With only 12 teams and a total of 144 available roster spots, the WNBA can be considered as arguably the toughest professional sports league to break into. Out of all the players currently in the WNBA, Washington Mystics' forward Emily Engstler knows those challenges all too well.
Emily Engstler was a lottery pick, No. 4 overall in the 2022 WNBA Draft, by the Indiana Fever. Despite a solid rookie season during which she appeared in 35 games averaging 5.2 points and 5.2 rebounds while shooting 35.6 percent from three-point range, the Fever decided to cut Engstler ahead of the 2023 season.
She spent the majority of the 2023 season playing on a hardship contract for the Minnesota Lynx followed by a 7-day contract. In the WNBA, teams are allowed to sign players beyond the roster maximum of 12 to hardship contracts if they have two or more players unavailable. Once an injured or absent player returns to the active roster, that hardship contract is immediately terminated.
It took about one month into the 2023 season before Engstler was signed to her first hardship contract with the Lynx. It can be a little nerve-wracking dealing with the uncertainty, but Engstler made sure to keep herself busy while waiting for a call.
“If you're at home and you're waiting on a call or something like that, if this is what you want, the best thing for you to do is make sure you're getting in the gym every other day, working out, lifting, staying in shape because you never know when it's gonna happen,” Engstler told ClutchPoints in an exclusive interview. “But also, taking the time to go spend time with family and not stress out about it. Your hard work is gonna show. . it can be hard but I think it's worth the overall outcome at the end of the day.”
After the Fever cut Emily Engstler during 2023 training camp, she was immediately scooped up by the Mystics on a camp contract. She played well during camp but did not make the Mystics' final roster. After the hardship contract with the Lynx, Engstler once again found herself a free agent heading into the 2024 season.
When this year's training camp rolled around, Engstler found herself in familiar territory; in camp with the Mystics. She was on a non-guaranteed camp contract and was facing the exact same situation from the year before, having to make the regular season roster out of camp.
Engslter acknowledged the nervous emotions she felt while competing in camp, but she was determined to let her play do all the talking.
“It's a little nerve-wracking, it makes me nervous. You can ask Coach E [Eric Thibault] and Coach Mike [Thibault], Coach Mike had told me the last two years in training camp, ‘Emily, breathe. You know we like you, just play your game.' But at the end of the day, you're nervous,” Engstler said. “I think the second year I got into training camp, the more years I was playing in the league, the experience allowed me to breathe. . .just let your game speak for itself so you're not super nervous. Everybody has a time and place when their career is going to succeed.”
Emily Engstler's role for Mystics is to bring energy
The Mystics opted to go with a full 12-player roster for this season. Due to salary cap restraints, some WNBA teams only carry 11 players into the regular season dropping the actual number of available roster spots below 144. With two new expansion teams set to begin play within the next two years, more opportunities will be available for roster hopefuls.
But in the meantime, players still felt the roster crunch. Out of the 36 players drafted in the 2024 WNBA Draft, only 13 of them made opening-night rosters. Emily Engstler was once again among the players fighting for a coveted WNBA roster spot, but this time the Mystics decided to keep her into the regular season.
With all WNBA contracts becoming fully guaranteed for the remainder of the season on July 16, Engstler has secured some stability for the time being. She's been a key player for a Mystics team that has been hit hard by the injury bug. At the Olympic break, the Mystics were without Shakira Austin, Brittney Sykes and Karlie Samuelson due to various injuries.
Engstler has stepped into the rotation and is producing on a level similar to her rookie year. She's appeared in 18 games and has been averaging 4.5 points and 3.3 rebounds. Perhaps the most noticeable improvement in her game is her three-point shooting. She's knocking them down at a career-high 40 percent clip.
“I think my role is to just be ready for whenever coach needs me. We've had our ups and downs this season, but I think whenever he puts me in the game, I'd like to say that I'm ready every time,” Engstler said. “That's my role, to come off the bench and bring some energy, make open threes and be able to be versatile for the team. I'm going to keep trying to do that and hopefully, it helps us win games.”
Emily Engstler finding her niche in the WNBA
In the WNBA, finding the right situation and fit is everything. Talent or draft position isn't always the determining factor for a player's success. Sometimes it's injuries that open up opportunities for players. In the WNBA, player commitments to overseas teams, especially in an Olympic year, can open up roster spots.
Establishing what you're good at and perfecting that role is crucial in finding long-term stability in the league. Emily Engstler is on her way to doing just that with the Mystics. She's laying the foundation for her career. Engslter was always a good scorer in college from her early Syracuse days to when she transferred to Louisville. But that hasn't been her role in the WNBA.
The blueprint was written during her final season of college basketball at Louisville when she was named to the ACC All-Defensive Team. That's been her calling card this season for the Mystics. She's been tasked with being a high-energy defensive player who isn't always focused on scoring.
“I think that's been my game for the majority of my life coming in from college. I've just been a player who does the little things on the stat sheet. It got me drafted,” Engstler said. “It's something that I'm going to do, it became a part of my game. I try to bring it with me to every team that I go to. I think it's what allows me to stick out, it's what coaches like about me. It makes the game fun for me. I like rebounding, I like blocking shots, I like playing good defense. I'm good at it so I'm going to keep trying to do it and keep getting better at it.”
With about half the WNBA season left to play once the Olympics break is over, Emily Engstler's future with the Mystics or with any other team in the league is once again uncertain. That's the reality many players face when the season is over due to the roster crunch. She is unsigned past this season.
The Mystics are currently not on track to make the playoffs, but Engstler believes they can still salvage this season and get something out of it, especially herself.
“Personally, I want to grow. I just want to be a better player and a better teammate and kind of just be a sponge and learn from the vets on this team and even the rookies like Aaliyah [Edwards]. I learn something new from Aaliyah every day,” Engstler said. “As a team, I want us to keep growing, obviously that's something we want to do. But we want to come out at the end of the season better than how we started. That's our goal.”
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