WNBA roster building continues as training camps tip off

The GIST: WNBA training camp tipped off yesterday, and each team’s goal is simple: finalize their 12-woman roster ahead of May 8th’s season start. A league-record 210 roster spots are available after expansion, meaning the WNBA’s notoriously exclusive club is expanding. Let’s hoop.

📋 An exercise in roster building: For established veterans, camp’s an opportunity to jell with new and old teammates and get back into the swing of things. But for recently drafted rookies and older players who ink training camp contracts, the stakes are sky-high: Teams must whittle their training camp rosters down from 18 to 20 hoopers to just 12 active players in a week.

• This season is extra intriguing because the league’s new collective bargaining agreement allots each team two additional “developmental” roster spots, providing more opportunities for young players, like later-round picks from the star-studded 2026 draft.

• Developmental players can be activated for up to 12 games per season, helping reduce the need for temporary hardship contracts when active players are injured. And because they’re already integrated into a team, they’ll likely be that much more effective. A true win-win.

🤔 Free agency adds intrigue to training camp: Teams use camp to evaluate their talent, making it the perfect place to identify roster holes…and the athletes outside the franchise who could fill them. A few big-name free agents remain unsigned: defensive juggernaut Natasha Cloud, WNBA legend Tina Charles, and international icon Emma Meesseman.

• The 37-year-old Charles could be weighing retirement, and Meesseman might be fully committed to international duties with the FIBA World Cup looming, but all three could sign with any squad at any time and make an immediate impact. Keep watching this space.