US EditionPortland Fire Select Former Big 12 Player of the Year with First Pick in WNBA Expansion Draft
- On Friday, April 3, 2026, the Portland Fire and Toronto Tempo conducted the WNBA expansion draft, expanding the league to 15 teams. Portland selected Canadian Olympian Bridget Carleton from the Minnesota Lynx with the first overall pick.
- Existing franchises protected five players each from the expansion pool, leaving others available for selection. This expansion followed the recent ratification of a new collective bargaining agreement, which compressed roster construction timelines to five weeks.
- Neither the Fire nor the Tempo selected players from the Chicago Sky, opting instead to finalize trades. These deals exchanged selection rights for picks in the collegiate draft occurring in 10 days.
- Following the expansion draft, the Fire and Tempo continue building their teams through free agency and the college draft scheduled for April 13. Training camps open April 19 for all 15 teams.
- The league plans further expansion, with three additional teams set to join Cleveland, Detroit, and Philadelphia by 2030. The Fire and Tempo debut their rosters when the 30th WNBA season tips off May 8.
53 Articles
53 Articles
Former Cyclone goes No. 1 in WNBA expansion draft
NEW YORK — Former Iowa State women’s basketball star Bridget Carleton was selected No. 1 overall in the WNBA expansion draft Friday by the Portland Fire. Carleton played for the Cyclones from 2015 to 2019 and averaged 17.3 points per game. During her senior season in 2018-19, she was honored as a second-team All-American by the AP and ESPN. Carleton was drafted 21st overall in the 2019 WNBA draft by the Connecticut Sun, made the opening-night ro…
Chicago Sun Times
Usa newsPortland, Toronto lay foundations in the WNBA expansion draft
Portland, which is welcoming a WNBA team back to the city after 24 years, selected veteran forward Bridget Carleton with the first pick in Friday's expansion draft.Guard Julie Allemand, who played last season for the Los Angeles Sparks, was selected by the Toronto Tempo with its first pick.The Tempo won a coin flip and opted to take the sixth pick in the college draft on April 13 over the top pick in the expansion draft. So the Portland Fire wen…
Hastings Tribune
Portland Fire and Toronto Tempo lay their foundations in the WNBA expansion draft
Portland, which is welcoming a WNBA team back to the city after 24 years, selected veteran forward Bridget Carleton with the first pick in Friday's expansion draft.
Pine Journal
Fire take Lynx’s Bridget Carleton No. 1 in WNBA expansion draft
The Portland Fire selected Bridget Carleton first overall in the WNBA's two-team expansion draft on Friday, and the Toronto Tempo followed by making Julie Allemand their first pick. Carleton comes from the Minnesota Lynx and is an unrestricted free agent this offseason. That means Portland can designate Carleton a "core" player and have exclusive negotiating rights for a one-year, fully guaranteed max contract. ESPN reported the Tempo also wante…
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