UpShot League to offer professional women’s basketball spots to college players appeared first on Clutch Points. Add ClutchPoints as Favorite source by clicking here.
Another professional Women’s Basketball Startup League plans to debut in 2026, but this time it will be aimed at players coming out of college. UpShot, which has been billed as a developmental league, will begin its inaugural season in May next year.
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UpShot is more comparable to the NBA’s G League than other global leagues that have arisen to potentially rival the WNBA. It is backed by Zawyer Sports & Entertainment and will be led by former W President Donna Orender. Women’s basketball legends are also involved, including Cheryl Miller, one of its financial investors.
The newly announced league will act almost as an extension of the WNBA rosters, giving players who would normally be excluded from rosters due to limited space a chance to prove and improve their skills at a professional level without having to go overseas.
The first teams announced by UpShot will play in Jacksonville, Florida, Savannah, Georgia, and Greensboro and Charlotte, both in North Carolina. Baltimore, Maryland, has been announced as a team that will take the field starting in 2027.
Each of UpShot’s teams will feature 11 spots, creating 44 additional opportunities in the first season alone for former collegiate players who would have been left without a national playing option. The first season will last four months, with 20 matches played at home and another 20 away.
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UpShot’s emergence as another alternative to the WNBA comes amid the launch of project Bwhich has already signed several W players to big contracts, and the continued rise of Unrivaled, an offseason league co-founded by WNBA superstars Napheesa Collier and Breanna Stewart. Both leagues have made it clear that they have no plans to directly compete with the WNBA, and UpShot is following the same direction so far.
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