Get to Know Portland Fire C Luisa Geiselsöder
Luisa Geiselsöder, a 6'4" center from Germany, was selected by the Portland Fire in today's WNBA expansion draft.
Today, German center Luisa Geiselsöder received the call to play in Portland.
In the first round of the 2026 WNBA Expansion Draft, Geiselsöder’s name appeared as one of the Portland Fire’s selections, visible on a nationally-televised broadcast for all to see.
This piece is one of eleven profile pieces spotlighting the career journeys of Portland’s expansion draft selections - the first professional women’s basketball players to represent the Rose City since 2002 - and the first members of Portland’s new WNBA team.
The 26 year old Geiselsöder grew up in the Bavarian town of Ansbach, ninety miles north of Munich. Her basketball trajectory skyrocketed as a member of the Germany U16 team at the 2016 FIBA European Championship, where she averaged 14.7 points and 8.9 rebounds on the silver medal winners. Two years later, the promising young center featured on Germany’s gold medal U18 team at the same tournament, averaging 11.3 points and 6.3 rebounds.
Her basketball career began in 2015 with local club BG Donau-Ries. Over her 2019-20 season, the Bavarian big tallied career numbers with 18.6 points, 2.3 rebounds and 1.4 assists per game. Soon, she earned her first appearance with Germany’s senior national team, and drew the attention of higher-profile professional teams.
First, she was selected by the Dallas Wings in the first round of the 2020 WNBA Draft. However, the German big suffered an injury that kept her out of training camp, and her contract was suspended before ever playing a game in the W. Her basketball career endured with stints French clubs Landernau (2020-22) and Roche Vendée (2022-23). In 2023, Geiselsöder inked a contract with Basket Landes, winning a pair of French league championships.
Still, the WNBA beckoned. In early February 2025, the German center signed a new contract with Dallas. She made her WNBA debut early last May, and notched a career high 13 points on 6-of-6 shooting in a June loss to the Las Vegas Aces. Following a break to represent Germany in last summer’s FIBA EuroBasket tournament, Geiselsöder briefly returned to action before suffering a season-ending shoulder injury in late August.
Her rookie year featured 28 games played, 24 starts, 6.9 points per game, and 4.8 rebounds per game. In addition, she placed among a select trio of rookies league-wide. When the regular season ended, Geiselsöder finished in the top nine among all WNBA rookies in steals, blocks, field goal percentage, and rebounds.
Geiselsöder and her new Portland Fire teammates will return to the court later this Spring. The Fire’s regular season opener is at home May 9th against the Chicago Sky.
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Matt Bagley is a professional sportswriter and broadcaster with a passion for women’s sports. Outside of work, he cherishes quality time with his birth family, his chosen family, and one very pesky house panther.
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