Fire make Bridget Carleton top WNBA expansion draft pick - ESPN

Unrestricted free agent Bridget Carleton was selected by the Portland Fire as the No. 1 pick in the 2026 WNBA expansion draft Friday.

Carleton was targeted by the Fire early, a source told ESPN, and Portland didn't want to give Toronto a chance to select the Ontario native.

Both the Fire and the Toronto Tempo placed an emphasis on veteran role players in the draft, laying a more experienced foundation in the first steps each franchise took in building its inaugural roster, and hoping that with increased opportunities for each player, more production will follow.

Carleton, who has played with the Minnesota Lynx since she was drafted by the team in 2019, was a rotation player for the franchise on its way to the league's best record last season. She averaged 6.5 points, 3.6 rebounds and 2.0 assists in 27.9 minutes per game coming off of the bench.

Portland also selected Maya Caldwell, a five-year veteran who most recently spent three seasons with the Atlanta Dream, Emily Engstler (five years of service) and Sug Sutton (four years of service).

Toronto drafted six-year veteran Marina Mabrey from the Connecticut Sun. Last season, she was the team's second-highest scorer with 14.4 points, and also averaged 4.2 rebounds and 4.0 assists in a team-high 31.5 minutes per game. The Tempo also took Nyara Sabally, who filled some holes for the New York Liberty last season as they navigated injuries to their stars, and Julie Allemand, who has played in the league for only three seasons but was originally drafted in 2016.

Here is the full list of players selected, listed in the order they were picked by each team:

Portland Fire

Bridget Carleton, Minnesota Lynx

F Carla Leite, Golden State Valkyries

G Luisa Geiselsoder, Dallas Wings

C