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.

Despite some mock drafts projecting her to go as high as the first pick in the second round of the 2025 WNBA Draft, TCU’s Sedona Prince did not earn an invite to the pro league on Monday night.

The move came after the 6-foot-7 center helped lead the Horned Frogs to the 2024/25 NCAA tournament's Elite Eight round.

Prince, who turns 25 years old next month, suited up for Texas, Oregon, and TCU during her seven-year NCAA career. Her run spanned multiple injury-induced redshirt seasons caused by a broken leg, torn elbow ligament, and a broken finger.

During Monday's ESPN broadcast, commentators noted that her age and injury record may have impacted Prince's WNBA prospects. They also directly brought up Prince's history of intimate partner violence and abuse allegations.

As reported both via social media and by The Washington Post, several women have accused Prince of abuse or sexual assault. Prince denies these claims and, to date, has never been charged with a crime.

Prince's complicated collegiate campaign also includes a viral 2021 social media post calling out gender inequities within the NCAA tournament. The post ultimately ignited top-line changes across college sports.

WNBA GMs weigh risk factors in drafting Prince

Like other undrafted athletes, Prince could still receive an invite to any of the 13 teams' training camps. Though the decision to offer her a preseason try-out remains complicated for WNBA front offices.

"You want to be fair about it and don't want to necessarily hold [the allegations] against her," one unnamed WNBA GM told ESPN’s Katie Barnes in a recent article detailing Prince’s draft prospects. "But from an organizational standpoint, you also have to be cautious and do your due diligence."

"We wouldn't touch it, but I think that everybody's at a different spot. Everybody has different information," another GM said. "But where we're at with this franchise, right, wrong, or indifferent, there's a risk associated and that's not a risk on someone's character that we'd take."

The Dallas Wings made arguably the easiest decision of the 2025 WNBA Draft on Monday night, selecting UConn guard Paige Bueckers as the overall No. 1 pick.

"I can't wait to play with that system, to play with that team, to embrace that new city," Bueckers told reporters. "To be in a place that you're loved and wanted, that's very important."

"Very early on it was Paige, and Paige only. She's such a special player," said newly hired Dallas GM Curt Miller.

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Bueckers bolsters revamped Dallas team

Bueckers has been the consensus No. 1 draftee since the start of the 2024/25 NCAA season. Top pick-holder Dallas subsequently spent the offseason assembling existing WNBA talent to complement their expected collegiate recruit.

Returning starters include Arike Ogunbowale and Teaira McCowan. Additionally, Miller brought on experienced players NaLyssa Smith, DiJonai Carrington, and Ty Harris.

"There's a new GM, new coach, new assistant coach, a whole new team," Bueckers said. "We're excited for that fresh start."

The 11th-place Wings ended last season on a nine-game losing streak. And with a 9-31 record, Dallas missed the 2024 WNBA Playoffs. The team now aims to right the ship in 2025 behind their new-look lineup and freshly minted franchise player Bueckers.

"She can take over a game when she wants to, but she has a great feel for getting others involved and that’s really special," said incoming Wings head coach Chris Koclanes.

"You put that next to Arike, and I feel together they'll be able to play off each other."

With a fully revamped roster and an upgraded arena and practice facility in the works, the Dallas Wings appear to be bypassing the traditionally slow rebuild and will instead hit the ground running in 2025.

After UConn superstar Paige Bueckers set the tone as the overall No. 1 pick, the rest of Monday night’s 2025 WNBA Draft played out without too many surprises, as teams stocked up on fresh talent from both home and abroad.

The Seattle Storm selected French phenom Dominique Malonga second, before the Washington Mystics took Notre Dame guard Sonia Citron at No. 3 and USC forward Kiki Iriafen at No. 4.

Incoming expansion team Golden State threw the night’s initial curveball with their first-ever draft pick, adding Lithuanian forward Justé Jocyté to the Valkyries' inaugural roster at No. 5.

However, Jocyté's availability remains a question mark, with the 19-year-old confirming her intent to join her national team for this summer's EuroBasket.

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Young stars earn first round selections at the 2025 WNBA Draft

The rest of Monday's first round showcased NCAA and international standouts alike, with teams prioritizing both skills, potential, and team fit as they strategized and vied to load their draft boards with top talent.

The exception to the original first-round lineup was Las Vegas, whose No. 10 pick was rescinded after a 2023 investigation found the Aces guilty of violating league policies.

• No. 6: Georgia Amoore (Kentucky) to the Washington Mystics
• No. 7: Aneesah Morrow (LSU) to the Connecticut Sun
• No. 8: Saniyah Rivers (NC State) to the Connecticut Sun
• No. 9: Sarah Ashlee Barker (Alabama) to the LA Sparks
• No. 10: Ajša Sivka (Slovenia) to the Chicago Sky
• No. 11: Hailey Van Lith (TCU) to the Chicago Sky
• No. 12: Aziaha James (NC State) to the Dallas Wings

With the 2025 WNBA season starting in just one month, the new draftees will soon be joining their pro teams in training camp, where final roster decisions will be made as franchises make difficult cuts en route to May 16th's opening tip-off.

"The WNBA is so unique with how powerful the talent is because it is so small," said Van Lith, who's set to link up with her former LSU teammate Angel Reese at the Chicago Sky this year. "It's a competition that I'm ready to embrace, that I'm excited to embrace."

Teen phenom Dominique Malonga officially introduced herself to US basketball fans during Monday's 2025 WNBA Draft, with the 19-year-old becoming the highest drafted French player in league history as the overall No. 2 pick by the Seattle Storm.

"I'm so proud just to show that today French basketball is at a level that we have never seen," she told reporters after her record-setting selection.

"She's a unicorn. She's one of one," Seattle head coach Noelle Quinn said of the 6-foot-6 teenager. "The thing that is very intriguing about her is the way that she's grown rapidly over the last few years.... She's 100% an amazing athlete."

Malonga's rapid rise to the WNBA

After turning pro at just 15 years old in 2021, Malonga's first international spotlight came during the 2024 Paris Olympics, when the then-18-year-old debuted as the youngest player on France’s silver medal-winning national team.

A nimble, athletic player with skilled shooting and marked versatility, Malonga went on to make waves last October as the first-ever Frenchwoman to dunk in a game.

"I would say that international FIBA basketball prepared me [on] toughness because it was always high-level games," Malonga added. "I think that it really helped me to be ready for the league."

Though not yet a household name in the US, Seattle is keeping an eye on the future by drafting a player whose generational talent could potentially set the bar in the WNBA.