made that the best positional fit will be any of the guards. Miles is an elite passer who could lead the team at the point for years to come. Johnson or Fudd could provide shooting that has been deeply lacking in recent years (not to mention how Seattle fans would love another UConn guard).

However, the Seattle Storm only have four players under contract for the 2026 season. Malonga will enter the second year of her rookie-scale contract. Jordan Horston and Nika Mühl were both suspended for the entire 2025 season due to ACL injuries, but remain on their rookie-scale contracts, with Horston’s contract protected. Guard Lexie Brown is on a protected veteran contract. Zia Cooke and Mackenzie Holmes, who were in and out of the team throughout the season, are reserved free agents.

This leaves the Storm with plenty of cap and roster space to navigate free agency, but even planning for free agency is incredibly difficult as the league and Player’s Association have yet to come to an agreement on a new collective bargaining agreement (CBA). No one knows how the new CBA will shape free agency decisions or what the rules of the upcoming expansion draft will be.

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For now, Rhea said the team is scenario planning and trying to do the most they can with what information they do have. Knowing that they’ll be able to dive deeper into plans when more information becomes available, they are trying to be as prepared and get as much background information as possible for when the time comes.

One potentially good sign for the Storm is that guard Gabby Williams represented the team at the draft lottery. The unrestricted free agent and fan favorite has spent most of the WNBA offseason in Seattle (including welcoming Adam Sandler to the practice facility, gifting him a jersey and showing him around Climate Pledge Arena) and was the only Storm player in attendance when the team introduced new head coach Sonia Raman two weeks ago. Williams is set to play with Fenerbahçe this offseason but the Turkish team agreed to let her join them some weeks late “to take care of everything that I need to take care of physically,” Williams said in her exit interview.

“We really feel great about our relationship with Gabby,” Rhea told The Seattle Times. “We were happy that she was able to represent us and be down in L.A. for us, and we’re excited to continue those conversations.”

Williams, fresh of her first All-Star honor and DPOY-caliber season, is likely part of the core group that the Storm hope to keep while 90% of the league’s players enter free agency, including all of their 2025 starters in Skylar Diggins, Williams, Brittney Sykes, Nneka Ogwumike, Ezi Magbegor, and key bench contributor Erica Wheeler.

“We’re looking to really keep a core group, bring in players that are versatile, dynamic,” Rhea said. “We have a lot of young talent that we’re excited to build around. And, you know, a lot of conversations to come.”

The team’s amount of young talent, currently highlighted by Malonga and Horston, can increase even more with the upcoming draft. In addition to the No. 3 overall pick, the Storm have the No. 14 pick in the first round, the first pick in the second round (No. 16 overall) and the ninth pick in the third round (No. 39 overall). Seattle’s four draft picks and the team’s existing young talent feel particularly well poised to be able to benefit from Raman’s talent for player development.

So much remains that will shape this WNBA offseason and the Storm roster long before the college draft comes around, but like with their risky head coaching hire, the level of unknown is matched by level of excitement.

“It’s a really big offseason for us and the rest of the league, a lot of momentum, so we’re really excited to get to work.”