The Golden State Valkyries sent shockwaves through their fledgling roster on May 3, waiving Shyanne Sellers, a second-round draft pick and former Maryland standout, in their first training camp cut of the 2025 WNBA season. The move, announced just days after camp opened, underscores the brutal reality of pro basketball’s numbers game, even for a player with Sellers’ pedigree.
Sellers, a 6-foot-2 guard known for her gritty defense and playmaking, was selected 17th overall by the Valkyries in the April 15 WNBA Draft. She’d earned a reputation at Maryland, averaging 14.3 points, 5.5 assists, and 5.2 rebounds in her senior year, numbers that turned heads and landed her All-Big Ten honors. But the Valkyries’ backcourt, already stacked with seven guards, proved too crowded. Veterans like Tiffany Hayes, a 12-year pro, and rising star Kate Martin, a fan darling, left little room for a rookie to crack the lineup.
The decision came swiftly. Training camp, which kicked off April 28, barely gave Sellers a week to prove her worth. The WNBA’s preseason, a pressure cooker where rosters shrink from 18 to 12, doesn’t wait for potential to blossom. For Golden State, an expansion team building from scratch, every spot counts. Sellers, despite her college accolades, became the first casualty.
This isn’t new for the league. Just a day earlier, on May 2, the Los Angeles Sparks cut Alyssa Ustby, a North Carolina star who went undrafted but signed a training camp deal. The WNBA’s 144 roster spots across 12 teams make it a gauntlet, even for decorated college players. Sellers, born in Aurora, Ohio, and a product of a hoops-crazed family—her father played at Ohio State—now faces an uncertain path. She could latch on with another team’s camp or explore overseas leagues, a common route for waived rookies.
The Valkyries’ next preseason game, set for May 12 against the Seattle Storm, will roll on without her. For Sellers, the dream of suiting up at Chase Center in Golden State’s inaugural season, which tips off May 16, is over. The team’s front office, led by GM Ohemaa Nyanin, made no public comment beyond the announcement. The focus now shifts to the remaining 17 players vying for a spot.