2025 WNBA Pre-Season Thread

[cancontent]

Is anyone as surprised as I am that Lucy Olsen ended up making the Mystics' roster? Here are her preseason stats over 36 minutes in two games: 4 points, 2 rebounds, 2 assists, and 2 of 14 shooting for 14.3%. I like watching Lucy play, but with all the cuts we've seen among rookies and returning players who had far more impressive preseasons, I wasn't expecting her to make the team.

Haven't seen the list, but I can see where you're coming from.

 

[Dillon77]

Options exercised for Dorka, Diamond, Aliyah Boston, Maddy Siegrist, and Jordan Horston. This might be a reason Berger was waived. And I think those are the only ones from that 2023 class that were picked up. Dorka being the only non-first rounder.

Can (everyone) help me understand:

• The player (Dorka, in this case) decides not to play with the WNBA team for personal reasons.
• Juhasz's contract with the Lynx goes through the 2026 season.
• So, did the Lynx have to honor the contract of Juhasz in 2025 or risk losing her? As such, are they going to pay her (even though she's not playing by her own volition?).

If so, I'm wondering if the Lynx exercised this contract as insurance for 2026, because it looks like those of other forwards -- Collier, Smith, Shepard -- all end after the 2025 season.

 

[GamecockFam]

Is anyone as surprised as I am that Lucy Olsen ended up making the Mystics' roster? Here are her preseason stats over 36 minutes in two games: 4 points, 2 rebounds, 2 assists, and 2 of 14 shooting for 14.3%. I like watching Lucy play, but with all the cuts we've seen among rookies and returning players who had far more impressive preseasons, I wasn't expecting her to make the team.

Don't quote me as I'll need to examine their roster a little more closely to feel assured in this opinion...

I think the issue is that there is slim pickings at her position so they have no choice but to retain her despite not being the level of talent needed to be successful.

 

[Stagnant]

I am surprised Lucy made it. She was fortunate. Fortunate that there was a massive shortage of guards. And honestly, the Amoore injury helped. I think they would have preferred to keep Prechtel.

But to Lucy’s credit. She seems to have beaten out Green and Jensen for that last spot.

 

[jdote33]

Don't quote me as I'll need to examine their roster a little more closely to feel assured in this opinion...

I think the issue is that there is slim pickings at her position so they have no choice but to retain her despite not being the level of talent needed to be successful.

I pretty much agree. Because Amoore got injured and some of their moves this off-season they don't have many guards at all. I think Lucy can play a little bit of both (point guard and 2 guard). I do think she struggled a lot in the games but maybe it's just a game issue and she's been killing in practice. I remember on the men's side Jamal Murray missed something like his first 17 shots in the NBA. I do feel her ability to create her own and make basic reads on offense is there.

 

[Bjbod]

I pretty much agree. Because Amoore got injured and some of their moves this off-season they don't have many guards at all. I think Lucy can play a little bit of both (point guard and 2 guard). I do think she struggled a lot in the games but maybe it's just a game issue and she's been killing in practice. I remember on the men's side Jamal Murray missed something like his first 17 shots in the NBA. I do feel her ability to create her own and make basic reads on offense is there.

I'm happy Lucy made the cut; she's a great kid and talented....scored 26 in Iowa's upset of USC. I too was surprised she's still alive after her poor shooting in those 2 preseason games. Like jdote33 wondered, maybe she's performed way better in practice so far.

I also have wondered if there are marketing factors involved? Kate Martin averaged 2.6 points and 1.6 rebounds her rookie season, yet she was #4 in the league in merchandise sales last year and #3 this year. Why is that??
There is definitely an Iowa fandom effect that extends beyond just Caitlin Clark. Plus Lucy's home is not far away in Pennsylvania. Mystics were 10th in attendance last year out of 12 teams. Who knows?

Top selling WNBA jerseys: Caitlin Clark, Angel Reese, Paige Bueckers among most popular

Top selling WNBA jerseys: Who sold the most WNBA jerseys? Here is a list of the 10 top selling WNBA jerseys right now.

sportsnaut.com

 

[Stagnant]

They all need to get better. Berger and Jones were on rosters for a while and got cut this year. I always think of Karlie Samuelson; who is way better than Lucy Olsen and Kate Martin btw. I always think that if she can get waived 10 times and is a journeyman wnba player… then it can happen to anyone.

 

[jdote33]

I just skipped to the interview with Cathy. I thought it was pretty interesting and wanted to share

 

[Dillon77]

They all need to get better. Berger and Jones were on rosters for a while and got cut this year. I always think of Karlie Samuelson; who is way better than Lucy Olsen and Kate Martin btw. I always think that if she can get waived 10 times and is a journeyman wnba player… then it can happen to anyone.

Agree. I wrote a post yesterday citing Samuelson's work ethic and stick-to-it attitude paying off.

 

[cancontent]

 

[cancontent]

 

[WBBTakeover]

With Aari McDonald now available, how safe are Washington's PGs?

 

[jdote33]

Im happy for everyone who makes a team. No small feat. Especially happy for Lexi Held, I always thought she was really good at DePaul. I feel like her and Nika used to battle a bit. I do think Aari Mcdonald, Haley Jones, and Amihere would be like the 4-6 best players on the roster if they signed.

 

[GamecockFam]

These ladies got jokes y'all.

 

[Stagnant]

Lexi Held from DePaul making a wnba roster is definitely a surprise. I guess she has been working and grinding overseas the last couple of years.

 

[JellyBean]

Is anyone as surprised as I am that Lucy Olsen ended up making the Mystics' roster? Here are her preseason stats over 36 minutes in two games: 4 points, 2 rebounds, 2 assists, and 2 of 14 shooting for 14.3%. I like watching Lucy play, but with all the cuts we've seen among rookies and returning players who had far more impressive preseasons, I wasn't expecting her to make the team.

The way this preseason has gone, I am not surprised. The GMs see something in Lucy and in the end, that is all that matters. Wishing Lucy all the best.

 

[nwhoopfan]

I like watching Lucy play, but with all the cuts we've seen among rookies and returning players who had far more impressive preseasons, I wasn't expecting her to make the team.

I often feel like it doesn't matter at all what happens in preseason games, decisions have usually already been made before then.

 

[bballnut90]

Final Tallies from Each University By My Count:
UCONN - 15 players (really 14 since KLS is out for the year but she's still listed)
Notre Dame - 12 players
South Carolina - 9 players
Baylor - 6 players
Maryland - 5 players (9 if you include Lexie Brown, Angel Reese, Natasha Cloud and Shakira Austin who transferred out)
Stanford - 5 players (7 if you count Iriafen and Carrington)

 

[cancontent]

It only just dawned on me that the WNBA will have two Westbelds on the court as rookies this year. What an interesting piece of trivia.

 

[GamecockFam]

Final Tallies from Each University By My Count:
UCONN - 15 players (really 14 since KLS is out for the year but she's still listed)
Notre Dame - 12 players
South Carolina - 9 players
Baylor - 6 players
Maryland - 5 players (9 if you include Lexie Brown, Angel Reese, Natasha Cloud and Shakira Austin who transferred out)
Stanford - 5 players (7 if you count Iriafen and Carrington)

Hey! If you're counting transfers for the other schools, then add Sania Rivers to the South Carolina total.

It is kind of crazy how many players Dawn has sent to the league since we really just started sending them on a regular basis around the time that A'ja graduated (2018-ish). It still feels like our numbers are growing whereas Notre Dame and UConn have a lot of older talent in the league that is closer to retiring. Our oldest players are just hitting 30 (Tiffany Mitchell and Alisha Gray).

 

[TheFarmFan]

Hey! If you're counting transfers for the other schools, then add Sania Rivers to the South Carolina total.

It is kind of crazy how many players Dawn has sent to the league since we really just started sending them on a regular basis around the time that A'ja graduated (2018-ish). It still feels like our numbers are growing whereas Notre Dame and UConn have a lot of older talent in the league that is closer to retiring. Our oldest players are just hitting 30 (Tiffany Mitchell and Alisha Gray).

I think grad transfers are different, especially since in Carrington's case we didn't have a scholarship for her. I don't know why Stanford doesn't like to promote her among our W alums, but I sure as heck do. Same with Iriafen - she spent three times as long in a Cardinal red jersey as a Toejam one, and her only final four appearance was with us.

 

[Dillon77]

Lexi Held from DePaul making a wnba roster is definitely a surprise. I guess she has been working and grinding overseas the last couple of years.

Pretty much an example of what you posted just "above": some prominent names need to get better.
Held...and her forward teammate, Kat Westbeld, are examples of that. It took the elder Westbeld seven - that's right, 7 -- years after her graduation in 2018 to get to the level of being on a W franchise on opening day. That included trips to Puerto Rico, Australia, Spain, France and gosh knows how many other places and leagues.

 

[Bigboote]

Pretty much an example of what you posted just "above": some prominent names need to get better.
Held...and her forward teammate, Kat Westbeld, are examples of that. It took the elder Westbeld seven - that's right, 7 -- years after her graduation in 2018 to get to the level of being on a W franchise on opening day. That included trips to Puerto Rico, Australia, Spain, France and gosh knows how many other places and leagues.

Alexis Prince, too. I hadn’t heard of her in years.

 

[Jonathan14]

Final Tallies from Each University By My Count:
UCONN - 15 players (really 14 since KLS is out for the year but she's still listed)
Notre Dame - 12 players
South Carolina - 9 players
Baylor - 6 players
Maryland - 5 players (9 if you include Lexie Brown, Angel Reese, Natasha Cloud and Shakira Austin who transferred out)
Stanford - 5 players (7 if you count Iriafen and Carrington)

My vote—not that I get one —is that a grad transfer like DiJonai Carrington should count for both Stanford and Baylor since she graduated from Stanford before moving on, whereas someone like Lexie Brown would only count for Duke. Otherwise, with the days of the portal, we'll start having four (or more?) schools taking credit for a single player in the W.

 

[GamecockFam]

I think grad transfers are different, especially since in Carrington's case we didn't have a scholarship for her. I don't know why Stanford doesn't like to promote her among our W alums, but I sure as heck do. Same with Iriafen - she spent three times as long in a Cardinal red jersey as a Toejam one, and her only final four appearance was with us.

I was being very sarcastic with my comment. I don't really care. Sania didn't have a very big impact on the program, so I doubt I'll follow her like other players who transferred out and I have an emotional attachment to (MiLaysia, etc.)