Dallas Wings guard Paige Bueckers (5), guard Aziaha James (10), center Li Yueru and guard GraceBerger celebrate on the bench after a three-pointer by Luisa Geiselsoder during the first half of a WNBA basketball game against the New York Liberty at College Park Center on Monday, July 28, 2025, in Arlington, Texas.
Smiley N. Pool/Staff Photographer
With free agency almost wrapped up and the WNBA draft out of the way, the Dallas Wings will start training camp Sunday in Arlington.
Training camp will be the next step in the team’s roster-building efforts, which have thus far included taking UConn star Azzi Fudd No. 1 overall in the draft and signing big-time talent.
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Teams across the league will have to finalize their rosters before the WNBA season tips off on May 8. Under the league’s new collective bargaining agreement, all teams must have 12 active players and can sign up to two additional players on development contracts.
Here’s what the Wings are working with heading into camp.
Dallas Wings guard Paige Bueckers (5) drives around Las Vegas Aces guard Jewell Loyd (24) during the second half of a WNBA basketball game at College Park Center on Wednesday, July 16, 2025, in Arlington.
Smiley N. Pool/Staff Photographer
The returners
Last year’s No. 1 pick Paige Bueckers returns to the Wings alongside fellow 2025 draftees Aziaha James and JJ Quinerly.
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All played solid rookie seasons, with Bueckers earning WNBA Rookie of the Year honors after averaging 19.2 points, 3.9 rebounds, 5.4 assists and 1.6 steals per game.
The 2025 rookies and forward Maddy Siegrist, taken by the Wings in the first round of the 2023 draft, were all under contract with the team entering the 2026 season. Siegrist averaged 12.7 points and 4.3 rebounds in 2025.
Dallas had the rights to 6-7 center Li Yueru and guard Grace Berger, who were both members of the 2025 squad. They signed 2026 training camp contracts with the Wings, along with forward Amy Okonkwo, who appeared in eight games for Dallas last season. Okonkwo was productive in her short time with the Wings, averaging 11 points, 3.1 rebounds and 1.4 steals.
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The Wings re-signed All-Star guard Arike Ogunbowale to a multiyear deal, as well as 6-6 center Awak Kuier, the second overall pick in 2021 who hasn’t played in the WNBA since 2023.
UConn guard Azzi Fudd poses with WNBA commissioner Cathy Engelbert after being selected first overall by the Dallas Wings in the first round of the WNBA basketball draft Monday, April 13, 2026, in New York.
Pamela Smith/AP
The newcomers
The Wings also signed two 6-4 former Minnesota Lynx forwards to multiyear deals in free agency: Jessica Shepard and reigning co-defensive player of the year Alanna Smith.
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“They play at the highest level,” Wings coach Jose Fernandez said Monday in a post-draft news conference. “They’re only going to make those perimeter players around them better.”
Dallas made these major moves before picking up Fudd and Tennessee’s Zee Spearman in Monday’s draft. Fudd averaged 17.3 points on 48.1% shooting, 2.6 rebounds and 3.1 assists in her final collegiate season at UConn. Spearman averaged 10.2 points, 5.8 rebounds and 1.3 blocks for the Lady Volunteers in 2025-26.
“She can be a threat out at the 3-point line, but she’s long, she’s athletic, she can run, she can block shots, she’s active,” Fernandez said of Spearman. “She’s ready to get to work and get to Dallas.”
On Tuesday, the Wings announced they were signing 13-year veteran and former Washington Mystics forward Alysha Clark. According to ESPN, Clark and the Wings agreed to a one-year deal.
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Other recent roster additions include center-forward Rayah Marshall, whom the Wings acquired from the Connecticut Sun in exchange for Diamond Miller, and veteran guard Lindsay Allen.
Dallas also signed Costanza Verona, Shyanne Sellers and Dulcy Fankam Mendjiadeu to training camp contracts.
“We’ve brought in a lot of great pieces,” Siegrist told reporters on Monday at a Wings draft party in Dallas. “We’ve signed a lot of great kids to camp, so I’m really excited to get on the court with everybody.”
Putting it all together
The Wings invested in their frontcourt and have an arsenal of guards. Now, they’ll have to piece it all together under Fernandez, who was named the team’s new head coach in October.
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“I think now having Paige and Arike and Azzi on the floor together, and what we addressed in free agency with our frontline, there’s definitely different lineups that we can play,” Fernandez said Monday in a post-draft news conference.
It took the Bueckers-Ogunbowale backcourt time to develop last season, when the Wings went 10-34. Particularly after the All-Star break, the pairing really took off. But Ogunbowale didn’t finish the season due to injury.
Wings general manager Curt Miller said Monday in a post-draft news conference that Fudd will complement that still-developing dynamic.
“Azzi is the right fit with this group. Paige, Arike have the ball, and Azzi fits because she’s so good off the ball. And we thought that was a really great combination,” Miller said. “We’re excited about the pieces. It’s going to take a little bit of time for Jose to work his magic and to gel.”
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Fernandez added: “When you look at this roster and you look at Paige, Arike, and Azzi and Aziaha and Maddy and the frontline, we’re tough to guard … Now, you add Jess and Alanna and you involve them in pick-and-roll situations with Paige. It’s going to open up a lot of things for Arike and Azzi.”
One thing the Wings have working in their favor is the history among players on the roster.
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Bueckers and Fudd won a national championship at UConn in 2025, and Bueckers confirmed they were in a relationship last summer. Siegrist, a Villanova alum, played against them in the Big East. Ogunbowale and Shepard won a national title at Notre Dame in 2018. Shepard and Smith both played for the Lynx last season.
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Still, there could be some growing pains at the start with a new-look roster headed into 2026.
“Obviously, it’s going to be meshing a lot of new parts, a lot of new terminology, a lot of new style,” Miller said. “But with a little bit of grace, I can’t wait to see where this team is in July and beyond.”