After roster and coaching overhaul, the Seattle Storm will take the court against a live opponent Saturday Night at the Chase Center in San Francisco. The Golden State Valkyries will host the Storm to kick off the 2026 WNBA preseason. The departure of former head coach Noelle Quinn opened the door for Sonia Raman.
TRAILBLAZER HIRE
The hiring of Raman reaffirmed the Storm’s consistent commitment to opening doors for women. The pivot from Quinn brought in a rookie WNBA coach known as a tactician.
“Sonia is a trailblazer, an innovator, and a leader in basketball analytics and strategy,” said Storm General Manager Talisa Rhea during the team’s inaugural press conference with Raman. “Her diverse coaching experiences and deep focus on player development and connection make her an exceptional coach to lead our team into the next era. We look forward to her leadership as we pursue another WNBA championship.”
On Saturday, Raman and her coaches will get a chance to measure up their strategies and, more importantly, the team’s building process. For Raman and the team, a win would be nice, but progress will be measured in several different ways.
NEW LOOK TEAM
The departure of veterans and future Hall of Fame Nnecka Ogwumike, Skylar Diggins, and Gabby Williams created an obvious void on both ends of the court. That team hit the reset button and kept its young core of Ezi Magbegor, Dominique Malonga and Jordan Horston. The draft saw the addition of Awa Fam, Flau’jae Johnson, Taina Mair, and Grace VanSlooten.
Additional rookies, Jaylan Brown and Elle Ladine, were signed as free agents. In addition to the young core veterans, Mackenzie Holmes, Katie Lou Samuelson, Stefanie Dolson, Jaelyn Brown, Lexi Brown, Zia Coke, Jade Melbourne, Natisha Hiedelan, Beatrice Mompremier, and Rennia Davis were signed to round off the roster for the upcoming season.
MISSING PLAYERS
For Saturday’s contest, the team will be without Magebegor, who suffered a right leg injury while playing for the Australian national team during the FIFA World Cup qualifying tournament in Istanbul. She is expected to miss six to eight weeks. Fam, the third pick overall in the draft, will also miss the game. She will be playing for her club team, Valencia Basket, against Hozono Global Jairis in the regular season finale of the Liga Femenina in Spain
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