Stanford in the Pros: Cardinal WNBA Stars Hitting Free Agency

The WNBA season is nearly here. After an extensive labor battle, the league and the players' union reached a verbal agreement on a new collective bargaining agreement, making it almost certain that the 2026 WNBA season will begin on time on May 8, barring any fallouts.

But before the season can begin, teams have an offseason to go through that consists of the annual draft, an expansion draft and the free agency process. And as is the case each and every year, several big name stars will hit the open market and be available for negotiations with other teams.

For the Stanford Cardinal, multiple former stars will be free agents and look to either call somewhere else home or return to the teams they spent 2025 with. From the up-and-coming stars such as Lexie Hull to the legends of the game in Nneka Ogwumike, these ex-Cardinal stars will surely be in for large paydays.

Alanna Smith

Smith, an All-Defensive Team selection and the WNBA Co-Defensive Player of the Year for 2025, is entering the market as arguably the most coveted free agent of the trio. The former No. 8 overall pick from the 2019 WNBA Draft started her career with the Phoenix Mercury before joining the Indiana Fever and Chicago Sky, but was never able to fully live up to her potential at any of those stops.

Then, Smith joined the Minnesota Lynx and the rest has been history, as she has evolved into one of the league's top players on one of the league's top teams, and is coming off of a season in which she averaged 9.6 points, 5.1 rebounds and 2.9 assists. She also played a central role in guiding the Lynx to the WNBA Finals in 2024.

While a return to Minnesota is a likely outcome, Smith will generate a lot of interest from all teams looking for a star center. She can be a real difference-maker wherever she ends up.

Nneka Ogwumike

A future Hall of Famer, Ogwumike is approaching the final years of her career. But if she has shown anything over the last couple of seasons, it's that she has plenty left in the tank while continuing to climb up the all-time WNBA leaderboards.

A 10-time All-Star, and making it to each of the last four, Ogwumike spent the last two seasons with the Seattle Storm after spending the first 12 seasons of her career with the Los Angeles Sparks.

An All-WNBA second-team selection in 2025, Ogwumike played in and started a career-high of 44 games, averaging 18.3 points, 2.3 assists and 7.0 rebounds.

Ogwumike still brings a ton of value to any team that shows interest in her, and while the Storm would love to have her back, they are in the midst of a rebuild. For a soon to be 36-year-old star looking to win a second ring, she may opt to take her talents to a contender.

Lexie Hull

A three-time All-Pac-12 team selection, two-time Pac-12 All-Defensive Team selection and an NCAA champion with Stanford, Hull's college career was one to remember, leading her to be drafted sixth overall in 2022 by the Indiana Fever.

And while she struggled to establish herself as a true star in her first three seasons in the league, Hull broke out in 2025, playing in all 44 games with 30 starts and averaging a career high of 7.2 points, 4.3 rebounds and 1.8 assists. Her strong season played a big role in the Fever winning their highest number of games in franchise history.

A restricted free agent, the Fever can match any contract that Hull is offered by other teams in free agency or earn compensation if she leaves. That gives both Hull and the team more leverage if they want her to return to Indiana in 2026, and she seems to be fitting in quite well with the other stars of the franchise.

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