UCLA Women's Basketball: Charisma Osborne Heading Back to WNBA After Being Picked Up

Osborne returns to the WNBA.

Brad Penner-USA TODAY Sports

Former UCLA women's basketball standout Charisma Osborne is returning to the WNBA after she was picked up by the Phoenix Mercury. The Mercury announced Thursday that they were signing the free agent Osborne, and had waived forward Morgan Bertsch.

The Phoenix Mercury today announced the signing of free agent guard Charisma Osborne. Forward Morgan Bertsch has been waived. pic.twitter.com/qgZiqjYJaK

— Phoenix Mercury (@PhoenixMercury) June 13, 2024

The rookie Osborne was initially drafted by the Mercury with the first pick of the third round of the 2024 WNBA Draft. Osborne was originally on the Mercury for nearly a month but was waived on May 11, just days before the start of the 2024 WNBA season. Now, she gets another shot with the Mercury.

Due to the limited amount of roster spots with the WNBA holding 12 teams, it's hard for third-round picks like Osborne to have a consistent roster spot and she is far from the only draft pick to get waived less than a month later. This should improve as the WNBA expands, but for now, Osborne might very well have to cling to a fringe roster spot.

Osborne entered the WNBA after spending five seasons with the Bruins, where she was one of UCLA's top players. The 5-foot-9 guard made the All-Pac-12 team four times and was a two-time Pac-12 All-Defensive Team member. She averaged 13.9 points, 5.2 rebounds, and 4.0 assists per game in her final Bruin season.

Over her career, Osborne averaged 14.9 points, 5.9 rebounds, 2.8 assists, and 1.4 assists per game. She led UCLA to the NCAA Sweet 16 during each of her last two seasons in college, and now hopes to contribute to the Mercury.

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