Who will be joining the Washington Mystics at 2023 training camp?

The Washington Mystics will have their first organized activity of the 2023 season when the team kicks off training camp on April 30. There, Washington will prepare for the upcoming season and look to continue the playoff success they’ve enjoyed the past decade.

But perhaps the most important part of training camp is the roster cut-down, where general manager Mike Thibault and head coach Eric Thibault must choose the final 11 or 12 players to make the opening day roster. 

Each year there tend to be a few surprises across the WNBA regarding who makes a roster and subsequently who gets cut. It’s an increasingly difficult task to be one of the 144 players who make up the WNBA with the expanding talent pool highlighted by the growth of the college game.

As things stand, the Mystics look to enter camp with 16 players. That includes Kristi Toliver who is expected to sign prior to the start of camp. 

Many are familiar faces in D.C. Ten of the 16 suited up for the Mystics last year. There are also draft picks and other talented players who received a training camp contract this offseason.

The bulk of the roster, though, is set in Washington. Of the 16, seven players are on guaranteed contracts and will make up the top half of the depth chart. That leaves the remaining nine to fight for one of the coveted spots on the team. Given the franchise’s salary cap situation, it is likely they will only roster the league minimum of 11 players. So, there are essentially four spots up for grabs. 

But, based on the moves the Mystics made in the offseason, several spots have likely been claimed already. When considering that part of the reason the franchise also traded away the rights to the No. 4 pick Stephanie Soares because it “would force our hand to maybe cut somebody else that we really liked right now on our roster,” that posits that every spot might be accounted for in the staff’s eyes. 

Washington traded away two future second-round picks for the rights to Amanda Zahui B. She agreed to an unprotected training camp contract, according to the WNBA’s official transaction page. It’s hard to see the Mystics not retaining her for at least the start of the season given the capital used to acquire her. 

There’s also Tianna Hawkins on a training camp contract, who Washington has rostered seven of the past eight seasons. It remains to be seen what Toliver’s contract will be, but there’s a good chance she makes the team too.

So, does that mean there’s really only one roster spot left?

Here’s a look at who’s expected to attend the Mystics 2023 training camp and background on who is fighting to make the roster:

Rostered:

Elena Delle Donne, F

Ariel Atkins, SG

Natasha Cloud, PG

Shakira Austin, C

Myisha Hines-Allen, PF

Brittney Sykes, G

Shatori Walker-Kimbrough, G/F

Training Camp Contracts:

Amanda Zahui B., C (WNBA experience: 7 seasons)

Zahui B. was brought in, presumably, to fill the back-up center position behind…