Katie Benzan’s time with the Washington Mystics likely will be short, but that hasn’t stopped the guard from making the most of the moment.

The 5-foot-6 rookie was signed to a training camp contract after going undrafted out of Maryland. While she was released just hours before the opening game, she was picked up on a replacement contract.

When Benzan made her WNBA debut for the Mystics on May 8 against Minnesota, she became the first Dominican to play in the league.

“It’s been a lot of fun, but it’s also been a bit crazy,” Benzan said Thursday. “I just appreciate all of the support and love that I’ve received both technologically but also in person with the locker room, the warm embraces that I’ve experienced here. I cannot be more grateful. Even with this coaching staff, I always get pats on the back, high-fives. That constant physical touch really shows their love and support for what I have within this organization.”

Mystics forward Alysha Clark went so far as to coin the term “Benzanity” for the guard’s play, comparing her to former NBA player Jeremy Lin.

“I was joking earlier and I was like, ‘Do you remember the Linsanity era in New York? What about Benzanity?’ You know what I’m saying?” she said. “I know how hard it is just to make it in this league. It took me three tries to even be able to get a spot.

“So to see a young player come in and just be in the moment, and take advantage and enjoy being out here, and then making the impact that she’s made and seeing the work behind the scenes that she puts in, I love that.”

While Benzan clocked in for just two minutes and recorded just one assist in her first game against the Lynx, she contributed 12 points and two rebounds in 15 minutes in Tuesday’s 89-76 win against the Las Vegas Aces. In that game, she went 3-of-4 from behind the 3-point line, continuing to flash the range she was known for in college.

Following Tuesday’s win, Myisha Hynes-Allen called Benzan “awesome,” and Ariel Atkins agreed. But Benzan’s performance also didn’t come as a surprise to those that have been there with her in practice.

“I could keep talking about Katie,” Hynes-Allen said. “I remember when she first walked in the training room. I’m like, ‘Who is this?’ And I find out she was the leading 3-point percentage [shooter] in college basketball. I was like, ‘Oh, she a shooter, let’s see it.’ And she was going swack, swack, swack, swack, swack.”

“Every day,” added Atkins.

.@Mooks_22 was asked about Katie Benzan after tonight’s win. #Mystics25 | #WNBA pic.twitter.com/YQexlhCJJf

— The NBS Sports Hour (@NBSSportsHour) May 11, 2022

Yet while the Mystics have nothing but positive things to say about Benzan, her days with the team seem numbered.

Clark has not played since March 2021, when she suffered a Lisfranc injury while playing overseas in France, but she is expected to play Friday for the Mystics. As a result, Stephanie Jones will be released from her replacement contract with the team.

So Benzan, who set a program record for career 3-point percentage at Maryland (47.4 percent) and led the NCAA in 3-point percentage in 2021, will get another opportunity. But with Kennedy Burke expected to arrive in Washington by May 16 from her overseas stint in Spain, Benzan could be next on the chopping block.

Still, she tries not to let the circumstances phase her.

“As a smaller guard, the odds have always been against my favor,” Benzan said. “Ever since I was growing up I’ve had haters and doubters, doubting that I could play at the college level. I wasn’t worried about the odds. I knew when I got this chance I was going to go out, have fun and compete no matter if it was a couple of days or a couple of weeks.

“I can’t control the business side of the WNBA. So I’m just focusing on what I can do each and every day.”

While Mike Thibault has said he wishes he could keep Benzan – amid a larger outcry for larger rosters around the WNBA – her time with the Mystics could come to an end soon. But if she continues to make a name for herself, her time in the WNBA could just be beginning.

The WSL hit some opening day snags over the weekend, with a last-minute media deal causing broadcasts Stateside to generate confusion and widespread technical difficulties as the UK league's big-name US talent pool took the pitch.

First, in Friday's 2025/26 season kick-off match, ESPN+ served fans an error screen during the first 15 minutes of six-time defending WSL champion Chelsea's 2-1 win over Manchester City.

Then on Saturday morning, skips and lags continuously interrupted Arsenal's 4-1 victory over the recently promoted London City Lionesses.

Notably, the WSL media rights extension deal with ESPN+ — the 2024/25 US carrier of the top-flight UK league —came together at the very last minute.

As such, the WSL left fans in the dark by omitting US coverage details from all promotions in the lead-up to the 2025/26 season's opening weekend — possibly missing out on a big Stateside moment as USWNT stars like Naomi Girma, Catarina Macario, Emily Fox, and Alyssa Thompson kick off their club campaigns in the UK.

"The delays weren't about lack of interest so much as the sheer number of changes the league has been managing," former head of broadcast at WSL Football Andrea Ekblad told The Athletic this week.

"Of course, nobody wants a broadcast deal announced only hours before kickoff. That's not ideal," she continued. "But continuing the [ESPN] partnership makes great sense."

USWNT prospect Jaedyn Shaw is on her way to New York City, with ESPN reporting late Monday that the No. 11 North Carolina Courage is sending the rising NWSL star to No. 6 Gotham FC in an intra-league-record $1.25 million trade deal.

North Carolina's return nearly doubles the NWSL's previous $600,000 transfer record, set when the No. 1 Kansas City Current acquired forward Ally Sentnor from the last-place Utah Royals in early August.

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As for Shaw, this will be her second major move this year, after the attacker requested a trade to the Courage from the San Diego Wave last January — a deal in which the Wave received a combined $450,000 in allocation money and fees.

During her time in San Diego, Shaw shattered the NWSL record for most goals scored by a teenager, but the now-20-year-old has only logged three in her 10 starts for North Carolina this season.

With this trade to Gotham, Shaw will exit a Courage side sitting three spots below the postseason line as North Carolina regroups following the abrupt firing of head coach Sean Nahas.

She instead will join a NJ/NY side in the midst of a serious playoff push, with ESPN reporting that Gotham is going all in on Shaw with plans to sign the young talent through the 2029 season.

The No. 8 Seattle Storm are only one win away from making the 2025 WNBA Playoffs, shooting to oust the No. 9 LA Sparks from the postseason race by claiming a victory over the No. 6 Golden State Valkyries on Tuesday night.

"Our team has changed from the beginning of the season until now," Seattle head coach Noelle Quinn said earlier this week. "Part of that is finding some consistency with one another: minutes, reps, all of those things."

Should the Storm lose to the already-clinched Valkyries in their final 2025 regular-season game, Seattle will still have a shot at the playoffs: The Sparks must still win both of their remaining two games to secure a playoff berth and bounce Seattle from the postseason — starting with their own Tuesday night matchup against the No. 4 Phoenix Mercury.

"[We're] not talking about things we can't control," Sparks head coach Lynne Roberts said over the weekend. "Whether Indiana wins or loses or Seattle, we can't control that. We just have to focus on what we're doing and see how it all shakes out."

How to watch the Storm and Sparks on Tuesday

Both No. 8 Seattle and No. 9 LA will take the court at 10 PM ET on Tuesday, with the Storm battling No. 6 Golden State on WNBA League Pass while the Sparks face No. 4 Phoenix on NBA TV.

Bay FC is shifting gears as the NWSL's 12th-place team's postseason hopes slip away, with the 2024 expansion side announcing a plan to part ways with inaugural head coach Albertin Montoya at the end of the 2025 season.

"I have so much love for these players, staff, and fans," Montoya said in Monday's club release. "We've built a culture and a style of play that I believe will compete for championships for years to come."

Brought on in 2023, Montoya led Bay FC to 11 victories in 2024, setting a league record for wins by an expansion team in its debut season.

Under Montoya, Bay FC also became just the second expansion club to qualify for the NWSL Playoffs in their inaugural campaign, but the team has fallen down the table this year amid accusations of fostering a toxic work environment.

The team also recently lost a high-profile player in Nigerian star Asisat Oshoala, who signed with Saudi Premier League side Al Hilal last week.

Bay Collective CEO Kay Cossington and club sporting director Matt Potter stated that they will work together to hire a replacement for Montoya prior to the 2026 NWSL season.

"Bay FC's startup phase is ending and we're moving to our next phase of growth," Bay FC chair Alan Waxman added in the team's statement.