The first BAY AREA fan podcast exclusively dedicated to the Golden State Valkyries:
UPDATE: Kate Martin Picked up by SPARKS :(
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UPDATE: Kate Martin Picked up by SPARKS :( 〰️
Ndjakalenga Mwenentanda and Ashten Pretchel signed to hardship contracts!
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Ndjakalenga Mwenentanda and Ashten Pretchel signed to hardship contracts! 〰️
“VaLKYRIES, SAY LESS!”
-Hosted by Vanessa Hutchinson-Szekely & Raina Mast-
(KT made this video for Raina and Vanessa!!!!)
LINKS TO WHEREVER YOU GET YOUR PODCASTS:
WELCOME TO SEASON 2 of the Valks!
And our podcast!
The WNBA found a way to PAY THE PLAYERS and here we are! Game on!
Deep breath: Roster changes have been happening due to the expansion draft, the NCAA draft, and the biggest, tightest free agency season ever! And now, as training camp is coming to an end, we are learning about the process of waivers! It’s a stressball doozy!
Update 5/11: With Rupert out for the season for pregnancy, Tip and Cece injured (broken finger and concussion/jaw, respectively), Valks have signed two contracts in the past week: Ndjakalenga Mwenentanda (guard) and Ashten Prechtel (from Philly, graduated from Standford, contract for full season!). It was sad to see Martin jerseys at the first home game after learning she will NOT be our second developmental player. (just Sowah so far) and that Kate signed a devo with the Sparks. The good news is that we are 2-0 and CHEN AND AMIHERE both played awesome this past weekend to prove they were the right choice!
WHO WILL STAY?
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WHO WILL GO?
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WHO WILL STAY? 〰️ WHO WILL GO? 〰️
2026 Roster (SO FAR!)
It’s so hard to follow, right?
Here’s Raina and Vanessa’s helpful organization of the Valks’ ever-CHANGING roster!
We protected our “MIPOY”: VB
Burton was voted The Most Improved Player in the League for 2026, making the classic transition from trusty 6th man on prior teams to our fearless leader, starting every game and averaging 12 ppg. As an RFA (Restricted Free Agent), she was our first big signing of this crazy free agency season. Multi-year baby!
CECE è en la casa (injured 5/8/26)
Cece Zandalsini was our other RFA. She seems like one of Coach Nat’s (and Raina’s) favorites, so we were womanifesting her as a season 2 Valk. Cece signed a one-year contract and is on the rise. In Puerto Rico for the FIBA World Cup qualifying tournament, she was the leading scorer (22pts) to clinch a spot in the World Cup for Italy!
ALL-star Kayla thorNton ON THE MEND!
KT was an UFA (Unrestricted Free Agent), so we feared we’d lose her to good money elsewhere. But we got her! She was injured much of last season and didn’t get to play in the playoffs, our beloved #5 is all healed up and ready to get back to big points and big joy on the court.
Janelle SalaüN: LET’S GOOOOOOOO!
We are thrilled Janelle signed a multi-year contract. She is young and growing like crazy— was MVP in the World Cup qualifying tournament this past winter, and clinched France’s tickets to Berlin in September! We say she’s necessary for the Valks as we look to build a dynasty. She’s also blossoming as a cultural icon growing into her style with those tunnel fits.
IlI’s not silly
Our center Iliana Rupert is not only our essential “big”, but one of the most efficient 3-point shooters in the league/world. This past winter she was a finalist for MVP of the Euroleague, averaging 16 points a game and a career high of 34 points against Avenida. She’s what Coach Nat looks for: versatility, consistency, and big girls shooting 3s. Watch out, for Ili!
ValKairies
Kaila Charles flew in from Dallas last August late in the season on a hardship contract when too many of our Valks were injured. She stepped up, starting 8 games (played in 18 total) and was a leading scorer in our final playoff game with 15 points (Ili had 15 as well). This year, she’s with us from the start of the season and gets a training camp with the team! We can’t wait to see what Kaila brings to the floor.
Gabby WILLIAMS: NEW!
Rumors were flying after Gabby announced she was leaving the Storm. We were getting nervous she was going to the Aces (W Champions last year), but low and behold, she signed a multi-year contract to the Valkyries and officially seals the deal on the trifecta of SAN-FRANCE-CISCO with Ili and Janelle. (Gabby is binational, franco-américain and played for France in the 2021 and 2024 Olympics). Allez les violettes!
COMING SOON! NEW EPISODES ON OUR 2026 FRESHLY SIGNED VALKS:
Kiah Stokes
Another logical choice for Coach Nat! Veteran center Kiah was Aces since 2021, so got to work with Coach Nakase in Vegas when she was coaching there before the Valks. We need height and Coach knows and loves (maybe helped create) the Aces’s system, so this is our 3rd ex-Ace (plus Kate Martin, Tiffany Hayes). Kiah arrives with 3 championship rings. Let’s get another!
Kiah Stokes coming soon!
Justė Joyctė (injured 5/10/26)
No guarantee Justė won’t be a reserve another year (she’s only 20!), but her contract has been activated so we are taking that as a sign! Justė was our first round draft pick last year, but hasn’t been to Ballhalla yet. She spent the year (a great year!) building skills in Europe on Girona. She’s 2x Linthuanian Basketball Player of the Year and has already been nicknamed the “Baby-Faced Assassin” Watch out for Joyctė!
Justė Joyctė coming soon!
Ndjackalenga Mwenetanda (REPLACEMENT CONTRACT 5/8/26)
Iliana Rupert announced her pregnancy May 7th and the Valks brought back Ndjackalenga on May 8th after the League approved the pregnancy/childbirth cap exception. Mwenetanda had been waived after training camp, but had clearly made a good impression! We were surprised that Coach replaced Ili with a guard, but she had more up her sleeve, announcing the signing of 6’5” Ashten Pretchel Sunday night after the 5/10 game to help while Cece and Tip are out!
Ndjakalenga Mwenetanda coming soon!
THE BIG QUESTION ANSWERED!: TIP IS HOME!
If you are like us, you were wondering what was going on behind the scenes to determine the future of our beloved TIP. As an Unrestricted Free Agent, her agent must have been busy negotiating while TIP rested up after a stellar performance for the Phantom in Unrivaled, worked the fashion world in Phoenix, toured Greece, and was busy trolling Raina with photos of 6 Flags in “adventure mode” while the other players started arriving in the Bay for training camp.
But our request for a bat signal worked and TIP hinted with this photo that she was coming home! She teleported back to the Bay over the weekend, announced her resigning 4/18, and arrived happily at training camp with her pup. WELCOME HOME TIP!
The Roster feels pretty complete! *
*(But brace yourselves: trades can happen until August 2nd!)
=1 developmental spot left!
WHAT IS A Developmental player?, You ask!?
Developmental players:
attend practice and are on the roster for 12 games
are paid $6,000 per game and $450 pero week+ benefits and housing.
2026 TRAINING CAMP
THE FOLLOWING PLAYERS WERE Invited Preseason training. Not all wILL make the final roster :(
InVITEES FROM LAST YEAR:
CHEN AND AMIHERE MADE THE ROSTER!
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CHEN AND AMIHERE MADE THE ROSTER! 〰️
PLAY L.A.!
The Bay lost its mind when Laeticia Amihere was waived after an amazing 20 point preseason game. And we were so relieved when she was pulled back to the Valks in June. We LOVE watching her blocks (4 in a game against the Fever!) and hope she turns up the heat in training camp to get signed to the final 2026 roster! (Training camp contract only as of April 16,2026)
KaitlYn Chen
Chen is also a Bay Area fan favorite who was waived and brought back. Chen is young and in her first season of the W did not see a lot of minutes. But has a 33% for 3 pointers, which makes her prime Nakase material. She is the other Season 1 Valk that was offered a training camp contract and we hope she makes it to the final roster! (Training camp contract only as of April 16,2026)
NEW 2026 TRAINING CAMP atendees:
From the 2026 WNBA Draft:
WAIVED 5/2: Marta Suarez (Forward, Texas Christian University) Signed devo with Mercury
Waived 5/2: Ashlon Jackson (Guard, Duke)
Playing internationally and did not report: Kokoro Tanaka (Guard, Japan)
Ndjakalenga Mwenentanda signed! (replacement contract)
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Ndjakalenga Mwenentanda signed! (replacement contract) 〰️
From ELSEWHERe:
signed! to hardship contract 5/8 Ndjakalenga Mwenentanda (Guard, VanderBilt)
waived: 5/2 Mariella Fasoula (center, Greece)
waived 5/2 Miela Sowah (guard, Austrailia),
waived 5/2 Cate Reese (forward, Arizona/Belgium League)
waived 4/28 Caroline Ducharme (guard, UCONN 2026
Waived 4/21 : Bailey Maupin ¡Thank you!
Waived players have 48 hours to be picked up by other teams. If no team poaches them, Then Valks may sign with new developmental contract!
5/5/26=48 hours
from the transaction date on WNBA.com to see who we may re-sign as developmental! Suarez? Sowah?
Fare Thee Well our Bright Stars:
Au revoir Carla LEITE :(
Alas, our number 0 was taken to the Fire in the expansion draft. Our hearts broke and we will miss her crazy passes and diving into bleachers. She’s young and maturing as a point guard and we can’t wait to see what she does out there. We will miss our Leite nights of her inaugural season in the W of 2025.
NO MO
Mo Billings was an unrestricted free agent so got to “shop around.” And we are so happy for her taking the offer for well-deserved big money to move to Indiana—$1.6 million for 2 years! We wish this veteran well as she continues her long career on her 5th team in the WNBA after one year with the Valks in 2025.
TEMI TO TORONTO
This most recent news of free agency hit hard after learning of Mo and Carla. Temi Fagbenle brought grace to the court and style to the tunnels in 2025. We are happy for her getting big money at Toronto ($1 million for one year contract) and will keep an eye on her as she shines big out there.
Flau’Jae not here to stay
Although she was only a Valkyrie for 8 minutes, it was such a dramatic event, that Flau’jae Johnson needs to be mentioned here. It was exciting to have such a strong and charasmatic edition to the roster, but Johnson was traded to the Storm due to a pre-arranged agreement the Valks made to get Suarez plus an extra 2028 draft pick. Our GM Nyanin and Coach Nakase are people of their word and we are excited to see what Marta Suarez brings as the pre-planned strategy. We are sure Flau’jae will continue to shine bright in Seattle and hope it wasn’t too upsetting for the players to get mixed up in the shuffle.
Video above (taken by Raina Mast) shows Rikki’s Women’s Sports Bar at the moment Flau’jae Johnson was drafted by the Golden State Valkyries on April 13, 2026. She was traded minutes later to the Seattle Storm for Marta Suarez in a pre-draft agreement to trade whoever was 8 for 16th + a second round 2028 draft pick.
ROSTER UPDATES COMING SOON!
Saying goodbye to our Glue Kate Martin
Kate was our beloved fan favorite enigma of awkward joyful hard work. Right before the first offical game, she was waived and we held our breath that she’d be signed as our second developmental player. According to Kate, there was talk of this in the negotiations, but the final decision was made to go to LA on a developmental contract for the Sparks. She has good history with Coach Nat (drafted by the Aces when Coach Nat was there), so this one was a hard surprise. Many #20 jerseys were seen at Ballhalla this weekend. She will be missed.
Definitely not losing COACH OF THE YEAR Natalie Nakase!
Coach Nat arrived with a vision and she’s not done yet! We can’t wait to see what her crazy BB IQ has in store for us with our #8 NCAA draft pick and who we are protecting in the expansion draft! Listen to episode 2!