Overview
- The two-round expansion draft, which aired Friday at 3:30 p.m. ET on ESPN, set the first rosters for the Portland Fire and Toronto Tempo after a coin toss gave Portland the opening pick and Toronto the first choice in Round 2.
- Portland opened by selecting Bridget Carleton from the Minnesota Lynx, launching a slate of picks that also saw incumbent clubs lose contributors as the two newcomers filled initial spots.
- Indiana lost two players across the rounds, including Chloe Bibby and Kristy Wallace, with Fever star Caitlin Clark noting both moves on social media in a nod to the personal toll of roster churn.
- Pre‑draft agreements with Chicago kept all Sky players off limits, with Portland moving up to No. 17 in the college draft in a swap for No. 21 and Toronto receiving pick No. 26 in exchange for passing on Chicago’s unprotected players.
- New rules limited each existing team to five protected players, capped combined losses at two per team in different rounds, and allowed each expansion club to select only one impending unrestricted free agent with exclusive supermax negotiating rights, as protected lists remained private and attention now turns to the April 13 college draft and the May 8 season opener.