{"id":409271,"date":"2026-01-15T18:35:10","date_gmt":"2026-01-15T18:35:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/409271\/"},"modified":"2026-01-15T18:35:10","modified_gmt":"2026-01-15T18:35:10","slug":"athletes-unlimited-finalizes-roster-coaches-ahead-of-new-season-winsidr","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/409271\/","title":{"rendered":"Athletes Unlimited Finalizes Roster, Coaches Ahead of New Season \u00bb Winsidr"},"content":{"rendered":"

Make room on Broadway. Athletes Unlimited is returning to Nashville on Feb. 4 for another year of action.<\/p>\n

Ahead of tip-off, the league announced its full roster of players and coaches on Thursday, Jan. 15, as the league prepares for its fifth season.<\/p>\n

Those playing this year are:<\/p>\n

Ariel Atkins
\nSarah Ashlee Barker
\nKierstan Bell
\nGrace Berger
\nLexie Brown
\nEmma Cannon
\nTina Charles
\nKaitlyn Chen
\nAlysha Clark
\nAlaina Coates
\nZia Cooke
\nMcKenzie Forbes
\nRebekah Gardner
\nAubryanna \u201cBree\u201d Hall
\nRebecca Harris
\nDori Harrison
\nIsabelle Harrison
\nBria Hartley
\nAir Hearn
\nSequoia Holmes
\nDeja Kelly
\nJojo Lacey
\nKiara Leslie
\nNatasha Mack
\nAneesah Morrow
\nTeana Muldrow
\nKia Nurse
\nAaliyah Nye
\nTe-Hina Paopao
\nShey Peddy
\nAerial Powers
\nMercedes Russell
\nJacy Sheldon
\nJaylyn Sherrod
\nOdyssey Sims
\nNaLyssa Smith
\nKiah Stokes
\nAsia Taylor
\nKayanna Traylor
\nBrianna Turner<\/p>\n

\u201cThis roster reflects exactly what AU Pro Basketball is about \u2013 elite competition, meaningful opportunity, and players who want to test themselves against the very best,\u201d said Megan Perry, Vice President of Basketball for Athletes Unlimited, in a press release. \u201cThe depth across all 40 spots is exceptional, and it\u2019s going to make this one of the most challenging and compelling seasons we\u2019ve had.\u201d<\/p>\n

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

AU Pro Basketball also announced its 2026 coaching staff in the release. Coaches for the four teams will include Zak Buncik, Edniesha Curry, Chaz Franklin, and Kia Vaughn, and they will be supported by Player Enhancement Specialists Dee Brown.<\/p>\n

Let\u2019s take a look at five players to keep an eye on throughout the season:<\/p>\n

Tina Charles<\/p>\n

Remember when we weren\u2019t sure if Charles would play basketball again? She\u2019s had a resurgence in Atlanta and Connecticut over the last two years, and now she\u2019ll be joining AU ahead of the 2026 WNBA season.<\/p>\n

Charles can still get it done with the best of them in the paint on both ends of the ball. It\u2019ll be fun to see how the veteran mixes in with the other vets and the young group that AU has this season.<\/p>\n

Aneesah Morrow<\/p>\n

Morrow going to AU was a big get for them over Unrivaled. While she could easily excel in Unrivaled, AU feels like it\u2019s more built for her game at this point in her career. She came on toward the end of her rookie year in Connecticut, making an impact off the bench and in the starting lineup.<\/p>\n

Look for Morrow to turn heads, ramping up the hype heading into her second WNBA season.<\/p>\n

Te-Hina Paopao<\/p>\n

Unrivaled looked like it would be the landing spot for Paopao, but she opted to sign with AU instead. The biggest aspect of her game that she needs to work on \u2013 straight out of her mouth, too \u2013 is her defense.<\/p>\n

See Also<\/p>\n

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There\u2019s no hiding anyone in Unrivaled defensively, so having her play AU makes sense for her all-around growth. She can light it up from anywhere on the floor.<\/p>\n

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

Odyssey Sims<\/p>\n

I don\u2019t want to have the Sims discourse again this season. She belongs on a WNBA roster, and she was huge for the Indiana Fever last season when they needed guard help due to injuries. Sims does a lot really well, especially offensively. She\u2019s a dark-horse pick for the AU champion this year.<\/p>\n

Jacy Sheldon<\/p>\n

Sheldon is on her third WNBA team in two years, so she\u2019ll look to continue growing in AU to become not just a perimeter defender, but a player who can create her own offense.<\/p>\n

We\u2019ve seen flashes of it, but a player like Sheldon is exactly the kind of player that AU is made for.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Make room on Broadway. Athletes Unlimited is returning to Nashville on Feb. 4 for another year of action.…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":409272,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[73],"tags":[9210,106695,99,434],"class_list":{"0":"post-409271","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-wnba","8":"tag-athletes-unlimited","9":"tag-au-basketball","10":"tag-sports","11":"tag-wnba"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/409271","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=409271"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/409271\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/409272"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=409271"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=409271"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=409271"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}