rewrite this content and keep HTML tags (remove this from content : rewrite this content and keep HTML tags)
Less than a month after the 2025 WNBA Draft, the first roster cuts are beginning to fall. On Saturday, the Golden State Valkyries announced that they had waived Shyanne Sellers, the team’s second-round pick.
Sellers, a guard from Maryland, was selected 17th overall by Golden State, but was dropped by the team just a week into training camp.
Advertisement
In a league where teams are limited to 12 players on the regular-season roster, putting players on waivers will become increasingly common over the coming weeks. But while some undrafted players have already been waived, Sellers is the first player selected in the draft to get cut.
Valkyries head coach Natalie Nakase, who is maneuvering Golden State through its inaugural season, told reporters that Sellers was waived not because of a lack of talent, but simply because of space.
“She picked up everything we asked her to, did everything we asked. It’s just that I have to choose the best 12 that are going to fit. Doesn’t mean it’s the most talented, it means it’s the best 12,” Nakase said, via ESPN’s Kendra Andrews.
Advertisement
Sellers was a star at Maryland, earning three straight Big Ten First-Team selections and putting up an average of 14.1 points per game with the Terrapins. During her time at Maryland, Sellers built up a significant online following: The guard boasts 23.2K followers on Instagram and 94K followers on TikTok. Many of these fans were upset after Sellers was waived.
For Golden State, the simple answer was that they had too many guards. On the current roster as of Saturday, seven of the the Valkyries’ 18 signed players are guards, including some locks like veteran Tiffany Hayes and fan favorite Kate Martin.
Sellers getting cut marks only the beginning of a cutthroat WNBA preseason. After taking 38 total players in the 2025 Draft, plus others who may have signed free agency contracts, the 13 WNBA squads will have to cut down to 12 players by the start of the regular season on May 16. That means some tough choices on players who just began their WNBA journey.
Even players who are stars in their college careers can have a hard time cutting it in the WNBA. Former North Carolina star Alyssa Ustby, one of the more notable undrafted players, was waived by the Los Angeles Sparks on Friday after signing a training camp contract with the team. In the coming weeks, other noteworthy names at the collegiate level are likely to follow.
