A Complete List of All 35 Out Gay Players in the WNBA

Welcome to my annual Who’s Gay in the WNBA Report! The league is exploding this year thanks in large part to Caitlin Clark and Angel Reese, and I could not be more excited for what that means for the future of women’s basketball in the US. If you’re anything like me, you’re here equally for the off-court drama as you are for the on-court excitement, and that’s where this list comes in.

The league is well known to have some of the best pre-game walk-up outfits in all of professional sports, so you’re missing out if you don’t follow at least the @wnba account on Instagram. If you’re here more for the drama than for the basketball, here’s a complete list of all out gay players in the league, broken down by team. For my purposes, Out means confirmed by the player either in an interview or on their social media.

I specified players pronouns if they are known to not be she/her.

Last Updated: 5/13/24

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Las Vegas Aces

The Las Vegas Aces are back to back champs, and it doesn’t look like much is going to stand in their way of making it a three-peat this year. What’s impressive about this team is the fact that most of their talent has stayed there for years as opposed to joining in free agency. A’ja Wilson, Chelsea Gray, and Kelsey Plum are three of the most fun athletes to watch and they’re all on this team! For the Iowa fans turning to the WNBA, this team is home to Kate Martin, a surprise late draft pick that fought out quite a few vets to make this roster. While I doubt Becky Hammond will play either Martin or fellow rookie Dyaishia Fair all that much (she’s known to favor veterans), it will be fun to see them grow surrounded by such superstar talent.

• Kierstan Bell
• Sydney Colson
• Chelsea Gray
• Emma Cannon

Atlanta Dream

I feel like the Dream is in a position where I never know too much about them. They are normally towards the bottom of the pack in terms of standings, and given that I have never even been to Georgia in my life I don’t feel an incentive to follow. That being said, the Dream scooped up Crystal Dangerfield after she was dropped from her original roster, and her combined with Aerial Powers and Jordin Canada could be a fun backcourt to watch play out. It’s been fun to watch Powers grow in the league and I think this could be the year she takes over as a potential all-star candidate.

• Jordin Canada
• Aerial Powers
• Crystal Dangerfield

Indiana Fever

Obviously, the highlight of this team is the dynamic duo of Aliyah Boston and Caitlin Clark. Boston was the obvious #1 pick in the 2023 draft, and Clark found herself in the same position this year, meaning that the Fever is stocked up on young talent that’s ready to find itself in championship contention. Do I think they’re ready this year? Probably not, but it’ll be fun to see how Clark adjusts to the next level and whether or not head coach Christie Sides figures out how to draw up plays for Boston.

• NaLyssa Smith
• Erica Wheeler

New York Liberty

If you’re looking for a “big three” who’s all gay, this is the team for you! The Liberty are admittedly a superteam, having pulled in Jonquel Jones from the Sun, Breanna Stewart from the Storm and Courtney Vandersloot from the Sky. But still! This is a gay starting lineup who plays their games in Brooklyn—can you get much better than that? After doing well in the regular season, the Liberty had a somewhat disappointing playoff performance last year and I’m sure they’re all coming back with a chip on their shoulders. That being said, they did lose by 50 to the Sky in preseason, so maybe that chip needs to get bigger!

• Jonquel Jones
• Breanna Stewart
• Courtney Vandersloot

Minnesota Lynx

The Minnesota Lynx are coached by legend Cheryl Reeve and while they haven’t been good recently, I still have faith in them for an eventual comeback. The queer players on this roster—namely, Courtney Williams and Natisha Hiedeman—are very cool and fun both on the court and off of it.

• Natisha Hiedeman
• Alanna Smith
• Courtney Williams

**Phoenix Mercury**

In an entertaining turn of events, the team that’s home to the most well-known Trump supporter in the league is also home to the most gay people, including activist athlete Natasha Cloud. Skylar Diggins-Smith left this team in the offseason after having a rather terrible personal year with her teammates. She did not like them and they did not like her! It seems like there was more tension than just SDS and Diana Taurasi on that roster, so we’ll see if they can balance out this year.

The addition of (newly engaged) Kahleah Copper should hopefully help breathe new life into the team. Copper is an absolute bucket who used to play for the Sky. Of course, I’d be remiss if I didn’t mention Brittney Griner, who’s both an icon and an incredible basketball player. Off the court, her friendship with Taurasi is adorable and worth the watch.

• Natasha Cloud
• Kahleah Copper
• Brittney Griner
• Natasha Mack
• Sug Sutton
• Diana Taurasi

Washington Mystics

The Mystics are always in a weird position, thanks in large part to Elena Delle Donne, who manages to stay in the league despite being healthy approximately 1 in every three years. This is an off year for her, meaning everyone else will have to step up in her place. I’m a huge Emily Engstler fan, and hope that the Mystics will give her a place to put her best foot forward.

• Stefanie Dolson
• Emily Engstler
• Brittney Sykes

Chicago Sky

My local team is, alas, the straightest in the league. I don’t know how this happened! Gay girlies move to Chicago please!

Despite that, the Sky had an incredible showing in preseason, absolutely demolishing the New York Liberty. That’s a good sign for a team that’s expected to be in its rebuild year—with luck, they could be back in playoff contention already.

Los Angeles Sparks

I don’t know much about the Sparks but I do love that they’re keeping Layshia Clarendon on their roster. They’re one of my favorite players from an off-the-court perspective—I saw them talk at the Lesbians Who Tech conference a couple years ago and sobbed—so it makes me happy whenever they’re in the league. With Julie Allemand out for the season, Layshia’s the only queer player which I’m sure is disappointing to all of the LA celesbians.

• Layshia Clarendon (any pronouns)

Seattle Storm

The Storm have a good chance of coming back strong this year, led by veteran point guard Jewell Loyd. As a Uconn fan, I’m hoping that Nika Muhl makes the roster as well and is able to help them out on the defensive end of the floor. Guard Sami Whitcomb is a married gay with a baby (see photo!) and Jordan Horston is young talent that has been fun to watch. It should be a good year to be a Seattle sports fan!

• Jordan Horston
• Jewell Loyd
• Victoria Vivians
• Sami Whitcomb

Connecticut Sun

My hometown team! While they’re far less gay than in recent years, they’re still home to the league’s only intra-team relationship—Dewanna Bonner and Alyssa Thomas. They’re both absolute buckets and this team has been in title contention for years. I have high hopes that this could be the year they finally get the win for the state of CT.

• Dewanna Bonner
• Dijonai Carrington
• Alyssa Thomas

Dallas Wings

I’ve long said Dallas is a bad place to be gay, and that’s holding this year. They cut two of the queer players attending their training camp (both of whom were picked up by other teams) and are now left with just 3 gay players on the roster. Is it the lowest numbers we’ve seen from a team? No, but I hate Dallas as a concept so I’ll continue talking my shit.

That being said, I do actually enjoy a lot of the players on the Wings this year. They have a ton of young kids on their roster, including Jacy Sheldon, Jaelyn Brown, Maddy Siegrist, and Lou Lopez Sénéchal, all of whom I deeply enjoy watching. Led by Arike Ogunbowale, I don’t think think this team is necessarily in playoff contention, but I do think they’ll be the perfect non-bandwagon team to cheer for filled with faces you’ll be seeing for many years to come.

• Natasha Howard
• Lou Lopez Sénéchal
• Sevgi Uzun

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Feel free to let me know in the comments who I’ve missed! I will be updating this post as the season continues.