The WNBA has announced that an expansion draft will take place on April 3 for the newly added franchises in Portland and Toronto. A coin toss will determine which team gets to choose between the first pick in the expansion draft or the No. 6 pick in the college draft on April 13. The other team will then select seventh in the college draft.
Following the recent ratification of the new collective bargaining agreement by the league’s Board of Governors, the rules for the expansion draft were revealed. The draft will consist of two rounds, with each team having up to six picks per round. Picks will alternate between teams, with the team picking second in the first round getting the first pick in the subsequent round.
The expansion draft will involve selecting players left unprotected by their current WNBA teams, with a limit of one player per existing team being chosen. Teams have until Sunday to submit a list of five protected players, which can include players they had rights to on the final day of the 2025 regular season.
Players with five or more years of service post the 2025 season must be listed as unrestricted free agents or included in the unprotected list. Toronto and Portland are permitted to select only one potential unrestricted free agent each, with the opportunity to negotiate a supermax contract worth up to $1.4 million annually under the new CBA.
This marks the second consecutive year of an expansion draft in the league, with Golden State’s entry last year resulting in the team becoming the first expansion franchise to reach the playoffs.