WNBA stars team up in fascinating ways as Unrivaled unveils second season rosters

After such an entertaining and hair-raising WNBA season has come to a close, you might be looking for something to hold you over until next season — look no further than Unrivaled. After their incredibly successful inaugural season, players and fans are excited for the second season to kick off in January.

Last season had a thrilling one-on-one tournament, won by Napheesa Collier, and ended with Rose BC winning the inaugural Unrivaled League championship. But this season is already proving to bring its own compelling narratives. Not only are there new players participating like Paige Bueckers, Kelsey Plum, and Kelsey Mitchell, but one international W player's announcement came with its own drama. Seattle Storm rookie Dominique Malonga pulled out of her overseas contract and has now joined Unrivaled.

Over the last few weeks, the Unrivaled social accounts have been dropping the player pool for this season. On Wednesday, we finally learned which players were drafted to each of the 8 teams. Here's how the draft worked. Each of the 48 available players was placed into one of six pods based on position, and the four playoff teams from last season — the Rose, Lunar Owls, Vinyl, and Laces — could protect two players each. The Mist and Phantom were able to protect one player from last year. But by protecting players, the teams forfeited first-round picks for the players they protected.

The two expansion teams — the Breeze and Hive — got the first and second overall picks. Then, each team picked one player from each pod in a snake-style draft.

2026 Unrivaled Rosters

Now that the rosters have been solidified, fans are getting excited about some of their favorites teaming up. To me, Breeze BC particularly stands out. If you are a fan of women's college basketball, you definitely recognize a few of those names from recent years. During the 2023-24 NCAA season, Cameron Brink, Rickea Jackson, Kate Martin, and Paige Bueckers all played major roles in guiding their respective college teams through March Madness. Now, they will get the chance to see if combining their talents will result in a ring. Paige Bueckers expressed her excitement about her young, star-studded team on social media.

We will also get to see how some fan-favorite WNBA duos do when facing off against each other. The Washington Mystics' Kiki Iriafen and Sonia Citron will go head-to-head after their dynamic rookie seasons. Marina Mabrey and Saniya Rivers of the Connecticut Sun will also be on opposite sides of the ball, as will the Minnesota Lynx's StudBudz, Natisha Hiedeman, and Courtney Williams.