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Athletes Unlimited Basketball Reveals Talented Opening Roster

Originally posted on Beyond Women's Sports
By LaDarius Brown | Last updated Jul 14, 2025 3:45 PM ET

All things considered, Athletes Unlimited Basketball was a successful season in Nashville this year. What’s more, the roster was loaded with plenty of WNBA talent, and that will be the case in 2026. The league unveiled the opening roster for season five with some familiar faces returning. First, Sydney Colson has been a part of Athletes Unlimited Basketball since its inception in 2022. The current Indiana Fever guard is a member of the league’s Player Executive Committee.

For Seattle Storm guard Lexie Brown and New York Liberty forward Isabelle Harrison, it will also be season No. 5 in Athletes Unlimited. Brown and Harrison finished in seventh and eighth place, respectively, last season. Additionally, Harrison was the inaugural Defensive Player of the Year as Brown is the present chairperson of Athletes Unlimited Pro Basketball’s Player Executive Committee.

Theresa Plaisance returns for her fourth season as the forward averaged seven rebounds a game in the 2025 season. Arguably one of the scorers in league history, guard Odyssey Sims is back for next season. Sims led Athletes Unlimited in points per game (25.5), minutes per game (36.8), and finished second on the leaderboard in the 2025 season.

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Kia Nurse of the Chicago Sky and Brown’s Seattle teammate, Alysha Clark, will return for their second season. In this most recent season of Athletes Unlimited, Nurse placed ninth on the leaderboard as Clark was No. 15. Lastly, Las Vegas Aces forward NaLyssa Smith makes her return to the league in 2026 as she won it all in the 2023 season.

Players Making Their Athletes Unlimited Debut

As the second season in Nashville will have the aforementioned familiarity, there will be some familiar faces. To begin, Aces center Kiah Stokes will make her Athletes Unlimited debut in the Music City. Stokes is a two-time WNBA champion. Jacy Sheldon, the fifth overall pick in the 2024 WNBA Draft, will make her debut in Nashville. The guard is shooting 43.5% from three-point range for the Connecticut Sun this season.

Atlanta Dream rookie guard Te-Hina Paopao is also making her first appearance in Athletes Unlimited next year. Paopao has been shooting great from three-point range this season at 48.6% for the Dream thus far. Furthermore, Jaylyn Sherrod of the Liberty will make her debut as won a championship with the franchise in 2024. Another Aces player, Aaliyah Nye, is on the roster as she went No. 13 overall in the 2024 Draft.

Finally, two-time WNBA All-Star and five-time All-Defensive guard Ariel Atkins of the Sky is on the roster. Atkins is averaging 14.5 points per game so far for Chicago this WNBA season. Without question, more new faces could find themselves on the roster and playing at the Nashville Municipal Auditorium come February 4, 2026.

This article first appeared on Beyond Women's Sports and was syndicated with permission.

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