The Minnesota Lynx finished last season with a showdown against the New York Liberty in a five-game series in the finals. It is one of the few teams that maintained its head coach and coaching staff, Cheryl Reeves, despite the significant shift in most teams hiring new management and coaching personnel. Its roster for the 2025 season has also not changed much, retaining some of the key players who stood out in the previous season. It topped the Western Conference with 30 wins and 10 losses.
Returning Players
After a successful season last year, there is no doubt that the Lynx are ready to run it back, and fundamental to this was keeping their tight-knit team, which had a spectacular performance. With a few cuts, the majority of the team returned, including players such as Bridget Carleton, Napheesa Collier, Natisha Hiedeman, Kayla McBride, Diamond Miller, Alissa Pili, Courtney Williams, and Alanna Smith. Dorka Juhász, who was part of last year’s phenomenal team, opted to sit out this year after playing for two consecutive years. At the start of the season, she was still active in the Italian League. The Lynx waived Reigan Richardson, Dalayah Daniels, Ajae Petty, Diamond Johnson, and Camryn Taylor.
New Additions
Rookies Anastasiia Olairi Kosu and Mariēme Badiane made the final team. Anastasiia was the 15th pick in the second round of the 2025 WNBA draft. The 6’1 Russian forward played for Dynamo Kursk and UMMC Ekaterinburg, both in the Russian Premier League from 2020 to 2025. At just 14 years of age, she represented Russia at the 2019 FIBA U16 Women’s European Championship, where she averaged 18.0 points and 15.0 rebounds. In her latest stint with UMMC, she averaged 9.2 points with a 55.6% field goal percentage, along with 5.1 rebounds and 1.3 assists.
Mariēme enters the league with over ten years of professional experience from various teams around the world. The thirty-year-old center stands at 6’4 and will be crucial in providing the Lynx with depth in the box. She was part of the 2024 French team that won silver at the Olympic Games. Her most recent club before joining the Lynx was Fenerbahçe, where she averaged 10.5 points and 4.0 rebounds.
Jessica Shepard was drafted by the Minnesota Lynx in the 2019 WNBA draft as the 16th overall pick in the second round. After four years with the team, the 6’4 forward did not make the team in her fifth year, which kick-started her professional career abroad, playing for teams such as Dinamo Sassari, Reyer Venezia, and Athinaikos before she was called up to the Lynx training camp. During her time with the Lynx, she averaged 6.3 points, 6.1 rebounds, and 2.1 assists in 21.8 minutes.
Karlie Samuelson was undrafted in 2017; however, throughout her professional career, she has had short stints with WNBA teams like the Los Angeles Sparks, Dallas Wings, Seattle Storm, Phoenix Mercury, and Washington Mystics before finally making the Lynx roster. Between her WNBA stints, she played overseas in Europe and Australia. The shooting guard brings depth from beyond the arc for the Lynx.
