WNBA Expansion surges forward with 2025 schedule and draft news

Toronto fans are getting a sneak peak of what next year’s process will look like as the Valkyries prepare to enter the WNBA.

WNBA fans are getting an early Christmas present! The league announced the 2025 season schedule on Monday, and it has an exciting element — the newest expansion team is officially in the mix!

The Golden State Valkyries, the WNBA’s 13th team, will enter the league as they play their first game on May 16th. They will welcome the LA Sparks to their new home at Chase Center. While this is exciting for fans in the Bay Area of course, fans in Toronto are also excitedly looking at the Valkyries expansion process as we prepare to do the same leading up to the 2026 WNBA season.

The WNBA Toronto expansion franchise was announced in May of 2024, and since then we have been waiting for updates. Immediately it was released that the team will play at Coca-Cola Coliseum, and Teresa Resch will serve as President. Since then, more executives have been announced, and the franchise launched a naming and design campaign. They’ve been slowly announcing which names have NOT been selected, and the official name announcement is expected in the new year.

After the Valkyries announced their name earlier this year, which is a nod to the female Norse Warriors and a tie to their brother-franchise the Golden State Warriors, they announced their General Manager. From there, a head coaching search began, eventually landing on former Las Vegas Aces Associate Head Coach Natalie Nakase. Now, the Valkyries prepare for their expansion draft on Friday December 6th.

They will select from a pool of WNBA players from other teams. Each of the 12 other teams were able to protect six of their players, and Golden State will be able to draft any of the remaining players to their roster. They will also be able to core one free agent from the pool, before heading into regular WNBA free agency in the new year.

As Toronto fans look on to this process, a reminder that it will look a little different as we go through it next year. While Golden State is the only new team entering the league this upcoming season, Toronto is sharing their debut with Portland, so there will be two teams holding expansion drafts next year.

Still, it’s an exciting time as we anticipate the process. Toronto will likely announce their General Manager and begin their head coaching search as we enter 2025. The recent trends of coaching hires in the WNBA have been wide open, so the team will likely look everywhere from current WNBA assistants/coaches, to college coaches, and maybe even hit the international field a little bit.

It’s an exciting time in the WNBA, and expansion finally feels real!