WNBA roster cuts spark debate about prioritizing international talent

The WNBA saw a wave of roster cuts come through over the weekend as preseason games began.

The first wave of WNBA preseason games over the weekend also brought the first big wave of training camp roster cuts. Due to the limited number of roster spots on WNBA teams and the salary cap restrictions, many WNBA training camp attendees don’t make teams. Teams will sign anywhere from 18-21 (ish) players to camp, and cut their rosters down to 11-12 by the time the season starts.

Most teams will wait until after their first preseason game to begin to trim down their roster, at least getting a look at everyone before making decisions. One move that bucked that trend was the premature cut to Shyanne Sellers by the Golden State Valkyries. After being projected to be drafted in the first round of last month’s WNBA Draft, Sellers dropped to No. 17, where Golden State snatched her. Yet, she was cut from the roster before even getting the chance to play in Golden State’s first preseason game.

Sellers was only one of multiple cuts made over the weekend. On Friday, the LA Sparks cut Alyssa Utsby and Anneli Maley from their training camp roster, while New York made its first cut by waiving Kaitlyn Davis. All of these moves were made before their teams were able to see these players in a preseason game.

After Sellers on Saturday, a wave of cuts officially came through the WNBA Transactions page on Sunday. After the Dallas Wings opened their year with a preseason game against Las Vegas on Friday, they waived McKenzie Forbes and Mikiah Herbert Harrigan. Chicago played their first preseason game on Friday as well, facing the Brazilian National Team at LSU. After that game, they decided to waive Arella Guirantes, Tilly Boler and Sammie Puisis.

None of the players waived this weekend, apart from Sellers, were expected to make final WNBA rosters this season. It’s just the nature of this cutthroat league — you need to be in the elite tier of talent to even get a shot. The situation seems to be getting a bit better as the league expands, but the addition of the Valkyries this season is not solving this problem, as the Sellers move proved.

Golden State has opted to go with an extremely international roster for their opening season. They used their expansion draft picks to acquire a ton of European talent, and used their 2025 No. 5 pick on “draft and stash” European Juste Jocyte. With Sellers waived, the only 2025 draft pick still on the roster is Kaitlyn Chen, who they drafted 30th overall out of UConn.

The fallout from waiving Sellers caused a huge debate online about WNBA expansion and which players teams should be prioritizing with these new roster spots. Many expressed that they assumed WNBA expansion would mean there would be more up-and-coming NCAA-bred talent in the WNBA, instead of bringing over more players from Europe. That was called out as a very “American” take by other international fans.

I have conflicting opinions about the above takes, being a basketball fan in Canada myself. For one, I know how hard it is for international talent to be recognized at all — how there are so few opportunities for them to make it to the WNBA. The on-edge and defensive Canadian that 2025 has morphed me into wants to immediately call out Americans for their perpetual single-mindedness. Yet, a part of me also gets that the rhetoric being spewed for the last few years was expansion = more chances for NCAA talent to make it. Now that isn’t necessarily happening, as teams opt to instead bring over these experienced international players. It’s fair for fans of women’s college basketball to feel a bit misled.

In the end, I think globalizing the game is a good thing. For years, international leagues have accepted American women’s basketball players onto their rosters when there weren’t spots for them in the WNBA — why not now return the favor? If it’s a matter of American over more talented players... well, that’s not a great direction to lead the league in. The result of these young recent college players getting cut shouldn't be “ban the Europeans,” but instead creating a system to develop young talent within the WNBA that isn’t just drafting them, letting them enjoy training camp for a few days, and then leaving them out to dry.

This is where more roster spots on teams could come into play, with the current official cap of 12 being too small now that there is so much more talent around the world. Add in the fact that the WNBA’s hard salary cap means most teams roll with 11 players, and the cuts go even deeper. The early wave of injuries in the WNBA has also exposed holes in the current CBA when it comes to salary and roster spots. When Seattle Storm forward Katie Lou Samuelson was diagnosed with a torn ACL last week in training camp, it meant that she will still get her full season salary (which is good), but that money will still count towards the Storm’s cap. That means that the Storm have her salary going against their budget, and Samuelson will take one of the 12 available roster spots despite being out for the entire season with this injury.

These are all issues that will be addressed in the new Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA), which the players’ union is already negotiating with the WNBA.

The WNBA preseason continues Tuesday as Golden State plays its first-ever game against the LA Sparks, Las Vegas plays Phoenix, and Minnesota plays Chicago. More roster cuts are sure to follow, as teams work towards solidifying their 11-12 players. Opening day rosters are due on May 15, the day before the regular season tips off on May 16.

Here is everyone who has been cut from training camp rosters so far:

• Mya Hollingshed (Connecticut Sun)
• Abbey Hsu (Connecticut Sun)
• Jordyn Jenkins (Las Vegas Aces)
• Kaitlyn Davis (New York Liberty)
• Alyssa Utsby (Los Angeles Sparks)
• Anneli Maley (Los Angeles Sparks)
• Shyanne Sellers (Golden State Valkyries)
• Arella Guirantes (Chicago Sky)
• Tilly Boler (Chicago Sky)
• Sammi Puisis (Chicago Sky)
• McKenzie Forbes (Dallas Wings)
• Mikiah Herbert Hannigan (Dallas Wings)
• Morgan Jones (Washington Mystics)
• Jojo Lacey (Washington Mystics)
• Bree Hall (Indiana Fever)
• Jillian Alleyne (Indiana Fever)
• DeYona Gaston (Atlanta Dream)