The WNBA has a lot in store for the month of April, and the first thing to take care of was the expansion draft, which included the Portland Fire and Toronto Tempo. With the first two picks, the Fire and Tempo selected Bridget Carleton and Julie Allemand, according to NBA host Khristina.
“With the first pick in the 2026 Expansion Draft, the Portland Fire select Bridget Carleton,” Khristina wrote on X, formerly Twitter.
“With the second pick in the 2026 Expansion Draft, the Toronto Tempo select Julie Allemand.”
The Fire roster now includes Haley Jones, Carla Leite, Nyadiew Puoch, Luisa Geiselsoder, Sarah Ashlee Barker, Emily Engstler, Sug Sutton, Maya Caldwell, Nika Mühl and Chloe Bibby.
As for the Tempo, their roster included Nyara Sabally, Marina Mabrey, Aaliyah Nye, Lexi Held, Maria Conde, Maria Kliundikova, Adja Kane, Nikolina Milic, Kitija Laksa and Kristy Wallace.
Azura Stevens of the Los Angeles Sparks was a candidate to be drafted, but she has remained safe on the roster. Though there was a chance that Stevens could have been drafted, she still thought it was a good opportunity for the growth of the league.
“I think it’s awesome. The game is growing so I think we see that. I think they’re both great cities,” Stevens said. “Toronto, the summer there is really awesome. Same with Portland. It’s exciting. It’s exciting for the game, it’s exciting for the league, especially with the CBA and everything finally getting done. So I think it’s great overall growth for the women’s game.”
