Portland Fire Select Carleton No. 1 in 2026 WNBA Draft
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- Portland Fire selected unrestricted free agent Bridget Carleton as the No. 1 pick in Friday's 2026 WNBA expansion draft, targeting her early to prevent the Toronto Tempo from grabbing the Ontario native.
- Bridget Carleton had played for the Minnesota Lynx since being drafted in 2019, averaging 6.5 points, 3.6 rebounds, and 2.0 assists in 27.9 minutes per game off the bench during the Lynx's league-best-record season.
- Toronto Tempo selected six-year veteran Marina Mabrey from the Connecticut Sun, who averaged 14.4 points, 4.2 rebounds, and 4.0 assists in a team-high 31.5 minutes per game last season.
- Both expansion franchises prioritized veteran role players over prospects, with Portland also taking Carla Leite, Maya Caldwell, Emily Engstler, and Sug Sutton, while Toronto added Julie Allemand and Nyara Sabally.
- Portland's selection of Carla Leite reunites her with GM Vanja Cernivec, who had served as VP of basketball operations for the Golden State Valkyries and helped bring Leite to the Bay Area.
- Neither team selected from the Chicago Sky, opting for predraft trades that exchanged expansion picks for the 17th pick (Portland) and 26th pick (Toronto) in the April 13 collegiate draft.
- The WNBA cannot begin free agency until the long-form collective bargaining agreement is signed, even though the CBA has already been ratified by all parties — sources told ESPN there's hope it could be completed by Sunday, with training camp starting April 19.
Why it matters: With the CBA ratified but its long-form document still unsigned, both No. 1 expansion picks remain unrestricted free agents who could refuse to sign with the teams that drafted them. This procedural gap stalls the WNBA's offseason just as Portland and Toronto try to build debut rosters ahead of the April 13 collegiate draft and April 19 training camp.
