The WNBA will welcome two new teams in the 2026 season: the Toronto Tempo and the Portland Fire. There is no set date on when an expansion draft will happen due to ongoing Collective Bargaining Agreement negotiations. However, that won’t stop us from wondering which players the Mystics will protect from being sent to Toronto or Portland, even if it’s just for what should be a hectic free agency season.
In the 2025 WNBA Expansion Draft for the Golden State Valkyries, the Mystics and all WNBA teams were allowed to protect six players regardless of status. When the draft for the Valkyries was held in Dec. 2024, Golden State selected Julie Vanloo, who was Washington’s starting point guard in 2024 but was a 31-year-old Belgian veteran who didn’t figure to be part of the Mystics’ future after then-General Manager Mike Thibault and then-Head Coach Eric Thibault were let go.
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Now, let’s take a look at the Mystics’ current roster and their status heading into the 2026 season.
Mystics 2025 roster by 2026 status
Unrestricted Free Agents (player can sign with any team): Alysha Clark, Stefanie Dolson, Jade Melbourne
Restricted Free Agents (player can negotiate and sign an offer sheet with any team but the Mystics can match): Sug Sutton, Shakira Austin
Reserved ( contract ended BUT she can only negotiate her next contract with the 2025 team: Emily Engstler, Madison Scott
On contract for 2026 season: Sonia Citron, Kiki Iriafen, Georgia Amoore, Jacy Sheldon, Lucy Olsen
Players the Mystics hold draft rights to, though they never signed: Nastja Claessens, Txell Alarcon
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Okay, so which players would the Mystics be most likely to protect?
The rules aren’t out yet, but for the purposes of this exercise, we will assume that Washington gets to protect six players from their last-day-of-the-2025 season roster and their unsigned draft picks. Here are the players whom I think make sense for Washington to keep based on each category.
Unrestricted Free Agents: Melbourne seems to be the best candidate to be protected. This is because I don’t see the Mystics feeling desperate to keep Clark or Dolson. That’s one.
Restricted Free Agents: Both Sutton and Austin are likely to be protected That’s two more protected players so we are up to three.
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Reserved: None. While I like Engstler, I also don’t necessarily see the Fire or Tempo selecting her in an expanson draft scenario.
Players on contract for 2026: Citron, Iriafen, Amoore. All three are 2025 draft picks. Citron and Iriafen are All-Stars. Amoore is someone the Mystics want to see grow with them in 2026.
So in short, if I were Mystics General Manager Jamila Wideman, she is most likely protecting Citron, Iriafen, Amoore, Austin, Sutton and Melbourne. Agree or disagree? Let us know in the comments below.
