With two new teams joining the WNBA in 2026 to bring the total to 15 teams, the league held an Expansion Draft for the second straight offseason on Friday.
The Portland Fire and Toronto Tempo took part in the 2026 Expansion Draft, beginning to assemble their rosters ahead of the new year. The draft consisted of two rounds, with both teams having the ability to select from a designated pool of available players who weren’t protected by the existing 13 WNBA teams.
Among the players selected, Portland
and Toronto acquired the rights to acquire the player contract of, or the negotiating rights to, one player listed on the unprotected list of players.
When it comes to how the Minnesota Lynx were impacted, two players were plucked from the Lynx a year after the team lost Cecilia Zandalasini to the Golden State Valkyries in the 2025 Expansion Draft.
Bridget Carleton and Maria Kliundikova were selected in this year’s draft, with Portland selecting Carleton first overall and Toronto selecting Kliundikova in the second round.
Bridget Carleton
Losing Carleton will result in Minnesota looking for a new starting spot to fill and will leave a void of a player who was more so a glue player in the Lynx starting lineup and rotation.
“Bridget really stood out. We wanted secure her to make sure she is on our roster, and the way to do that was to take her No. 1,” Portland Fire GM Vanja Černivec said after the draft on ESPN. “Bridget is someone everyone wants to play with. What she brings on both ends of the floor, we’re very excited.”
Carleton has spent nearly the entirety of her career with Minnesota, playing all but four games in her seven-year WNBA career with the Lynx. After primarily coming off the bench most of her career, Carleton took over a starting job in 2024 and resumed that role last summer. In all 44 games in 2025, Carleton averaged 6.5 points, 3.6 rebounds, 2.0 assists and 0.8 steals over 27.9 minutes with shooting marks of 40.2% from the field and 37.3% from three.
Carleton doesn’t always fill up the stat sheet, but she does a lot of little things that make a difference and impact the game. That and her personality fit with the Lynx will be missed, but now opens up the opportunity for Minnesota to shake things up in the starting five and gives Carleton a fresh start elsewhere.
Maria Kliundikova
In somewhat of an unexpected surprise of 2025, Kliundikova made her mark on the Lynx after signing with the team during the season and going on to carve out a nice role off the bench. That production is something Minnesota would have liked to see continue in 2026, but now the Lynx will look to who else can fill that role.
In 2025, Kliundikova appeared in 34 of the 44 games, starting in one of those contests. She averaged 4.4 points, 3.0 rebounds, 0.8 blocks, 0.7 steals and 0.6 APG over 11.0 minutes, shooting 50% from the field and 32% from three. And as the season progressed, she say her minutes and role expand along with it.
Kliundikova has plenty to give yet at the age of 27, and Minnesota had hoped she would be in a Lynx uniform to see if she can have a breakout year in 2026. However, she now will have the chance to do just that in Toronto and build on a successful 2025 campaign.
Full Draft Results:
Portland Fire
First Round:
- Bridget Carleton
- Carla Leite
- Luisa Geiselsoder
- Emily Engstler
- Maya Caldwell
- Chloe Bibby
Second Round:
- Haley Jones
- Nyadiew Puoch
- Sarah Ashlee Barker
- Sug Sutton
- Nika Mühl
Toronto Tempo
First Round:
- Julie Allemand
- Nyara Sabally
- Marina Mabrey
- Aaliyah Nye
- Lexi Held
- Maria Conde
Second Round:
- Maria Kliundikova
- Adja Kane
- Nikolina Milic
- Kitija Laksa
- Kristy Wallace
