WNBA roster cuts: Kaitlyn Chen, Deja Kelly, Shyanne Sellers among those waived ahead of 2025 season tipoff

The WNBA season is just around the corner, and with it comes players cuts. The preseason brings with it a highly competitive race for the league’s coveted roster spots before the regular season begins May 16.

Despite bringing in a 13th team this year with the addition of the Golden State Valkyries, the WNBA is still one of the smallest professional leagues in the country. Rookies have to compete with veteran players for the 12 spots on each team — and many will not make it.

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Just a few weeks after the 2025 WNBA Draft, teams are beginning to waive some of the NCAA stars they drafted. A couple of notable names in the college scene have already been waived, with more surprising cuts still likely to come.

Who are some of the notable players to get waived?

One of the first notable rookies to get waived was Shyanne Sellers, who was waived by the Golden State Valkyries on May 3. The Maryland guard and 17th overall pick was eventually picked up by the Atlanta Dream, a team entering a new era after a busy offseason before being waived again on May 12.

Another notable cut was Bree Hall, who was waived by the Indiana Fever on May 5. Hall, a former South Carolina guard with two NCAA championships, was selected with one of the Fever’s second-round picks (20th overall).

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On May 7, Harmoni Turner — a standout guard at Harvard and the reigning Ivy League Player of the Year — joined the list of fan favorites to get cut when she was waived by the Las Vegas Aces. Turner was picked by the Aces in the third round, at 35th overall.

Why are so many WNBA players getting waived?

When it comes to the WNBA, the simple answer is that there aren’t enough spots to accommodate the number of talented players coming in from the NCAA. With 13 teams at 12 spots each, there are only 156 total roster spots across the league — with many of those spots already taken up by veterans and stars.

In general, while first-round draft picks are likely to make rosters, most players selected in the WNBA Draft will not.

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Those 12-player final rosters must be set before the start of the regular season. More than two dozen players across the WNBA have already been waived, but a good chunk of those players are rookies who went undrafted.

Is the salary cap a factor?

Honestly, money is not really part of the equation when it comes to the flurry of waived players during the preseason. The current minimum annual salary in the WNBA is $66,079 for a rookie salary — a number that might change soon, with the league’s collective bargaining agreement set to expire in the fall. Players who are selected in the third round or go undrafted earn that amount in their first years.

All of the WNBA teams have the cap space to sign rookie players, according to Spotrac, but the restrictions on roster spots are what keep teams so limited.

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Rookie contracts are non-guaranteed, so teams are off the hook when they cut rookies, but a team that picks up a waived player will also pick up their existing rookie-scale contract.

What’s next for players who get waived?

The WNBA’s small rosters are a point of contention, as the league also doesn’t have any kind of minor league, like the NBA’s G League, where players can sign and develop. Most players who don’t make rosters will end up traveling abroad to other leagues in countries like China, Russia, Turkey and more.

Many of those leagues pay more than the WNBA, though players who are not big-name talent tend to make low six figures.

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Other notable who have been waived:

Beyond Sellers, Hall and Turner, plenty of other players and draftees who were big names in college have been cut already. Here’s a look at some of the names worth noting: