WNBA rosters aren’t big enough with just 11 or 12 players each.
The Washington Mystics are in training camp right now for the 2024 WNBA season. We asked a question that each of their cornerstone and likely key contributing players will face this season. Today, we will go over the remaining players on the roster.
Admittedly, most of these players have longer odds of making the opening day roster than the players mentioned over the last two days. But they all have a shot.
And even if they don’t make the opening day roster, there’s a chance that some players leave early due to injury or international team commitments. And they could also make themselves a player that the Golden State WNBA team would want to take a flyer on too. Anyway, let’s run down the players!
Queen Egbo — Can she make things really hard for the Mystics when it comes to deciding on that final player?
I feel that Egbo has the best chance of making the opening day roster of the remaining Mystics’ players based on her strong performance in 2023 for Washington (6.2 points and 4.4 rebounds per game in 21 appearances; she had another 16 appearances for the Fever).
Egbo was on the Mystics to fill in the void for Austin last season when she was out for much of the year due to injury. Given that she knows Washington’s system already, I feel that should give her a nod to make the team, all other things being equal.
Emily Engstler — Can she be a solid forward who makes consistent three point shots off the bench?
Engstler played two WNBA seasons for the Indiana Fever and Minnesota Lynx in 2022 and 2023 respectively. I think she’s good enough to have been with one team full time if rosters were bigger, but it is what it is.
As a 6’1 guard who can consistently make the three at the WNBA level, can she continue to do that in practice and the Mystics’ preseason games so things will be hard for the front office when cuts have to be made?
Kaylynne Truong — Can she be the Mystics’ backup point guard for the medium term?
Truong is the Mystics’ second round draft pick from Gonzaga where she had a storied college career. The Mystics have a strong track record for giving second round picks spots on the opening day roster. But with Brittney Sykes and Ariel Atkins as the team’s top two guards while Shatori Walker-Kimbrough and Julie Vanloo should also make the rotation and the team.
If WNBA teams have 15 player rosters, Truong would be a safe bet to make the roster. But WNBA teams have just 11 or 12 roster spots each. So I’m not sure that she’ll make it.
That said, if Truong has a strong training camp, she will be hard to leave out of the opening day roster unless she simply outplays Vanloo, who would then be vulnerable to being cut. And either way, if I’m the Mystics, I’d like to see them invest more in Truong than Vanloo, even if the Belgian veteran who is a WNBA, not a professional rookie, is just incrementally better than the American rookie.
But that’s just me. For now, I would hope that the goal for Truong is to be the Mystics’ backup point guard for the medium term.
Honesty Scott-Grayson, Jakia Brown-Turner, Elissa Cunane and DiDi Richards — Can they show out in camp and be ready to hit the ground running when her number is called?
I think all four of these players face the same question coming into camp. They probably have the least chance of making the opening day roster. However, that doesn’t mean that they won’t be on the Mystics at any point this season.
Scott-Grayson was a guard who averaged 17.3 points for Auburn last season after a long college career that started at Baylor. Since she wasn’t drafted and wasn’t the most efficient scorer at college, I don’t see her making the opening day roster.
That said, Scott-Grayson was in the DMV during her high school days (Paul VI in South Riding, Va. and Riverdale Baptist in Md.) and will have some familiarity with the Mystics’ system this summer. So if there is a player injury, her number may be called sooner than some other players who live further away.
Brown-Turner has the same question as Scott-Grayson since they are undrafted rookies. Before coming to Maryland as a graduate transfer, she played her college hoops at NC State.
Cunane comes to the Mystics with three games of WNBA experience with the Minnesota Lynx in 2022. She wasn’t with the team at the start of training camp due to international commitments
Richards was a fan favorite for the New York Liberty, the team she played for from 2021 and 2022 as a . She didn’t play at all last year after getting cut. Granted, she was battling injuries for much of the past few years, but at the same time, Washington needs players who can contribute right away when their numbers are called.