{"id":653792,"date":"2026-05-07T13:29:16","date_gmt":"2026-05-07T13:29:16","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/653792\/"},"modified":"2026-05-07T13:29:16","modified_gmt":"2026-05-07T13:29:16","slug":"2026-wnba-opening-day-roster-breakdowns-part-one","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/653792\/","title":{"rendered":"2026 WNBA Opening Day Roster Breakdowns, Part One"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Thanks for reading the Her Hoop Stats newsletter. We\u2019re excited to announce a new partnership with Hudl<\/a>. Hudl\u2019s industry-leading tools – Sportscode, Instat, and Fastmodel – elevate the preparation, performance, and player development of WNBA and NCAA teams. We appreciate their support and look forward to working with them to help bring more insight about the women\u2019s game to you.<\/p>\n

You can find HHS on Bluesky<\/a>, Twitter<\/a>, YouTube<\/a>, Facebook<\/a>, and Instagram<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Haven\u2019t subscribed to the Her Hoop Stats Newsletter yet?<\/p>\n

A few weeks ago, I broke down<\/a> where all the<\/a> WNBA rosters stood<\/a> heading into 2026 training camps. Now, a mere day away from the regular season tipping off, it\u2019s time to take a look at where the teams stand for opening day. With 15 squads to cover these days, we\u2019re starting with the teams that are already down to legal 12-player rosters, anticipating that they\u2019ve probably completed their main roster moves. If anything changes for those teams before Part 2 comes out tomorrow, I\u2019ll add an updates section. But also bear in mind that opening day doesn\u2019t mean rosters are set in stone. Plenty of contracts around the league are \u2018unprotected\u2019 (WNBA-speak for unguaranteed, meaning you can waive the player at any time without owing them any further money). So those players can be released and replaced at any time. Teams will be making moves all season long as injuries and performance dictate certain changes.<\/p>\n

Also, new this year, are the two developmental spots available to each team. I explained a lot of the details on them in the introduction to the training camp articles, but essentially they\u2019re additional players that can travel and practice with the team, play in some games, and potentially be elevated to the main roster if they earn it (and are good enough to push someone else off \u2014 the roster maximum remains 12). They can also potentially be \u2018poached\u2019 by other teams after a two-week exclusivity period, although their existing team has 24 hours to match a contract offer from elsewhere. Developmental players are listed here underneath the main rosters (and teams have been adding them all week as cuts are being made, so don\u2019t be surprised if these squads fill up those spots in the next day or two). On to the rosters, and don\u2019t forget to come back tomorrow for the teams that are making us wait until the last possible day for their final cuts.<\/p>\n

Names in bold are protected \u2014 i.e. guaranteed \u2014 contracts. You can find lots more contract information and details on where the teams stand on our WNBA Salary Cap Sheets<\/a>. Each team headline below is a link to their cap sheet.<\/p>\n

PG: Natasha Cloud\/Courtney Vandersloot\/Rachel Banham<\/p>\n

SG: Skylar Diggins\/DiJonai Carrington\/Jacy Sheldon\/Sydney Taylor<\/p>\n

SF: Rickea Jackson\/Gabriela Jaquez<\/p>\n

PF: Azur\u00e1 Stevens<\/p>\n

C: Kamilla Cardoso\/Elizabeth Williams<\/p>\n

Dev: None, yet<\/p>\n

Significant Additions: Jackson, Stevens, Diggins, Cloud, Carrington, Sheldon, Jaquez, at some point a healthy Vandersloot<\/p>\n

Significant Losses: Angel Reese, Ariel Atkins<\/p>\n

Remaining Cap Space: $155,801<\/p>\n

In typical Chicago Sky style, the final moves all got a little bit messy. The two second-year players that the Sky ensured they held onto via making trades with the Tempo and Fire before the expansion draft \u2014 Hailey Van Lith and Maddy Westbeld \u2014 were both ultimately waived anyway. Instead, Chicago chose to keep free agent signing Sydney Taylor, and add veteran guard Natasha Cloud, whose extended time as an unsigned free agent this offseason was the subject of significant debate.<\/p>\n

It leaves the Sky looking very perimeter-heavy, even when you consider that Vandersloot and Carrington will start the season on the sidelines continuing to recover from injuries. Presumably, the plan is that Jackson will play a lot more at the 4 than she did in Los Angeles, trying to use her quickness and range to exploit bigger opponents when she slides over to that spot. Once they get healthy, it won\u2019t be a surprise if they make a move to add another big and balance things out a little. Especially considering how often Cardoso finds herself in foul trouble, the lack of depth inside could cause problems, or at least force them into playing certain types of lineups without any alternatives.<\/p>\n

This is certainly an intriguing collection of players, and a swift assembly of talent that many didn\u2019t think was possible in Chicago with their facilities and reputation around the league. It\u2019s going to be interesting to see how well all the personalities and skillsets can mesh together, but if they can create a coherent whole then the ceiling is pretty high. But it might still be a little messy while they\u2019re working things out.<\/p>\n

PG: Odyssey Sims\/JJ Quinerly<\/p>\n

SG: Paige Bueckers\/Arike Ogunbowale<\/p>\n

SF: Azzi Fudd\/Aziaha James\/Alysha Clark<\/p>\n

PF: Maddy Siegrist\/Awak Kuier<\/p>\n

C: Alanna Smith\/Jessica Shepard\/Li Yueru<\/p>\n

Dev: Dulcy Fankam Mendjiadeu, Costanza Verona<\/p>\n

Significant Additions: Fudd, Smith, Shepard, Kuier, Sims, Clark, new head coach Jose Fernandez<\/p>\n

Significant Losses: Luisa Geisels\u00f6der, Haley Jones, Myisha Hines-Allen<\/p>\n

Remaining Cap Space: $194,787<\/p>\n

Yes, I\u2019m aware that if they start the season with the roster balance as I have it above, that would be somewhat controversial. It would also be an incredibly expensive bench, with two reserves earning seven-figure salaries. But I thought this setup worked well in preseason, and the group looked comfortable playing like this, so they might stick with it at least for the early stages of the regular season. We also don\u2019t know how healthy Arike Ogunbowale is at this point, so the primary controversial choice \u2014 leaving the star of their pre-Bueckers era on the bench \u2014 might be forced on them anyway.<\/p>\n

The Wings were among the first teams to pare down the training camp group to their 12-player roster, making their final wave of cuts on Monday. Most of the moves had become pretty clear from the rotation choices in their final preseason game the night before, so there weren\u2019t any huge surprises, but because of the way they packed their camp there was meaningful talent released. Lindsay Allen has been a very reliable point guard in several stops around the league, and the Wings gave her a $410,000 contract to sign in Dallas this year (albeit unprotected, so they could waive her without it costing them anything); Amy Okonkwo, Dulcy Fankam Mendjiadeu and Grace Berger have all shown flashes of talent in previous WNBA seasons, and Italian point guard Costanza Verona has a long-established career overseas; and Rayah Marshall was only recently acquired in a trade for Diamond Miller (albeit the primary value to that deal was likely getting rid of Miller\u2019s guaranteed contract). The Wings chose to keep last year\u2019s draft picks James and Quinerly, veteran wing Alysha Clark, and Chinese center Li Yueru (although Verona and Fankam Mendjiadeu were later re-signed as developmental players).<\/p>\n

With Smith, Shepard and Kuier brought in to increase their strength and quality inside, and Fudd\u2019s shot-making added to Bueckers\u2019s increased pro experience on the perimeter, this squad should be ready to take a significant step forward. But it remains to be seen how well the pieces come together, and whether they can find a comfortable mesh between their new class and Ogunbowale, who got paid a lot of money to stick around. They\u2019ll certainly expect to be better than the team that finished 10-34 last year.<\/p>\n

PG: Caitlin Clark\/Tyasha Harris\/Raven Johnson<\/p>\n

SG: Kelsey Mitchell\/Shatori Walker-Kimbrough<\/p>\n

SF: Sophie Cunningham\/Lexie Hull<\/p>\n

PF: Monique Billings\/Myisha Hines-Allen\/Makayla Timpson<\/p>\n

C: Aliyah Boston\/Damiris Dantas<\/p>\n

Dev: Justine Pissott<\/p>\n

Significant Additions: Billings, Hines-Allen, Harris, Johnson, Walker-Kimbrough, and hopefully a healthy Clark<\/p>\n

Significant Losses: Natasha Howard, Odyssey Sims, Aari McDonald, Sydney Colson, Brianna Turner<\/p>\n

Remaining Cap Space: $4,521<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>Aliyah Boston (7), Damiris Dantas (12), Caitlin Clark (22) and Lexie Hull (10) of the Indiana Fever. Photo credit: Chris Poss<\/p>\n

This was probably the most obvious final 12 anywhere around the league when training camp opened. The Fever invited a few extra guards, but it never looked like Megan McConnell, Kayana Traylor or Jessica Timmons were going to beat out Harris, Johnson or Walker-Kimbrough. The axe finally fell on Wednesday, and the expected group was set.<\/p>\n

The Fever continue to try to find the right pieces to put around their established core of stars. Billings and Hines-Allen give them some bounce at power forward alongside Boston, and some veteran reliability if Timpson isn\u2019t ready to make a step up yet. Harris and Walker-Kimbrough are also veterans who\u2019ve proven themselves as reliable options in previous WNBA stops, while Johnson gives them a younger, cheaper perimeter option to bring through as part of the future alongside Clark and Boston.<\/p>\n

This is a group looking to take the next step towards being a real contender if Clark can stay healthy this year, rather than the fighting to survive we saw last year when everyone kept getting hurt. They might take a while to figure out how all the new rotation pieces fit together, but you can certainly see the vision. If Clark, Mitchell and Boston all stay mostly healthy and play to their maximum level, Indiana\u2019s ceiling is exceptionally high, and the pieces around them mean they should be comfortable playing in various styles (although mostly they\u2019re just going to want to outscore you). With Mitchell a true unrestricted free agent next year and Clark likely to join Boston in becoming a lot more expensive, this could also be the year they need to take the leap before the roster balance might have to be re-thought. Time for the Fever to produce.<\/p>\n

PG: Chelsea Gray\/Chennedy Carter\/Dana Evans<\/p>\n

SG: Jackie Young\/Jewell Loyd<\/p>\n

SF: Stephanie Talbot\/Kierstan Bell<\/p>\n

PF: NaLyssa Smith\/Cheyenne Parker-Tyus\/Janiah Barker<\/p>\n

C: A\u2019ja Wilson\/Brianna Turner<\/p>\n

Dev: None, yet<\/p>\n

Significant Additions: Talbot, Carter, another banner<\/p>\n

Significant Losses: Kiah Stokes, Aaliyah Nye, Megan Gustafson<\/p>\n

Remaining Cap Space: $7,500<\/p>\n

Given the Aces only brought 13 players to camp, there wasn\u2019t much suspense to their 12-player roster. It always looked like a straight choice between Janiah Barker and Jordan Obi for the final spot, and they cut Obi on Monday to get down to 12. Simple as that.<\/p>\n

Largely speaking, the Aces are going with the logic of \u201crun it back\u201d, which is pretty reasonable when you\u2019ve won three of the last four WNBA championships. With a little help from some players taking a little less cash than they could\u2019ve demanded, the whole core from last year is back again. Turner replaces Kiah Stokes as the defense-first big; Parker-Tyus being available all year makes them a little deeper inside; and Talbot gives them some depth on the wing. The wildcard signing, which could be incredibly useful if it works out, is Chennedy Carter. An electric scoring guard who no one would touch in 2025 due to character\/behaviour concerns, the Aces are giving her a chance and if she fits in she could be instant offense from the bench. Her defense will drive Becky Hammon insane at times even if there are no behaviour issues, but the scoring can more than make up for it.<\/p>\n

Obviously they had their struggles last year before everything came together in time for another title run, and there\u2019s always a chance that Pat Riley\u2019s \u201cDisease of More\u201d will kick in at some point, but you can easily argue that this year\u2019s squad looks better than 2025\u2019s. And last year ended in yet another ring.<\/p>\n

PG: Erica Wheeler\/Ta\u2019Niya Latson<\/p>\n

SG: Kelsey Plum\/Chance Gray<\/p>\n

SF: Ariel Atkins\/Rae Burrell\/Jihyun Park<\/p>\n

PF: Dearica Hamby\/Sania Feagin<\/p>\n

C: Nneka Ogwumike\/Cameron Brink\/Emma Cannon<\/p>\n

Dev: Laura Ziegler<\/p>\n

Significant Additions: Ogwumike, Atkins, Wheeler, Latson, Park, and hopefully a healthy Brink<\/p>\n

Significant Losses: Rickea Jackson, Azur\u00e1 Stevens, Julie Allemand<\/p>\n

Remaining Cap Space: $103,650<\/p>\n

After offseason moves to add Ogwumike, Atkins and Wheeler, the Sparks are now led by a very veteran lineup with an average age of over 32 (if Wheeler starts). Then you look beyond that group, and after cutting European guards Julie Vanloo and Sevgi Uzun, they\u2019re largely very young and inexperienced on the bench. It\u2019s a strange sort of roster balance that we used to see more around a decade ago, when the salary structure of the league largely meant you were either near the max or still on rookie scale \u2014 there was very little middle ground.<\/p>\n

The question is whether this group is meaningfully improved from the inconsistent squad that went 21-23 last year. Apart from the potential benefits of a full season of Cameron Brink, the primary changes are largely one-for-one, with the hope that the new group will mesh better. The length and range of Azur\u00e1 Stevens is now the veteran smarts and eternal production of the returning Ogwumike; the youthful promise and developing skills of Rickea Jackson were swapped for the known quantity and consistency of Atkins; and after point guard Julie Allemand was lost in the expansion draft, they brought back Wheeler as a replacement. They\u2019re certainly built with the hope of being good immediately considering all those veterans, with only Burrell and Brink as young first-round picks who might still improve.<\/p>\n

Last year they scored a lot of points, but a combination of their shaky defense and the pace they played at meant they gave up even more at the other end. With Atkins on the perimeter and Brink\/Ogwumike inside, they\u2019ll be hoping that the defense can improve dramatically without giving up too much of their effectiveness on offense. It\u2019s certainly possible. There\u2019s a lot of skill, and a hell of a lot of basketball smarts on this squad. Piecing it all together and staying healthy \u2014 or finding any depth that can help them survive through injuries \u2014 could be tricky.<\/p>\n

PG: Olivia Miles\/Eli\u0161ka Hamzov\u00e1<\/p>\n

SG: Courtney Williams\/Maya Caldwell<\/p>\n

SF: Kayla McBride\/Antonia Delaere<\/p>\n

PF: Napheesa Collier\/Nia Coffey\/Anastasiia Olairi Kosu<\/p>\n

C: Dorka Juh\u00e1sz\/Natasha Howard\/Emma \u010cechov\u00e1<\/p>\n

Dev: Emese Hof<\/p>\n

Significant Additions: Miles, Juh\u00e1sz, Howard, Coffey, \u010cechov\u00e1<\/p>\n

Significant Losses: Alanna Smith, Bridget Carleton, Jessica Shepard, Natisha Hiedeman, DiJonai Carrington, Maria Kliundikova<\/p>\n

Remaining Cap Space: $19,177<\/p>\n

This is no longer the Minnesota Lynx squad that threatened to win a championship for the last couple of years. While Collier is still around as the star, and Williams and McBride were retained, all the other important pieces from last year have been picked off by other franchises. They have the excitement of adding the No. 2 overall pick in Miles, but otherwise it\u2019s a couple of veteran free agents in Howard and Coffey and a lot of unknowns filling out the squad. And both Collier and returning post Juh\u00e1sz are starting the season recovering from injuries with return dates somewhat up in the air.<\/p>\n

It seemed like Minnesota\u2019s final 12 was becoming clear after their final preseason game, and when they signed Hof to a development deal rather than finding immediate room for her on the main roster. Then on Wednesday they pulled a little bit of a surprise by trading a 2028 third-round pick to Portland for Maya Caldwell, which led to Jaylyn Sherrod joining Liatu King and Saylor Poffenbarger as their final cuts. Sherrod had looked like she would stick as an energy-injection backup point guard, but they went with the size and length of Hamzov\u00e1 and off-guard skills of Caldwell instead.<\/p>\n

Once they\u2019re healthy, the Lynx still have the potential to be very good. Counting out a team with Collier as its star and Cheryl Reeve at head coach would not be a smart decision. Juh\u00e1sz has also improved overseas, \u010cechov\u00e1 is a real talent, and everyone\u2019s seen how good Miles is during her NCAA career. The question is whether their ceiling can be anywhere near as high as the last couple of years without all the pieces they\u2019ve lost. Until they prove it all over again, people are going to revert back to doubting the Lynx.<\/p>\n

PG: Georgia Amoore\/Rori Harmon\/Alex Wilson<\/p>\n

SG: Sonia Citron\/Lucy Olsen<\/p>\n

SF: Michaela Onyenwere\/Cotie McMahon\/Cassandre Prosper<\/p>\n

PF: Kiki Iriafen\/Angela Dugali\u0107<\/p>\n

C: Shakira Austin\/Lauren Betts<\/p>\n

Dev: Darianna Littlepage-Buggs<\/p>\n

Significant Additions: Betts, Amoore, Dugali\u0107, McMahon, Onyenwere, Harmon<\/p>\n

Significant Losses: Sug Sutton, Alysha Clark, Jade Melbourne, Emily Engstler, Jacy Sheldon<\/p>\n

Remaining Cap Space: $2,384,634<\/p>\n

There were no real surprises from the Mystics in training camp. The final cuts were Nyla Harris, Madison Scott and Christeen Iwuala, none of which came as a shock after their limited use in preseason and how effective Prosper had looked in her stretches of play. It means they kept Australian guard Alex Wilson who didn\u2019t appear in either of their preseason games, giving them a few options at point guard \u2014 although those options currently combine for zero games of WNBA regular season experience.<\/p>\n

This is an incredibly young squad, even by the typical standards of a rebuilding team or in comparison to last year\u2019s Mystics. There\u2019s no Stefanie Dolson, Alysha Clark or Brittney Sykes to help guide this group through the vagaries of the WNBA experience. Onyenwere and Austin, respectively 26 and 25 years old, are the closest they have to WNBA veterans, and they\u2019re barely off their rookie-scale deals. It\u2019s an unusual approach \u2014 most rebuilding teams at least sign a vet or two to help teach the kids \u2014 but clearly they trust this group and don\u2019t feel the need to sign older players purely for the sake of their experience. Citron and Iriafen were both a success as rookies, Austin still has lots of potential if she can just stay healthy, and there\u2019s a whole new crop of rookies coming in to add to the talent.<\/p>\n

Expect inconsistency and the inevitable mistakes of youth, but also expect a team that\u2019s going to be a whole lot of fun to watch. Sydney Johnson got a lot out of them last year, and they were threatening a playoff appearance until a late-season tailspin. They may still be playing more for the future than the present, but the journey should be pretty entertaining along the way.<\/p>\n

That\u2019s it for now. Come back tomorrow when we\u2019ll cover all the remaining teams after they make their final moves to set their rosters for opening day.<\/p>\n

Thanks for reading the Her Hoop Stats Newsletter. If you like our work, be sure to check out our stats site<\/a>, our podcast<\/a>, and our social media accounts on Twitter<\/a>, YouTube<\/a>, Facebook<\/a>, and Instagram<\/a>.<\/p>\n