WNBA Rookie Watch: How Did Azzi Fudd, Flau'jae Johnson Fare in Preseason?

A look around the league at the top rookies following preseason play and what it can tell us about each player’s potential role in year one.

Azzi Fudd, the first pick of the 2026 draft, got her first look at WNBA action in the preseason against the Aces and the Fever. | Trevor Ruszkowski-Imagn Images

The WNBA begins its 30th season on Friday after what was a fascinating offseason. Collective bargaining agreement negotiations are in the rearview (can I get a hallelujah?), a truncated free-agency period and two drafts—one of the expansion and another of the entry variety—have taken place. It’s finally time for some basketball.

With limited roster spots, the WNBA is the most difficult professional sports league to find your footing. Young players and high draft picks often found themselves on the outside looking in. That remains the case, but the path has gotten a bit more reasonable this year. What was just 144 total roster spots two seasons ago has grown to 180 this year with the addition of the expansion franchises in Portland and Toronto, plus Golden State who joined the party last season. 

The new CBA allows teams to add up to two development players for the first time, which creates a new way to grow into an everyday player. Still, the W isn’t overflowing with roster spots, but first-year players have a bit more wiggle room to establish themselves than if they came into the league just a couple of years ago.

The 2026 draft class is the first to experience that and the opportunities will only grow through the end of the decade as the Detroit, Cleveland and Philadelphia expansion franchises join the mix. Still, players who enter the WNBA through the collegiate ranks have an unbelievably fast turnaround since the two seasons are right up against one another. 

New NCAA champions Lauren Betts and Gabriela Jaquez played in their first WNBA preseason games less than three weeks after they led UCLA to the program’s first ever title. Top pick Azzi Fudd played in the Final Four, while second pick Olivia Miles went to the Elite Eight. And then there’s Awa Fam, the extreme talent out of Spain who Seattle selected with the No. 3 pick. She didn’t play during the preseason due to commitments with her club overseas. The leap to the WNBA is a whirlwind of change in a short period of time, but the 2026 class has already impressed before final scores begin to matter. 

With exhibition action wrapped up, here’s a look at how some of the top incoming rookies performed over the preseason and what it may have taught us about their immediate roles once the regular season tips off on Friday.

Azzi Fudd, Dallas Wings

Preseason stats: 8.0 ppg, 0.0 rpg, 1.0 apg (two games)

Although Fudd was just 1-for-7 from three-point range over the preseason, the top pick in the draft is in Dallas to help space the floor for Paige Bueckers and Arike Ogunbowale. Fudd was a career 42.2% three-point shooter at UConn and had her best year yet last season as she connected on 44.7% of her 6.7 triples per game. Playing next to two ball-dominant players like Bueckers and Ogunbowale gives Fudd an easier transition to the next level with less on her plate while she has the upside to grow into one of the league’s premier sharpshooters immediately.

Olivia Miles, Minnesota Lynx

Preseason stats: 10.7 ppg, 4.7 rpg, 3.0 apg (three games)

Miles, the second pick in the WNBA draft, had a nice preseason after she led TCU to the Elite Eight as a senior transfer following her first four seasons at Notre Dame. Although the Lynx had the WNBA’s best record last season, Miles should see a considerable role this year as Cheryl Reeve hopes the rookie can develop into the franchise’s guard of the future. Courtney Williams and Kayla McBride are still in the fold, but Minnesota is in the midst of a shift with Natisha Hiedeman, Alanna Smith, Bridget Carleton and DiJonai Carrington all in new uniforms after free agency and the expansion draft. Napheesa Collier will miss the start of the season after undergoing ankle surgery, which brings even more opportunities for Miles to contribute immediately as a rookie.

Flau’jae Johnson, Seattle Storm

Preseason stats: 16.0 ppg, 3.5 rpg, 0.5 apg (two games)

After the shocker of a draft-night trade that sent Flau’jae Johnson from the Valkyries to the Storm, the former face of Kim Mulkey’s LSU program dazzled in the preseason with a 20-point performance against the Fire. In two preseason contests, Johnson went 4-for-9 from three and appears to be in store for a significant role in year one with Seattle. Nneka Ogwumike, Skylar Diggins, Gabby Williams and Brittney Sykes left in free agency, which leaves the Storm in a rebuild around a young core of Dominique Malonga, Fam and Johnson. The frontcourt is deep, especially once Ezi Magbegor returns from injury, while Johnson arrives to little competition in the guard room which makes her a sneaky Rookie of the Year candidate.

Lauren Betts, Washington Mystics

Preseason stats: 15.0 ppg, 4.5 rpg, 2.0 apg (two games)

Another rookie who had a standout preseason, Betts played her first WNBA preseason game just 20 days after she helped lead UCLA to its first ever NCAA title. She was a true force in her three seasons with the Bruins after she began her collegiate career at Stanford. Now, she joins a youthful Washington team that’s built a nice foundation through the draft over the past two years. Kiki Iriafen and Sonia Citron each made the All-Rookie team last year and this year, Betts enters the group along with Cotie McMahon and Georgia Amoore, who missed last season with a torn ACL. Even though the Mystics already had a solid frontcourt with Iriafen and Shakira Austin, Betts is too good to not have a role in her rookie season—especially for a franchise that has its eyes on the future. If all falls right, Betts could wind up as the top player to come out of this year’s draft class.

Lauren Betts in the first half

15 Points (17 mins)
1 ORebound
3 Assist
6/8 FG
Looking Comfortable 🔥 pic.twitter.com/wVRYA5pL7x

— Shabazz 💫 (@ShowCaseShabazz) May 3, 2026

Gabriela Jaquez, Chicago Sky

Preseason stats: 8.0 ppg, 3.5 rpg, 0.0 apg (two games)

The Sky made it two Bruins in a row when they selected Jaquez with the fifth pick after Betts went to Washington (the Tempo then made it three in a row by taking Kiki Rice at No. 6). Jaquez led UCLA with 21 points in the title game while she also grabbed 10 rebounds and dished five assists. She had one of her best games of the year when it mattered most and Chicago certainly took notice. Jaquez may struggle to see significant minutes in Tyler Marsh’s rotation with a crowded guard room after the arrivals of Skylar Diggins, Natasha Cloud and Carrington. Plus, Courtney Vandersloot is slated to return after a torn ACL that held the veteran to just seven games last year.

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