The Minnesota Lynx officially have their roster for the start of the 2019 training camp season later this month.
The organization announced Wednesday afternoon that it has signed six players, including their four picks from the WNBA Draft earlier this month, to come to a current roster of 19 players.
Among the six signings that Minnesota announced are draft selections Napheesa Collier, Jessica Shepard, Cierra Dillard and Kenisha Bell, along with forward Shao Ting and guard Taylor Emery.
Collier, a forward, was the No. 6 selection by the Lynx in the 2019 WNBA Draft out of UCONN and will be entering her rookie campaign with Minnesota this summer. With the Huskies, she finished her collegiate career with 2,401 points and 1,219 rebounds, averaging a career-high 20.8 points, 10.8 boards and 3.5 assists during her senior season.
Shepard, a forward, was the No. 16 pick by the Lynx in the 2019 WNBA Draft out of Notre Dame. During her senior year, which consisted of 32 games, Shepard averaged 16.5 points and is one of only two players in school history to score of 2,000 points and haul in over 1,000 rebounds in her career.
Dillard, a guard, was the No. 20 selection by Minnesota in the 2019 WNBA Draft out of Buffalo. The sharpshooter averaged a team-high 25.2 points, 5.7 assists and 2.9 steals during her senior season, earning First Team All-MAC honors as a result.
Bell, a guard, was the No. 30 pick by the Lynx in the 2019 WNBA Draft out of Minnesota. Under head coach and former Lynx guard Lindsay Whalen, Bell averaged 18.1 points during her senior year for the Gophers. That mark ranks fifth in team Gophers history.
Shao, who is a 6-foot-1 forward from China, will return to the Lynx during training camp this season for the second time in the last three years. She appeared in two preseason games for Minnesota in 2017, finishing with 16 points, six rebounds and three assists during that span. Shao has spent the last year offseasons playing alongside Lynx center Sylvia Fowles in the Women’s Chinese Basketball Association for Beijing.
Emery is a 5-10 guard from Virginia Tech who will have the ability to help Minnesota during training camp with her ability to create her own shot on the offensive end. Emery averaged 19 points and shot 43 percent from the field during her senior year with the Hokies, including making 77 threes.
The Lynx, who will begin the 2019 regular season at 7 p.m. on May 25 against the Chicago Sky at Target Center, will likely begin training camp later on this month or in early May. The team announced in Wednesday’s release that they will release official training camp information at a later date.
Below is the full 2019 training camp roster, which notes that Temi Fagbenle and Cecilia Zandalasini will be late arrivals to training camp due to overseas commitments, while Kelsey Griffin and Maya Moore will begin the 2019 season on the WNBA’s Suspended List.
