Tempo’s roster to take shape over coming days with WNBA expansion draft, free agency

The Toronto Tempo’s inaugural roster will take shape over the next two weeks.

Tempo team president Teresa Resch and general manager Monica Wright Rogers, along with their counterparts on the Portland Fire, will select from a pool of players left unprotected by the WNBA’s 13 current teams in Friday’s expansion draft. Both front offices had a short time frame to prepare after the league and its players’ union agreed to a new collective agreement on March 20.

Free agency starts Tuesday, with qualifying offers permitted. Negotiations begin April 9. Contracts can be signed April 12-18.

“I don’t think anything in sports has happened like this, with this short of a run-up and the current status of the league with all the free agencies,” said Resch in a recent interview with The Canadian Press. “People kind of gloss over that, but even without the expansion draft, the free agency period would be insane, no matter what.

“This will be talked about in case studies in business schools. It will be interesting how this all happens, and it’s not just us as expansion teams but with the league as a whole, how this goes down.”

The expansion draft will consist of two rounds, with Portland and Toronto picking from a designated pool of available players as determined by each of the current 13 WNBA teams. The Tempo have the even-numbered picks in the first round and the odd numbers in the second round. A maximum of two players can be selected from each team.

The WNBA will be holding its collegiate draft on April 13. The Dallas Wings have the first overall pick for a second year in a row, Toronto selects sixth, and the Fire will draft seventh.

Between the expansion draft, free agency and the collegiate draft, Resch and Wright Rogers have a very deep talent pool to build the Tempo’s first-ever roster from.

Savanna Hamilton, co-host of the “Cinderella Stories” women’s sports podcast, said Toronto can get a strong core of veteran players through astute decisions over the coming days.

“We don’t know who is protected, who’s not protected, of course, so in a perfect world, you’d hope that in free agency the Tempo can go get a major star, like an A’ja Wilson or Napheesa Collier,” said Hamilton. “But we can’t live in fantasy; we live in reality.

“There’s actually tons of talent out there that it’s really exciting to take a look at.”

Hamilton noted that the Las Vegas Aces have a deep roster — including Wilson — and can’t reasonably protect every player from Toronto or the Fire in the expansion draft.

“One name that really stands out to me is Jewell Loyd,” said Hamilton of the Aces guard who is a three-time champion, a six-time all-star and was the WNBA’s Rookie of the Year in 2015. “I think she could potentially be a huge starter piece, because that might be the player that (Vegas) has to leave unprotected.

“She could bring a lot of experience, she’s an all-star, she’s won championships, she has had a great career.”

One thing that’s certain is that the Tempo won’t be taking any unprotected Chicago sky players.

Toronto acquired the 26th overall pick in the collegiate draft from the Chicago Sky via the New York Liberty on Wednesday. In exchange, the Tempo agreed to pass on selecting from Chicago’s unprotected list in the expansion draft.

That means Toronto holds the sixth, 22nd, 26th, and 36th picks in the upcoming WNBA Draft.

Hamilton also believes there’s an opportunity for the Tempo to add two Canadians, as well, with Aaliyah Edwards of Kingston, Ont., and Bridget Carleton of Chatham-Kent, Ont., as possible acquisitions. Edwards is under contract with the Connecticut Sun, and Carleton is a free agent.

“Aliyah Edwards, 100 per cent would be a cultural piece, a Canadian fit. She would probably love to be at home, and I think there would be mutual interest,” said Hamilton.

“Bridget is phenomenal. She didn’t have the best showing in the WNBA playoffs last year, but overall on a fit level, on a Canadian level, she’s versatile.”

This report by The Canadian Press was first published April 2, 2026.

John Chidley-Hill, The Canadian Press