Monica McNutt and Carolyn Peck react to the Portland Fire's and Toronto Tempo's first picks in the WNBA expansion draft. (1:39)
Unrestricted free agent Bridget Carleton was selected by the Portland Fire as the No. 1 pick in the 2026 WNBA expansion draft Friday.
Carleton was targeted by the Fire early, a source told ESPN, and Portland didn't want to give Toronto a chance to select the Ontario native.
Both the Fire and Toronto Tempo placed an emphasis on veteran role players in the draft, laying a more experienced foundation in the first steps each franchise took in building its inaugural roster and hoping that, with increased opportunities for each player, more production will follow.
Carleton, who has played for the Minnesota Lynx since she was drafted by the team in 2019, was a rotation player for the franchise on its way to the WNBA's best record last season. She averaged 6.5 points, 3.6 rebounds and 2.0 assists in 27.9 minutes per game coming off of the bench.
Portland also selected Maya Caldwell, a five-year veteran who most recently spent three seasons with the Atlanta Dream, Emily Engstler (five years of service) and Sug Sutton (four years of service).
Toronto drafted six-year veteran Marina Mabrey from the Connecticut Sun. Last season, she was the Sun's second-highest scorer with 14.4 points and averaged 4.2 rebounds and 4.0 assists in a team-high 31.5 minutes per game. The Tempo also took Nyara Sabally, who filled some holes for the New York Liberty last season as they navigated injuries to their stars, and Julie Allemand, who has played in the WNBA for only three seasons but was originally drafted in 2016.
Here is the full list of players selected, listed in the order they were picked by each team:
F Bridget Carleton, Minnesota Lynx
F Carla Leite, Golden State Valkyries
G Luisa Geiselsoder, Dallas Wings
C Emily Engstler, Washington Mystics
F Maya Caldwell, Atlanta Dream
G Chloe Bibby, Indiana Fever
G Haley Jones, Dallas Wings
G Nyadiew Puoch, Atlanta Dream
F Sug Sutton, Washington Mystics
G Nika Muhl, Seattle Storm
G Julie Allemand, Los Angeles Sparks
G Nyara Sabally, New York Liberty
C Marina Mabrey, Connecticut Sun
G Aaliyah Nye, Las Vegas Aces
G Lexi Held, Phoenix Mercury
G Maria Conde, Golden State Valkyries
F Maria Kliundikova, Minnesota Lynx
F Adja Kane, New York Liberty
F Nikolina Milić, Connecticut Sun
F Kitija Laksa, Phoenix Mercury
G Kristy Wallace, Indiana Fever
Leite going to Portland reunites her with general manager Vanja Cernivec, who served as the vice president of basketball operations for the Valkyries in their first season and helped bring Leite to the Bay Area -- where she became an important scorer and facilitator off the bench.
Jones was the No. 6 pick in the 2023 draft, but she was waived a few times by the Dream and Mercury before landing in Dallas last year. There, she finally got more of an opportunity and picked up her production, averaging 8.1 points per game.
Portland also picked up Muhl, who was ruled out for the 2026 season after undergoing surgery to repair a torn right ACL. This is the second straight season the third-year player will miss, having sat out in 2025 to recover from a torn left ACL. Muhl has a personal relationship with Cernivec, with the two having worked with each other in the NBA academy in 2019.
For Toronto, landing Held gives the team a strong 3-point shooter who carved out a big role with the Mercury on their way to the WNBA Finals. She was a 25-year-old rookie last season, but she came with three years of experience playing overseas.
Neither team selected from the Sky, opting to complete predraft trades with Chicago -- exchanging the picks in the expansion draft for the 17th pick (to Portland) and the 26th pick (to Toronto) in the collegiate draft in 10 days.
Each team was allowed to select one unrestricted free agent, which Portland chose to use on Carleton and Toronto used for Mabrey. Because they are not cored players, both Carleton and Mabrey could still exercise that right and not sign with the team that took them in the expansion draft.
Free agency is next on the WNBA's offseason agenda. However, sources told ESPN that teams do not have the dates or details on when the period will begin. This is because the new collective bargaining agreement has not been signed yet.
The league, its players and board of governors all voted to ratify the CBA, which the WNBA said is "one of the most transformational labor agreements ever reached in major professional sports." However, until the long-form document is signed, free agency cannot take place, sources said. Another source added that there's hope it could be completed by Sunday.
The collegiate draft is set for April 13, and training camp begins April 19.
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