Former Rutgers Star Betnijah Laney-Hamilton Claimed by Washington Mystics

The Washington Mystics have added championship experience to their roster by claiming former Rutgers women’s basketball standout Betnijah Laney-Hamilton off waivers.

Washington officially announced the move on Saturday, Aug. 8. The Mystics waived guard Rori Harmon in a corresponding transaction.

Laney-Hamilton started the 2026 season with the New York Liberty. Throughout the season, Laney-Hamilton played in 17 games, started 5 of them, and has gotten off to a slow start. As a 6-foot guard-forward, Laney-Hamilton averaged 4.7 points, 1.9 rebounds, and 1.5 assists in 16.8 minutes of playing time per game. She was waived by the Liberty two days ago.

Washington appears to be on the verge of the playoffs, and with the team entering the closing stretch of the regular season, Betnijah will get to contribute to a very lively Washington team.

Currently, the Mystics are 18-12 and riding a six-game winning streak, which has Mystics fans feeling optimistic about their team, and talks are circulating about how deep in the playoffs this team could potentially go.

Washington is scheduled to host the Phoenix Mercury on Sunday at 3 p.m. ET.

Championship experience arrives in Washington

Laney-Hamilton is off to a slow start this season at Washington, but brings much experience with her.

The former Scarlet Knight has career averages of 9.2 points, 3.2 rebounds and 2.4 assists across 251 regular-season games, including 160 starts. Washington becomes the sixth organization of her WNBA career following previous stops with the Chicago Sky, Connecticut Sun, Indiana Fever, Atlanta Dream and Liberty.

Real fans know that the 2020 season was a breakthrough season for Laney-Hamilton, which was the season where she averaged a career-high 17.2 points, 4.9 rebounds, 4 assists, and 1.6 steals per game playing for the Atlanta Dream. Everyone who loves Betnijah was in for a treat that year. She shot 48.1 percent from the field and 40.5 percent from 3-point range on her way to earning WNBA Most Improved Player and All-Defensive First Team honors.

Betnijah was also honored as a WNBA All-Star Playing with New York in 2021, and while she played for Liberty in 2023, she was selected to the WNBA All-Defensive Team.

Laney-Hamilton was part of the team that helped bring home the Liberty’s first WNBA Championship in 2024. She played in and started all 11 games of the Liberty’s postseason run, including Game 2 of the WNBA Finals against the Minnesota Lynx, where she scored 20 points and shot 8-for-14 from the floor and 4-for-6 from three-point range.

Betnijah could provide a boost to the Mystics in the form of physical defense, postseason experience, and contributions beyond points scored, all without requiring a high volume of shots.

Laney-Hamilton built her foundation at Rutgers

Before developing into a WNBA champion and one of the league’s most respected defenders, Laney-Hamilton played four seasons at Rutgers from 2011 through 2015.

She finished her Scarlet Knights career with 1,401 points and 912 rebounds, becoming one of only four players in program history at the time to accumulate at least 1,400 points and 900 rebounds.

Laney-Hamilton averaged 15.8 points and 10.7 rebounds per game during her senior season at Rutgers, where she posted 20 double-doubles en route to the team’s second-round appearance in the 2015 NCAA Tournament. During her final year of competition, Hamilton earned national recognition for her 24-point, 24-rebound performance against No. 6 North Carolina.

The 24 rebounds established a Rutgers Athletic Center record for either the men’s or women’s basketball program.

Laney-Hamilton earned Associated Press All-America honorable mention recognition and was selected to the All-Big East First Team by both the conference’s coaches and media. Chicago subsequently selected her with the 17th overall pick in the second round of the 2015 WNBA Draft.

More than a decade later, Laney-Hamilton’s professional journey continues in Washington, where another postseason opportunity may await one of the most accomplished Scarlet Knights currently competing in the WNBA.

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