WNBA Free Agency is here, and news is starting to flood the league fast and furious. With players able to sign with teams starting April 11, stay up to date with Hitting the Hardwood with updates throughout it all with our Free Agency Tracker!
We’ve got you covered on all the Minnesota Lynx free agency and offseason news that breaks, and make sure to come back and catch up on the latest news.
April 16: Supermax Phee, Six Signed to Training Camp Roster
Napheesa Collier was the latest player to re-sign with the Lynx, and as expected, she inked a $1.4 million supermax contract to remain with Minnesota, according to ESPN’s Kendra Andrews. Collier will miss a good chunk of the season due to recovery from ankle surgery, but she should come back and make an impact late in the season as the Lynx hope to make a playoff run.
Earlier in the day, Minnesota announced it has signed six players to training camp contracts, one of which is Gophers star Amaya Battle (more on that below). In addition to battle, the Lynx signed Liatu King, Ra Shaya Kyle, Jade Masogayo, Saylor Poffenbarger and Sakima Walker to the camp roster.
Some notes on the signees:
- Battle, a guard, gets a chance to stay at home after helping the Gophers to the Elite Eight in 2026, averaging 11.1 points, 7.5 rebounds, 3.6 assists, 1.2 steals and shooting 38.3% from the floor in her final season.
- King, a guard, was drafted by the Los Angeles Sparks 28th overall in 2025, appearing in 14 games for the Sparks and Dallas Wings last season while on hardship contracts, averaging 2.7 points, 2.1 rebounds and shooting 48.1% from the field.
- Kyle, a forward who went undrafted out of the University of Miami, averaged a double-double in her final season in Miami, averaging a career-high 16.3 points, 10.5 rebounds, 1.8 assists and 0.7 blocks while shooting 55.8% from the field.
- Masogayo, a forward who went undrafted out of the University of Colorado, helped the Buffaloes to the NCAA Tournament this season, averaging 11.3 points, 4.9 rebounds, 1.8 assists and 1.0 steals while shooting 48.9% from the field.
- Poffenbarger, a guard who went undrafted out of the University of Maryland, helped the Terps to the NCAA Tournament this season while averaging 9.5 points, 7.2 rebounds, 3.2 assists and 1.9 steals while shooting 38.5% from the field.
- Wallace, a forward who went undrafted out of Cal-Berkeley, led her squad in rebounds and blocks this season while ending second in scoring. Wallace averaged 12.5 points, 6.9 rebounds, 1.5 blocks and 1.3 assists while shooting 55.4% from the field.
April 14: More additions for Minnesota
After adding two players in the WNBA Draft on Monday night, that being Olivia Miles out of TCU (second overall) and Lani White out of Utah (45th overall), Minnesota added another talent on Tuesday — one Minnesota fans are very familiar with.
The Minnesota Gophers announced Tuesday that Amaya Battle has received an invitation to join the Lynx in training camp, which begins April 19.
Battle, who finished her career with the Gophers second in program history in assists, will certainly get her shot at competing for a roster spot. And if she falls short of securing one of the 12 roster spots, the Lynx also have two developmental spots — an addition with the new CBA — for players such as Battle who the team wants to keep but don’t add to the final roster.
Battle not only has the Minnesota connection, but she is also very familiar with the Lynx coaching staff. Lynx assistant Lindsay Whalen recruited Battle to the Gophers, with the two now reuniting with the Lynx.
April 12: Williams chooses Golden State; Court Back & K-Mac, and more!
With many holding out hope that the Lynx would be able to add free agent forward Gabby Williams in free agency, those hopes were squandered on Sunday when Williams chose to sign with the Golden State Valkyries.
On Saturday, it was reported that Williams was down to Minnesota, Golden State and Las Vegas in her free agency decision, but ultimately signed with the Valkyries where she likely got more money than she would have with the other two finalists.
Minutes after Williams’ announcement, news broke that Courtney Williams is returning to Minnesota on a two-year deal worth $2.4 million. The Lynx finally break through and are on the board in free agency for a retention and not a subtraction. ESPN’s Alexa Philippou had it first.
Per ESPN’s Ramona Shelburne, Kayla McBride has also re-signed with the Lynx on a two-year deal in the “lower max salary” range. Minnesota gets its starting backcourt back.
Additionally, per Ramona Shelburne, the Lynx have agreed with Natasha Howard on a two-year deal worth $1.4 million. The veteran forward returns to Minnesota where she spent two seasons from 2016-2017, helping the team to reach the Finals in her first year as a Lynx, and winning it the next year. Howard started all 44 games for Indiana in 2025, and averaged 11.4 points and 6.6 rebounds per game.
The Minnesota Lynx also agreed to terms with Hopkins High School alum Nia Coffey. A veteran of nine WNBA seasons, Coffey spent the last four in Atlanta and didn’t miss a game over the past two seasons.
Minnesota also stands to lose DiJonai Carrington, who has agreed to a one-year deal worth $1 million with the Chicago Sky, per ESPN’s Alexa Philippou.
At 5:14 pm Central Time the Lynx announced a whole host of signings, adding six more players to this year’s training camp. They agreed to training camp contracts with Emma Čechová, Antonia Delaere, Eliška Hamzová, Reigan Richardson and Jaylyn Sherrod, and signed Aubrey Griffin to her rookie scale contract.
Some quick hitters:
- Čechová earned All-Star Five honors at the 2026 FIBA World Cup qualifying tournament in March, helping Czechia to qualify for the tournament proper this September. The 6’5″ post player averaged 14.4 points and 6.8 boards per game during the five-game slate and also competed with ZVVZ USK Praha in the ZBL and EuroLeague this season.
- Hamzová is another member of the Czechia national team and averaged 7.0 points on 45.7% shooting from the field, along with 5.0 rebounds, 3.4 assists and 2.0 steals per game World Cup qualifying play.
- Delaere is a sweet-shooting Belgian, who has represented her country in multiple Olympic Games and helped Belgium win EuroBasket titles in 2023 and 2025. Mike Thibault, the father of current Minnesota Lynx associate head coach Eric Thibault, has been the head coach of the Belgian National team since January of 2025.
- Richardson spent the 2025 training camp with the Minnesota Lynx. She spent last season with Spar Gran Canaria in the Spanish LF Endesa, averaging 14.6 points, 4.8 rebounds, 2.0 assists and 1.4 steals per game.
- Griffin was selected by the Lynx with the No. 37 pick in the 2025 WNBA Draft, but was held out of the entire season to recover from injury.
- Sherrod will officially be back in camp after catching on with the Lynx at midseason last year. The former Colorado Buffalo played in Athletes Unlimited this offseason, averaging 9.2 points and 2.8 assists per game in 12 games at AU. Reeve described Sherrod as an “extremely coachable” player late last year. Don’t be surprised if she sticks in Minnesota for the long haul.
April 11: And then there were three, Lynx still alive in the Gabby Williams sweepstakes; Alanna Smith moving on
Just after 5 pm Central Time, Alanna Smith posted a ‘thank you’ post on her Instagram page. The text reads, “It’s hard to put into words what my time in Minnesota has meant to me. This team and this city embraced me and I am so grateful for all the love and support and how this Aussie girl was welcomed with open arms. Forever will hold a special place in my heart. Thank you.”
Per ESPN’s Andraya Carter, free agent wing Gabby Williams has narrowed her finalists down to three: the Golden State Valkyries, the Las Vegas Aces, and the Minnesota Lynx. Sources indicated to Hitting the Hardwood yesterday that Williams would be making her final decision on Saturday.
Williams and Napheesa Collier were college teammates for three seasons at UConn, winning the 2015-16 national championship together.
April 10: Shepard heads to Dallas, Hiedeman says “with love,” and no go for Nneka
It was a busy news day for the Lynx, with every bit of news reporting that players have decided to sign elsewhere (so far).
Jessica Shepard, who returned to Minnesota in 2025 after taking the 2024 season off, agreed to sign with the Dallas Wings on a multi-year deal, according to ESPN’s Alexa Philippou. Shepard is ready for an expanded role, and she will likely get that opportunity in Dallas.
Earlier in the day, another domino in the construction of the Lynx’s 2026 roster fell in a big way on Friday morning when Natisha Hiedeman said fare thee well to Minnesota on her Instagram page. In adjacent reporting, Hiedeman is expected to sign with the Seattle Storm on a two-year deal. Khristina Williams had it first.
The Nneka Ogwumike to Minnesota by way of #balloongate lasted for all of one day. Ogwumike announced on social media she is returning to the Los Angeles Sparks. The franchise that took her with the No. 1 overall pick in the 2012 WNBA. Ogwumike and the Sparks defeated the Lynx in a particularly memorable 2016 WNBA Finals, with the Lynx of course avenging that loss the following season.
April 8: Balloons and Sherrod accepts qualifying offer
No better way for news to break than with balloons, right?? On Wednesday, news emerged on — of all places — Instagram that veteran free agent Nneka Ogwumike was making a visit with the Lynx.
A Minnesota balloon company caused a frenzy among Lynx and WNBA fans after sharing a video of helping with a balloon arch around the words “Welcome Nneka.”
While fans immediately thought that meant Ogwumike was signing with Minnesota, it was just a visit and not a signing. Not saying that a signing wouldn’t eventually happen, but this visit was just the first step.
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After being offered that qualifying offer a day prior, Jaylyn Sherrod accepted that offer and soon after signed a training camp contract with the Lynx.
The guard appeared in eight games with Minnesota in 2025 after joining the team in August, averaging 1.0 points, 0.5 rebounds and 0.3 assists in 4.8 minutes per game off the bench.
April 7: Lynx core Collier, send qualifying offer to Sherrod
To no surprise, Minnesota placed the core designation on Napheesa Collier, which keeps her away from even hitting the free agent market and guaranteeing a one-year supermax contract worth $1.4 million. Along with that, the Lynx put forth a qualifying offer to Jaylyn Sherrod, who joined the Lynx during the 2025 season after playing with New York.
April 6: Juhász “set active”
A player who many are wondering if she’ll make a return in 2026 is Dorka Juhász, who remained overseas during the 2025 season and had her contract suspended. With her contract resuming this year if she comes back to the WNBA, Juhász could very well come back to Minnesota to rejoin the Lynx like Jessica Shepard did the year prior.
On Monday, Juhász officially was “set active” according to the WNBA Transactions Wire. This move doesn’t set anything in stone, but it’s a step that needs to be taken by the Lynx in order for her to return to the league after one or more seasons away. Terry Horstman dives into it all here.