2026 Portland Fire season

2026 Portland Fire season
2026 Portland Fire season
Head coach	Alex Sarama
Arena	Moda Center
Results
Record	17–27 (.386)
Place	5th (Western)
Playoff finish	Did not qualify
	2027 →

The 2026 Portland Fire season will be the franchise's inaugural season in the Women's National Basketball Association and first under head coach Alex Sarama.

Draft

The draft was held on April 13, 2026, at 7:30 pm EDT, and broadcast on ESPN.^[1]

Round	Pick	Player	Position	Nationality	College/Club	Outcome	Ref.
1	7	Iyana Martín	PG	Spain	Perfumerias Avenida (Spain)		^[2]
2	17	Frieda Bühner	PF	Germany	Movistar Estudiantes (Spain)	Signed a Player Development Contract
3	37	Taylor Bigby	SG	USA	TCU	Rights traded to Connecticut Sun

Transactions

Front office and coaching

Date	Details	Ref.
June 27, 2025	Named Clare Hamill as interim president	^[3]
September 15, 2025	Hired Vanja Černivec as general manager	^[4]
October 14, 2025	Hired Ashley Battle as Vice President, Basketball Operations, Strategy and Innovation	^[5]
October 17, 2025	Hired Alex Sarama as head coach	^[6]
November 24, 2025	Hired Brittni Donaldson as assistant coach and assistant general manager	^[7]
December 22, 2025	Hired Sylvia Fowles as assistant coach	^[8]
March 19, 2026	Hired Danielle Boiago as assistant coach	^[9]
	Hired Sefu Bernard as assistant coach and director of learning and development
	Hired Jacob Lloyd as assistant general manager

Expansion draft

On April 3, 2026, an expansion draft was held to help fill the roster for the Fire.^[10]

Player	Former Team	Ref.
Bridget Carleton	Minnesota Lynx	^[10]
Carla Leite	Golden State Valkyries
Luisa Geiselsöder	Dallas Wings
Emily Engstler	Washington Mystics
Maya Caldwell	Atlanta Dream
Chloe Bibby	Indiana Fever
Haley Jones	Dallas Wings
Nyadiew Puoch	Atlanta Dream
Sarah Ashlee Barker	Los Angeles Sparks
Sug Sutton	Washington Mystics
Nika Mühl	Seattle Storm

Trades

April
April 1	To Portland Fire 2026 No. 17 draft pick	To Chicago Sky 2026 No. 21 draft pick Protection from Fire during 2026 WNBA expansion draft	^[11]
April 13	To Portland Fire Serah Williams	To Connecticut Sun Taylor Bigby 2027 third-round draft pick	^[12]

Free agency

Additions

Player	Date	Notes	Former Team	Ref.

Roster

Players

Coaches

Pos.	No.	Name	Height	Weight	DOB	From	Yrs
G	3	Barker, Sarah Ashlee	6' 0" (1.83m)	173 lb (78kg)	2001-09-10	Alabama	1
F	20	Bühner, Frieda	6' 1" (1.85m)	175 lb (79kg)	2004-05-28	Germany	R
G/F	6	Carleton, Bridget	6' 2" (1.88m)	190 lb (86kg)	1997-05-22	Iowa State	7
F/C	17	DiLeo, Megan	6' 4" (1.93m)	208 lb (94kg)	1996-12-13	Iowa	7
F	21	Engstler, Emily	6' 1" (1.85m)	184 lb (83kg)	2000-05-01	Louisville	4
F	1	Feagin, Sania	6' 3" (1.91m)		2003-03-15	South Carolina	1
C	15	Geiselsöder, Luisa	6' 4" (1.93m)	204 lb (93kg)	2000-02-10	Germany	1
G	2	Harrison, Jordan	5' 6" (1.68m)		2004-04-26	West Virginia	R
G	0	Leite, Carla	5' 9" (1.75m)	151 lb (68kg)	2004-04-16	Tony Parker Academy (FRA)	1
G	7	Oblak, Teja	5' 8" (1.73m)		1990-12-20	Slovenia	R
F	24	Osborne, Charisma	5' 9" (1.75m)	166 lb (75kg)	2001-07-03	UCLA	1
F	13	Puoch, Nyadiew	6' 3" (1.91m)	167 lb (76kg)	2004-06-23	Australia	R
G	44	Samuelson, Karlie	6' 0" (1.83m)	160 lb (73kg)	1995-05-10	Stanford	7
C	25	Williams, Serah	6' 4" (1.93m)		2004-01-17	Connecticut	R
G	77	Winterburn, Holly	5' 11" (1.8m)		2000-10-01	East London (GBR)	R
G	—	Ayrault, Julia (S)	6' 2" (1.88m)			Michigan State	–
G	—	Martín, Iyana (DP)	5' 9" (1.75m)		2006-01-18	Spain	–
G	—	Mühl, Nika	6' 0" (1.83m)	156 lb (71kg)	2001-04-09	Connecticut	1

Head coach: Alex Sarama (Nottingham)
Assistant coaches: Sefu Bernard; Danielle Boiago; Brittni Donaldson (Northern Iowa); Sylvia Fowles (LSU)

Legend

(C) Team captain
(DP) Unsigned draft pick
(FA) Free agent
(S) Suspended
Injured

WNBA roster page

East: ATL; CHI; CON; IND; NY; TOR; WAS
West: DAL; GS; LV; LA; MIN; PHO; POR; SEA

Depth chart

Pos.	Starter	Bench
PG	Sug Sutton	Carla Leite Kamiah Smalls
SG	Bridget Carleton	Sarah Ashlee Barker Holly Winterburn Karlie Samuelson
SF	Emily Engstler	Haley Jones
PF	Nyadiew Puoch	Frieda Bühner
C	Luisa Geiselsöder	Megan Gustafson Serah Williams

Schedule

Preseason

2026 pre-season game log
Total: 0–2 (Home: 0–1; Road: 0–1)

April / May: 0–2 (Home: 0–1; Road: 0–1)

Game	Date	Team	Score	High points	High rebounds	High assists	Location Attendance	Record
1	April 29	@ Seattle	L 81–91	Luisa Geiselsöder (15)	Engstler, Jones (7)	Carla Leite (5)	Climate Pledge Arena 8,627	0–1
2	May 3	Los Angeles	L 75–85	Puoch, Williams (12)	Serah Williams (8)	Jordan Harrison (4)	Moda Center 13.550	0–2

2026 pre-season schedule

Regular season

2026 game log
Total: 17–27 (Home: 9–13; Road: 8–14)

May: 6–4 (Home: 4–3; Road: 2–1)

Game	Date	Team	Score	High points	High rebounds	High assists	Location Attendance	Record
1	May 9	Chicago	L 83–98	Carla Leite (18)	Luisa Geiselsöder (7)	Carleton, Harrison (4)	Moda Center 19,335	0–1
2	May 12	New York	W 98–96	Bridget Carleton (26)	Geiselsöder, Jones (5)	Carla Leite (6)	Moda Center 12,386	1–1
3	May 14	New York	82–100	Megan Gustafson (14)	Carleton, Geiselsöder (5)	Sug Sutton (8)	Moda Center 13,087	1–2
4	May 18	Connecticut	W 83–82	Barker, Carleton (18)	Carleton, Williams (5)	Sug Sutton (5)	Moda Center 12,010	2–2
5	May 20	@ Indiana	L 73–90	Bridget Carleton (16)	Barker, Gustafson (6)	Sug Sutton (4)	Gainbridge Fieldhouse 14,010	2–3
6	May 23	@ Toronto	W 99–80	Emily Engstler (16)	Emily Engstler (7)	Leite, Oblak (9)	Coca-Cola Coliseum 8,210	3–3
7	May 25	@ New York	W 81–74	Carla Leite (18)	Barker, Engstler, Geiselsöder (5)	Teja Oblak (4)	Barclays Center 13,881	4–3
8	May 27	Connecticut	W 71–61	Carla Leite (20)	Sarah Ashlee Barker (11)	Carleton, Leite (3)	Moda Center 11,945	5–3
9	May 29	Atlanta	L 66–86	Sarah Ashlee Barker (14)	Serah Williams (6)	Holly Winterburn (7)	Moda Center 13,602	5–4
10	May 30	Indiana	W 100–84	Megan Gustafson (22)	Emily Engstler (10)	Carla Leite (12)	Moda Center 19,347	6–4

June : 2–8 (Home: 2–2; Road: 0–6)

Game	Date	Team	Score	High points	High rebounds	High assists	Location Attendance	Record
11	June 2	@ Golden State	L 77–95	Megan Gustafson (13)	Engstler, Gustafson (8)	Carla Leite (7)	Chase Center 18,064	6–5
12	June 5	Phoenix	L 72–78	Sarah Ashlee Barker (15)	Sarah Ashlee Barker (7)	Leite, Oblak (4)	Moda Center 12,046	6–6
13	June 7	@ Los Angeles	L 72–89	Megan Gustafson (16)	Megan Gustafson (11)	Sarah Ashlee Barker (7)	Crypto.com Arena 11,227	6–7
14	June 11	Las Vegas	L 89–105	Carla Leite (18)	Emily Engstler (6)	Carla Leite (8)	Moda Center 13,178	6–8
15	June 13	Dallas	W 84–83	Bridget Carleton (20)	Engstler, Gustafson (6)	Carla Leite (8)	Moda Center 14,612	7–8
16	June 15	@ Minnesota	L 74–107	Bühner, Leite (10)	Teja Oblak (6)	Teja Oblak (5)	Target Center 10,812	7–9
17	June 17	Seattle	W 94–89	Bridget Carleton (24)	Barker, Engstler (6)	Carla Leite (10)	Moda Center 13,084	8–9
18	June 24	@ Chicago	L 78–101	Megan Gustafson (17)	Barker, Carleton (5)	Carla Leite (6)	Wintrust Arena 7,468	8–10
19	June 26	@ Chicago	L 94–124	Bridget Carleton (20)	Bühner, Engstler (5)	Carla Leite (4)	Wintrust Arena 7,228	8–11
20	June 28	@ Washington	L 123–124 (4OT)	Carla Leite (32)	Emily Engstler (11)	Carla Leite (9)	CareFirst Arena 4,200	8–12

July : 3–6 (Home: 0–3; Road: 3–3)

Game	Date	Team	Score	High points	High rebounds	High assists	Location Attendance	Record
21	July 4	@ Seattle	W 77–72	Carla Leite (20)	Megan Gustafson (9)	Carla Leite (4)	Climate Pledge Arena 10,251	9–12
22	July 9	Las Vegas	L 80–88	Carla Leite (13)	Emily Engstler (7)	Carla Leite (5)	Moda Center 13,470	9–13
23	July 11	@ Atlanta	W 102–92	Megan Gustafson (17)	Emily Engstler (11)	Carla Leite (10)	Gateway Center Arena 3,577	10–13
24	July 14	@ Connecticut	L 87–90	Carla Leite (18)	Emily Engstler (6)	Emily Engstler (7)	Mohegan Sun Arena 8,917	10–14
25	July 16	@ Washington	W 75–56	Carla Leite (14)	Sarah Ashlee Barker (7)	Engstler, Leite (5)	CareFirst Arena 4,200	11–14
26	July 18	@ Minnesota	L 93–101	Bridget Carleton (22)	Bridget Carleton (8)	Carla Leite (7)	Target Center 12,101	11–15
27	July 22	Dallas	L 97–101	Megan DiLeo (21)	Bridget Carleton (5)	Carla Leite (11)	Moda Center 17,206	11–16
All-Star Game
28	July 28	@ Las Vegas	L 83–98	Megan DiLeo (20)	Emily Engstler (10)	Bridget Carleton (4)	Michelob Ultra Arena 10,240	11–17
29	July 31	Indiana	L 98–112	Bridget Carleton (26)	Samuelson, Williams (4)	Carla Leite (12)	Moda Center 19,959	11–18

August : 5–6 (Home: 2–4; Road: 3–2)

Game	Date	Team	Score	High points	High rebounds	High assists	Location Attendance	Record
30	August 2	Los Angeles	L 101–106	Bridget Carleton (24)	Bridget Carleton (11)	Carla Leite (8)	Moda Center 13,638	11–19
31	August 6	Toronto	W 97–83	Carla Leite (27)	Bridget Carleton (11)	Carla Leite (11)	Moda Center 12,379	12–19
32	August 8	Seattle	W 100–93	Bridget Carleton (24)	Jordan Harrison (7)	Holly Winterburn (7)	Moda Center 15,294	13–19
33	August 12	Minnesota	L 81–85	Bridget Carleton (16)	DiLeo, Engstler (7)	Teja Oblak (9)	Moda Center 13,270	13–20
34	August 14	@ Seattle	W 84–82	Holly Winterburn (20)	Carleton, DiLeo (9)	Carla Leite (6)	Climate Pledge Arena 12,596	14–20
35	August 16	@ Phoenix	W 88–85	Carla Leite (23)	Emily Engstler (7)	Carla Leite (5)	Mortgage Matchup Center 16,513	15–20
36	August 21	@ Toronto	L 79–82	Bridget Carleton (18)	Megan DiLeo (6)	Carla Leite (6)	Rogers Arena 12,414	15–21
37	August 23	Washington	L 100–105	Carla Leite (27)	Emily Engstler (6)	Carla Leite (11)	Moda Center 14,860	15–22
38	August 25	@ Dallas	L 78–96	Carleton, Samuelson (14)	Emily Engstler (15)	Carla Leite (7)	College Park Center 6,251	15–23
39	August 28	@ Atlanta	W 101–83	Carla Leite (26)	Carleton, Engstler (6)	Carla Leite (6)	Gateway Center Arena 3,575	16–23
40	August 30	Golden State	L 69–86	DiLeo, Engstler (12)	Carleton, Williams (5)	Teja Oblak (7)	Moda Center 15,146	16–24

September : 1–3 (Home: 1–1; Road: 0–2)

Game	Date	Team	Score	High points	High rebounds	High assists	Location Attendance	Record
41	September 17	Phoenix	L 91–94	Emily Engstler (21)	Engstler, Williams (7)	Jordan Harrison (10)	Moda Center 13,641	16–25
42	September 18	@ Golden State	L 66–82	Frieda Bühner (14)	Emily Engstler (9)	Carla Leite (6)	Chase Center 18,064	16–26
43	September 20	@ Los Angeles	L 84–105	Carla Leite (23)	Megan DiLeo (5)	Carla Leite (5)	Crypto.com Arena 17,703	16–27
44	September 22	Golden State	W 90–82 (OT)	Bridget Carleton (26)	Emily Engstler (11)	Jordan Harrison (10)	Moda Center 14,815	17–27

2026 season schedule

Notes:

Games highlighted in represent Commissioner's Cup games.

Standings

#	Team	W	L	PCT	GB	Conf.	Home	Road	Cup
1	y — Minnesota Lynx	33	11	.750	–	20–3	15–7	18–4	6–1
2	x — Golden State Valkyries	32	12	.727	1	15–8	17–5	15–7	5–2
3	x — Las Vegas Aces	31	13	.705	2	17–6	15–7	16–6	6–1
4	x — Atlanta Dream	30	14	.682	3	15–5	15–7	15–7	4–2
5	x — Washington Mystics	28	16	.636	5	15–5	15–7	13–9	3–3
6	x — Indiana Fever	28	16	.636	5	14–6	15–7	13–9	5–1
7	x — Dallas Wings	27	17	.614	6	13–10	16–6	11–11	4–3
8	cx – New York Liberty	26	18	.591	7	13–7	14–8	12–10	6–0
9	e — Portland Fire	17	27	.386	16	7–16	9–13	8–14	2–5
10	e — Phoenix Mercury	16	28	.364	17	10–13	7–15	9–13	2–5
11	e — Chicago Sky	16	28	.364	17	4–16	11–11	5–17	1–5
12	e — Los Angeles Sparks	16	28	.364	17	9–14	8–14	8–14	3–4
13	e — Toronto Tempo	11	33	.250	22	5–15	7–15	4–18	2–4
14	e — Connecticut Sun	11	33	.250	22	4–16	8–14	3–19	0–6
15	e — Seattle Storm	8	36	.182	25	1–22	6–16	2–20	0–7

Notes

(#) – League Standing

c – Commissioner's Cup winner

y – Regular season champion

x – Clinched playoff berth

e – Eliminated from playoff contention

Source: Overall standings and Commissioner's Cup Standings

References

↑ "2026 WNBA Schedule Release: Key Dates and What to Know". WNBA. Archived from the original on February 1, 2026. Retrieved February 4, 2026.
↑ "WNBA Draft 2026 Picks by Round - ESPN". ESPN. Archived from the original on April 13, 2026. Retrieved April 13, 2026.
↑ Oram, Bill (June 27, 2025). "Longtime Nike executive named interim president of Portland WNBA franchise". The Oregonian. Archived from the original on June 28, 2025. Retrieved June 27, 2025.
↑ "Portland Fire Announces Vanja Černivec as General Manager". WNBA. NBA Media Ventures LLC. August 25, 2025. Retrieved February 1, 2026.
↑ "Portland Fire Names WNBA Veteran Ashley Battle as Vice President, Basketball Operations, Strategy and Innovation". WNBA. NBA Media Ventures LLC. October 14, 2025. Archived from the original on January 3, 2026. Retrieved February 1, 2026.
↑ Peterson, Anne M. (October 17, 2025). "Portland Fire names Alex Sarama as first head coach, team to begin play next season". Toronto Star. The Associated Press. Retrieved February 1, 2026.
↑ "Portland Fire Names Brittni Donaldson". WNBA. NBA Media Ventures LLC. November 24, 2025. Retrieved February 1, 2026.
↑ "Sylvia Fowles Joins the Portland Fire as Assistant Coach". WNBA. NBA Media Ventures LLC. Archived from the original on May 15, 2026. Retrieved February 1, 2026.
↑ "Portland Fire announce new assistant coaches, additional support staff". FOX 12. March 19, 2026. Archived from the original on March 19, 2026. Retrieved March 19, 2026.
1 2 "Portland Fire, Toronto Tempo Select 22 Players in WNBA Expansion Draft 2026". WNBA. April 3, 2026. Archived from the original on April 3, 2026. Retrieved April 3, 2026.
↑ "Chicago Sky Make Pair of Deals with Expansion Teams". Chicago Sky. April 1, 2026. Archived from the original on April 3, 2026. Retrieved April 1, 2026.
↑ Adams, Emily (April 13, 2026). "UConn center Serah Williams drafted No. 33 in WNBA Draft by Connecticut Sun, traded to Portland Fire". Hartford Courant. Archived from the original on April 14, 2026. Retrieved April 14, 2026.

External links

Official website of the Portland Fire

[1] "2026 WNBA Schedule Release: Key Dates and What to Know". WNBA. Archived from the original on February 1, 2026. Retrieved February 4, 2026.

[2] "WNBA Draft 2026 Picks by Round - ESPN". ESPN. Archived from the original on April 13, 2026. Retrieved April 13, 2026.

[3] Oram, Bill (June 27, 2025). "Longtime Nike executive named interim president of Portland WNBA franchise". The Oregonian. Archived from the original on June 28, 2025. Retrieved June 27, 2025.

[4] "Portland Fire Announces Vanja Černivec as General Manager". WNBA. NBA Media Ventures LLC. August 25, 2025. Retrieved February 1, 2026.

[5] "Portland Fire Names WNBA Veteran Ashley Battle as Vice President, Basketball Operations, Strategy and Innovation". WNBA. NBA Media Ventures LLC. October 14, 2025. Archived from the original on January 3, 2026. Retrieved February 1, 2026.

[6] Peterson, Anne M. (October 17, 2025). "Portland Fire names Alex Sarama as first head coach, team to begin play next season". Toronto Star. The Associated Press. Retrieved February 1, 2026.

[7] "Portland Fire Names Brittni Donaldson". WNBA. NBA Media Ventures LLC. November 24, 2025. Retrieved February 1, 2026.

[8] "Sylvia Fowles Joins the Portland Fire as Assistant Coach". WNBA. NBA Media Ventures LLC. Archived from the original on May 15, 2026. Retrieved February 1, 2026.

[9] "Portland Fire announce new assistant coaches, additional support staff". FOX 12. March 19, 2026. Archived from the original on March 19, 2026. Retrieved March 19, 2026.

[2026_Expansion_draft-10] 1 2 "Portland Fire, Toronto Tempo Select 22 Players in WNBA Expansion Draft 2026". WNBA. April 3, 2026. Archived from the original on April 3, 2026. Retrieved April 3, 2026.

[CHIEXP-11] "Chicago Sky Make Pair of Deals with Expansion Teams". Chicago Sky. April 1, 2026. Archived from the original on April 3, 2026. Retrieved April 1, 2026.

[12] Adams, Emily (April 13, 2026). "UConn center Serah Williams drafted No. 33 in WNBA Draft by Connecticut Sun, traded to Portland Fire". Hartford Courant. Archived from the original on April 14, 2026. Retrieved April 14, 2026.

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v t e 2026 WNBA season by team
Expansion draft Draft Transactions Commissioner's Cup All-Star Game Playoffs Finals
Eastern	Atlanta Dream Chicago Sky Connecticut Sun Indiana Fever New York Liberty Toronto Tempo Washington Mystics
Western	Dallas Wings Golden State Valkyries Las Vegas Aces Los Angeles Sparks Minnesota Lynx Phoenix Mercury Portland Fire Seattle Storm
← 2025 WNBA season 2027 →