Who Will Make the Portland Fire's Final Roster?
In eighteen days, the WNBA expansion Portland Fire will play their first ever regular season game.
Leading up to that historic milestone, the franchise’s front office faces a career-defining question to answer: who will make the final roster?
This piece offers my take on that question.
Developmental Players (2) - Frieda Bühner, Serah Williams
Frieda Bühner’s fate has already been sealed. The 2026 second round draft pick was assigned to the team’s development pool last Thursday, mere days after receiving the call to play professionally in the Rose City.
While Serah Williams plays a position of need - the UConn defensive specialist is just the third center on Portland’s training camp roster - she faces a steep, challenging climb in order to make the team. For one, Alex Sarama’s system will utilize many 4-1 and 5-out sets, minimizing the need for traditional centers.
Then, there’s the harsh reality of Williams’ draft stock. After the 2024 and 2025 WNBA drafts, just 2 of 25 total third round picks made opening day rosters as rookies. Playing one year in Storrs, Williams averaged 17.4 minutes per game, and only managed 6.7 points and 1.5 assists. Her defensive prowess is unquestioned, but she needs time to improve on offense before she is ready to shatter expectations for third round picks in the W.
Guards (5) - Carla Leite, Sarah Ashlee Barker, Maya Caldwell, Sug Sutton, Karlie Samuelson
Each of these five picks offers valuable skills.
Carla Leite is Alex Sarama’s ideal floor general, capable of running an offense which prioritizes penetration through dribble-drive motions, backdoor cuts, elevator screens, and other staples of five out perimeter sets.
In limited minutes last season, Sarah Ashlee Barker flashed defensive toughness and an ability to sink spot-up threes. Maya Caldwell has the one trait coaches can’t teach: speed. Meanwhile, Sug Sutton possesses something vital on an expansion team: experience. Then there’s free agent signing Karlie Samuelson, who boasts a white hot three point shooting percentage.
Together, these five guards will form the foundation of Sarama’s high-scoring, entertaining new project in Portland.
Forwards (5) - Bridget Carleton, Emily Engstler, Chloe Bibby, Haley Jones, Nyadiew Puoch
Carleton’s position in the program is unchallenged: as the team’s first ever expansion draft pick, and the recipient of a new three year $3.75M contract, the veteran sniper is a roster lock.
I expect her to play alongside Emily Engstler, a career backup with promising three point shooting numbers. While Engstler has struggled to carve a niche in the league, Sarama’s system empowers forwards who are capable of testing perimeter defenses from way downtown.
Chloe Bibby’s career mirrors Engstler’s in many ways. Undrafted and underappreciated - she played in just 14 games last season - she managed to shoot an incredible 40.5% from behind the arc. That number was impressive enough to earn an expansion draft selection, and it should be enough to earn reserve minutes on a young, developing roster.
Haley Jones and Nyadiew Puoch crack this list for two reasons. First, they boast positional versatility: Jones can play at either shooting guard or small forward, while Puoch can play at either power forward or center. Second, they each claim tantalizing potential. Jones averaged over 22 minutes across 24 games last season, scoring a career-high 8.1 points and 2.5 assists per contest. With those numbers, she could potentially serve as a reliable sixth player. Then there’s Puoch, the former Atlanta Dream first round pick, who could pivot from a 2026 developmental year into a starting role for seasons to come.
Centers (2) - Luisa Geiselsöder, Megan Gustafson
German international Luisa Geiselsöder and Spanish international Megan Gustafson will duke it out for the starting center job, but positional scarcity almost certainly guarantees both competitors a place on Portland’s roster.
Geiselsöder, coming off her rookie year with the Dallas Wings, lacks playing experience. However, her 2025 stats were exceptional. Only two other rookies finished in the top nine amongst all rookies in steals, blocks, field goal percentage, and rebounds.
Gustafson, who first entered the league in 2019, wields experience in the W and overseas. Notably, she won the British Basketball League with Vanja Černivec & Sarama’s London Lions in 2023. Not only will she provide veteran leadership to a locker room which starves for it, but she can help translate Sarama’s vision to his players.
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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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