Bridget Carleton, a former Iowa State standout who spent last season with the Minnesota Lynx, was the first overall selection in Friday’s WNBA expansion draft as the Portland Fire returned to the league after a 24-year absence. The expansion draft, staged to stock the rosters of the new Portland Fire and the Toronto Tempo, gives both clubs a foundation of veterans as they prepare for the 2026 season and the April 13 college draft.
Portland used its top expansion pick on Carleton, who averaged 6.5 points per game for the Lynx last season and enters the Fire as an unrestricted free agent. “Once we finalized our process, and zoomed in on Bridget, and knew we had our first expansion pick, it was obvious we did not want to have Toronto hold our destiny in their hands,” Fire general manager Vanja Cernivec said, explaining Portland’s decision to take the top expansion choice rather than defer.
Toronto won a pre-draft coin flip and elected to trade away the expansion draft’s top selection in order to secure the sixth pick in the college draft on April 13 — a move that handed Portland the first pick in the expansion draft and left the Fire with the seventh pick in the upcoming college draft. The Tempo used their opening selection on guard Julie Allemand, who averaged 5.4 points, 3.7 rebounds and five assists in 34 games last season with the Los Angeles Sparks.
The expansion draft spanned two rounds, with each team able to make up to six picks per round under rules that limited losses by existing franchises. Clubs protected five players apiece ahead of the draft — protection lists were not made public — and no team could lose more than two players overall. If a team lost a player in the first round, a second player from that franchise could not be taken until the second round. Teams were also permitted to select no more than one unrestricted free agent, and both Carleton and veteran Marina Mabrey (selected by Toronto later in the draft) were UFAs.
Several pre-draft deals shaped the available pool: the Chicago Sky announced trades with both expansion clubs that effectively shielded Sky players from being selected. In return, the Fire acquired the No. 17 pick in the college draft and the Tempo obtained pick No. 26.
After Allemand, Toronto’s expansion selections included center Nyara Sabally, guard Marina Mabrey, forward Aaliya Nye, guard Lexi Held and forward Maria Conde in the first round. The Tempo’s second round additions featured Maria Kliundikova, Adja Kane, Nikolina Milic, Kitija Laksa and Kristy Wallace. Portland’s roster-building included first-round picks Carla Leite, Luisa Geiselsoder, Emily Engstler, Maya Caldwell and Chloe Bibby, followed by second-round selections Haley Jones, Nyadiew Puoch, Sara Ashlee Barker, Sug Sutton and Nika Muhl.
Portland’s new Fire franchise revives the city’s WNBA presence for the first time since the original Fire operated from 2000 to 2002. With Carleton as the expansion draft’s first pick and a mix of veterans and younger players added around her, Portland’s front office will now turn toward the April college draft and further roster moves as it builds a competitive squad for its league return.