The City of Roses is getting a WNBA franchise in two years.
Coincidentally, Oregon is currently home to a booming girls basketball scene.
The No. 3 recruit in ESPN’s class of 2025 — Clackamas’ Jazzy Davidson — comes from The Beaver State. Cameron Brink, the No. 2 pick in the 2024 WNBA Draft, is from Oregon. The state has routinely sent players to Division I colleges in recent years.
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Area girls basketball coaches expressed excitement at the thought of having a women’s professional team come to Portland.
Here is what some Portland-area girls basketball coaches had to say about the news:
Andre Lawrence, Jefferson
I believe it is great for the Portland area to have a WNBA team here. We have a lot of great girls playing the game so it will be great to have pros in their backyard.
Matt Sanders, Sherwood
I believe it’s fantastic for the game and our culture in Portland. It will undoubtedly be an integral part of our team bonding activities, catering to both the youth and high school levels.
The Clackamas Cavaliers host the Camas Papermakers in a non-league girls basketball game on Friday, Dec. 22, 2023 at Clackamas High School.Howard Lao for The Oregonian/OregonLive
Korey Landolt, Clackamas
I think this is going to be awesome for our women’s basketball fan base that seems to be quite large in Portland. Every time the NCAA brings a regional event to Portland there is such fun energy present to soak in some high level basketball.
I think this will mean a lot to the female athletes and young girls in our communities and bring a bigger love for a beautiful sport. As a coach of females and as a girl mom, I am beyond thrilled to have the W in Portland and for our state to have better accessibility to professional women’s basketball.
Jesuit’s Sofia Bell (3) is introduced as the Crusaders take on the Willamette Wolverines in the OSAA Class 6A girls basketball state quarterfinals on Wednesday, March 8, 2023, at the Chiles Center in Portland. Jesuit won 58-55.Howard Lao for The Oregonian/OregonLive
Jason Lowery, Jesuit
This is exiting news for women’s basketball fans in Portland, but more important is what it can do for the development of young players in the area. Having a team in the best women’s professional league in the world means young players can actually see up close what big time women’s hoops is about, and it is something that I think will inspire current young players as well as help bring more to the game.
Tiffani Traver, Oregon City
It’s so exciting to see the women’s basketball game continuing to grow. Having a WNBA team in Portland, OR provides our players and communities a chance to see some high level women’s basketball just minutes away. The most amazing part of today’s news was having players come running to my classroom to share in the excitement of this expansion team. It was really cool to see our young athletes so happy to have a WNBA team coming to Portland. They look up to a lot of those players and now they’ll have more of a chance to see them play in person. Really cool for our state!
Eddie Littlefield, Century
The news of the WNBA returning to Portland has created an incredible buzz among our team. The girls were ecstatic when we shared it on our Instagram story first thing this morning, and the excitement has only grown as they posted their own reactions. This is something we’ve been talking and dreaming about, and to see it happening is amazing.
As a team, we regularly follow WNBA games, discuss the players and talk about how inspiring it is to watch the league’s continued success. The energy surrounding women’s basketball—both in the WNBA and at the collegiate level, especially after this year’s thrilling NCAA tournament—has been contagious. Our players feel a deep connection to this momentum, and they truly believe that they’re part of something bigger.
We’re beyond excited to support the WNBA here in Portland and to be part of this new era for women’s basketball. It’s more than just a league to them—it’s an opportunity to see themselves represented at the highest level.
The Tualatin Timberwolves and the Lakeridge Pacers compete in a girls basketball game on Tuesday, Jan, 17, 2023 at Tualatin High School.Howard Lao for The Oregonian/OregonLive
Wes Pappas, Tualatin
I’m extremely excited that we are getting a WNBA team here in Portland. That league is on fire right now with Caitlin Clark and Angel Reese as rookies and A’Ja Wilson putting up unbelievable numbers, etc. It’s going to be great for the city and I think the Portland metro area will support it extremely well. But most importantly, I think having a team here is going to inspire countless young girls to pick up the game of basketball in this community and that’s a beautiful thing.
— Nik Streng, nstreng@oregonian.com, @NikStreng
