The Player Development Contract was one of the landmark additions in the 2026 Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA). It officially allowed the teams to get away from roster crunch and gave a more reliable solution to late-season roster decisions. PDC has provided a more robust roster-building mechanism for all 15 teams across the league, while allowing more talent to flow into the WNBA.

Every team in the league has two roster spots they can sign under a Player Development Contract, in addition to the 12-player active roster with a standard contract. These players are outside the team’s salary cap, while giving teams the flexibility to waive or sign the player under a different contract if the need arises. 

These players are very much part of the team’s roster. They travel and practice with the team, but are limited to just 12 games under the PDC. Meaning a team will have to sign her under a standard or seven-day hardship contract if they decide to continue with the player. 

Below, we have tracked all the moves every one of the 15 teams in the league has made this season under the Player Development Contract of the 2026 CBA.

WNBA’s Developmental Players

1. Atlanta Dream

• Indya Nivar: Nivar was drafted 28th overall in the 2026 WNBA draft. After 19 games, she was briefly waived by the Dream before she re-signed under a Player Development Contract in July. Since then, she has played just one game, and her role has been limited to just three minutes a game on average.
• Jaylyn Sherrod: Sherrod spent her 2024 and 2025 seasons playing for the New York Liberty and the Minnesota Lynx. She signed the PDC with Atlanta in the last week of June. She is currently playing as the team’s emergency point guard.
• Amy Okonkwo: The Dream signed the forward under the PDC in May. However, the team waived her two months later. On Aug. 11, Okonkwo signed with the Portland Fire under a standard contract. She has played three games with the Fire so far and averaged 5.3 points in 10.3 minutes.

2. Chicago Sky

• Morgan Maly: Maly was with the Mercury during the training season. On Aug. 19, she signed with the Sky under PDC, which gives the Sky the rights to her training camp next season.
• Chloe Bibby: The Australian player signed the developmental contract with the Sky in June. She played 4 games for the Sky before being poached by the Minnesota Lynx, where she signed a standard contract on August 1.

3. Connecticut Sun

• Rayah Marshall: Marshall signed two back-to-back contracts with the Sun. In mid-August, they signed her to a developmental contract. She remains the Sun’s emergency backup frontcourt piece.
• Hailey Van Lith: Some might say that of all the players listed above and below, Van Lith is one of the surprising names on the list. After a subpar rookie season with the Sky in 2025, she was waived by the team. She signed her to a developmental contract with the Sun on the last day of May. On August 26, she signed with the team under a 7-day contract for roster utilization.
• Ashlon Jackson: She had been under the Player Development Contract with the team since May. But on August 15, the Suns awarded her a rest-of-season standard contract. She is a regular bench rotation player, thanks to her defensive energy.

4. Dallas Wings

• Christyn Williams: The Wings signed Williams under the player development contract on Aug. 14. This was her second contract with the team, which had followed her hardship contract last year. Previously, Williams played in the Upshot League for the Greensboro Groove. 
• Haley Jones: After the 2026 WNBA Expansion Draft, the Portland Fire drafted Jones out of Dallas. However, when the chance of reunion came, the Wings took the chance. When Jones was waived by the Fire, the Wings signed her under a developmental contract in June. 
• Dulcy Fankam Mendjiadeu: She signed the player development contract with the Wings in Dallas on May 6. However, the team decided to release her in June. Mendjiadeu didn’t log any minutes for the Wings.
• Costanza Verona: She had signed the developmental contract with the team with Mendjiadeu. But unlike Mendjiadeu, she has remained under her contract with the Wings. It is currently suspended in light of her commitment to the Italian national team for the 2026 FIBA World Cup.

5. Golden State Valkyries

• Ashten Prechtel: After signing under a hardship deal and briefly being waived by the Valkyries, Prechtel has been back with the team since signing a Player Development Contract with the team on May 25. She has played five games this season.
• Miela Sowah: She has been with the Valkyries under the PDC since May. However, the team has temporarily suspended her contract in light of her commitment to the Australian national team for the 2026 FIBA World Cup.

6. Indiana Fever

• Justine Pissott: The Fever selected Pissott in the second round of the 2026 draft. She was the first player the Fever had signed under the Player Development contract. The Aces offered her the standard contract. The Fever failed to meet the offer she left for the Aces.
• Michelle Onyiah: After the Fever failed to meet the Las Vegas Aces’ offer, they lost Justine Pissott in July. They signed Onyiah, who played overseas after going undrafted in the 2025 draft, to the remaining Player Development contract. 
• Bree Hall: The Fever had signed Hall to the Player Development contract at the start of the season along with Pissott. Since then, she has played just four games for the Fever. Last season, she played one game for the Fever during the regular season.

07. Las Vegas Aces

• Ta’Niya Latson: Latson was picked by the Los Angeles Sparks No. 20 overall in the 2026 WNBA Draft. After 10 games with the team, the Sparks waived her. Two days after being waived, she signed the Player Development Contract on July 8.

08. Los Angeles Sparks

• Tonie Morgan: Morgan had signed a Player Development Contract with the Sparks earlier this season. But since then, she has seen her role being extended by the team. On Aug. 15, Morgan finally signed the standard contract with the Sparks. In 8 games for the team, she has averaged 4.5 points and 2.3 assists per game in 14.8 minutes. The former Kentucky guard has shown promise as a scoring playmaker and could see herself getting extended opportunity from the Sparks.
• Alissa Pili: In July earlier this year, the Sparks signed Pili to a Player Development Contract. However, they waived her on Saturday. Pili’s game features a combination of skill and strength with a great feel for the game. She could still get a call from a team in the next season.
• Kate Martin: From becoming the WNBA’s darling to being without a contract in the WNBA, Kate Martin, for many, deserved better. After her tenure with the Aces and the Valkyries, Martin signed a Player Development Contract with the Sparks, and it was later converted into a standard contract. However, the team waived her to sign Aaliyah Nye. Last season, Martin showed that she deserved a spot in the WNBA and could be signed by a team during the offseason.
• Laura Ziegler: The WNBA rookie signed the Player Development Contract earlier this season. She was waived in July to sign Pili. She played three games for the Sparks, averaging 9.7 minutes, 2.7 points, 1.3 rebounds, and 1.0 assists per game.

09. Minnesota Lynx

• Liatu King: This is King’s second Player Development contract. Earlier in May, she had signed her first developmental deal with the Lynx before it was converted into a standard roster spot next month. She was briefly waived in the first week of July, but the Lynx re-signed her to another second developmental contract on July 10th. She has appeared in eight games this season and is averaging three points and 2.9 rebounds per game. 
• Elena Buenavida: Elena fills the second roster spot under a player development contract. She signed the deal on August 11th to fill the remaining spot. The guard had previously been playing in Spain for Valencia Basket Club. Buenavida practically adds to the practice depth of the Minnesota Lynx. 
• Eliska Joklova: The Lynx guard signed her first developmental contract earlier in May this year. Happy with her seven-game performances, the Minnesota Lynx converted her contract into a 7-day contract. On August 1, the Lynx converted her contract to a rest-of-the-season roster contract. Joklova adds depth to Minnesota’s bench. 
• Emese Hof: Emese had signed the development contract on May 2nd. She was a part of the Lynx’s frontcourt depth during team practice before the 2026 regular season. On May 28th, the team officially released her.

10. New York Liberty

• Elizabeth Balogun: She spent her training camp with the Portland Fire but was waived by the team. In August, the Liberty signed her to a Player Development contract to fill the remaining spot. She has yet to appear in a game.
• Anneli Maley: Maley signed with the team in May after training camp with multiple teams in the WNBA. She continues to be on the Liberty roster under the same contract. Maley has played nine games in a Liberty uniform this season.
• Alex Fowler: The Australian native signed the Player Development contract with the Liberty in May. It was her first contract of any kind in the WNBA. However, the Liberty decided to release her in the same month to clear roster spots. 
• Marine Fauthoux: She had signed a Player Development contract in May earlier this year. Impressed with her production, the team signed her to a multi-year standard deal after waiving Betnijah Laney-Hamilton when Fauthoux reached her 12-game limit. She has appeared in 18 games for the team this season.

11. Phoenix Mercury

• Kara Dunn: After going undrafted in the 2026 WNBA draft, Dunn participated in the Mercury training camp but was waived in May. Phoenix re-signed her to a developmental deal on July 26th. She continues to provide practice depth to the Mercury and a defensive option with just a few more games remaining for the team this season. 
• Marta Suarez: She was drafted by the Seattle Storm in the 2026 WNBA draft and later traded to the Golden State Valkyries, where she played some preseason games. They waived her on May 2,  and 3 days later the Mercury signed her on a developmental contract. On July 9th, she signed a 7-Day hardship contract. After three consecutive seven-day hardship contracts, the Mercury signed her under the rest-of-the-season contract on August 3. 
• Kiana Williams: The Mercury had waived Williams on June 1, but later signed her to the developmental contract just 3 days after. Since then, she briefly had a stint with the Los Angeles Sparks before signing a 7-Day extreme hardship contract with the Toronto Tempo on Aug. 24. She has played three games with the Tempo, averaging six points.
• Shay Ciezki: She went undrafted in the 2026 WNBA draft and signed with the Phoenix Mercury as an undrafted free agent. A month later, they waived her on May 4 and subsequently signed her under a developmental contract. Suzuki was released by the Mercury on June 4th and signed to another developmental contract on June 22. She was again released by Phoenix and now remains a free agent. 
• Quionche Carter: She played for a Lebanese club before signing a 1-year contract with the Mercury on April 12. The 25-year-old forward was waived by the Mercury in July and signed the developmental contract with the team just two days after, on July 9. They eventually released her on July 26th to fill the backcourt talent.

12. Portland Fire

• Sania Feagin: She was drafted by the Los Angeles Sparks in the 2025 WNBA draft, but they waived her in June. Shortly after, Feagin signed with Portland on June 24th to fill the team’s final available spot under a developmental contract. Feagin remains out of the season because of the season-ending ACL injury that she suffered during practice. The team chose to retain her contract for the rest of the season.
• Jordan Harrison: She had originally signed the undrafted rookie scale deal with the team. In May, the Fire waived her and re-signed her under the Player Development deal. In light of her impressive performances, Portland converted her deal into a standard deal on Aug. 9. She has now become a reliable reserve guard in the rotation, averaging 5.5 points and 3.8 assists this season in 12 games. 
• Holly Winterburn: After being waived by the Atlanta Dream, Winterburn signed the developmental player contract on May 13th following their training camp. The UK guard impressed the team management with her shooting, and they eventually upgraded her contract to a standard contract on May 21. This season, she is averaging 3.3 points and 1.8 assists per game.
• Frieda Buhner: The Portland Fire selected Buhner in the second round of the 2026 WNBA draft. They signed her to the developmental deal right after the draft. On May 21, the team converted her deal into a standard WNBA deal. Currently, her contract remains temporarily suspended in light of her commitment to the 2026 FIBA World Cup for the German national team.

13. Seattle Storm

• Taylor Thierry: After she was waived by the Dream, Thierry signed the PDC with the Storm on May 14. The Storm were clearly happy with her potential and signed her under the standard contract. 
• Taina Mair: The Storm selected her 14th overall in the first round of the 2026 WNBA Draft. Seattle waived her rookie scale contract in May for financial flexibility. But they immediately signed her back under the Player Development Contract.

14. Toronto Tempo

• Zaay Green: Green signed the developmental contract with the Tempo earlier last month on August 11th. Previously, she played overseas basketball before joining Toronto. She remains under the player development contract, giving perimeter depth to the Tempo. 
• Ornella Bankole: The Tempo signed Bankole to the player development contract on June 29. She played overseas basketball in Spain before joining the Tempo. Her return adds experience and wing depth to the team.
• Nikolina Milic: She signed the developmental contract with the Tempo earlier in May. It was later converted to the hardship deal in light of the roster shortage. Once the Tempo got back their fully healthy roster, they waived her contract on June 4th. 
• Mariella Fasoula: The Tempo signed Fasoula to the first-ever developmental contract in the franchise’s history on May 5th. She had previously attended the training camp of the Golden State Valkyries. She played five games as a center for the Tempo before she was released on May 24th.

15. Washington Mystics

• Rori Harmon: Harmon was selected 34th overall in the 2026 draft by the Mystics. She was briefly waived by the team to adjust to the incoming Betnijah Laney-Hamilton on Aug. 8. On Aug. 16, she signed back with the team under a development contract. 
• Alicia Florez: She had been on the developmental contract for the first month. However, the rookie won the trust of her coaches after an impactful first few games. In June, the Mystics didn’t waste time signing her to a standard full contract. 
• Darianna Littlepage-Buggs: The Mystics selected her 30th overall in the second round of the 2026 draft. She signed the developmental contract with the team in April and has since remained on the same contract. She has appeared in only 3 games so far.