Let's Talk Rookies

Last week on WNBA Pre-season and Summer House…

The WNBPA collective bargaining agreement defines a Draft Rookie as “a rookie who is selected in the WNBA Draft.”  This April we watched 38 women, 33 of which came from NCAA Division I Programs, be drafted into the WNBA.

Reality TV also has its own class of “rookies” for each season of ongoing shows.  From new housewives and new housemates to new deckhands and new VIP servers, these shows bring us new faces each season, those I like to call the “Bravo Rookies”. 

With a new team in the League this season (the Oakland Valkyries) there was a lot of hope and expectation that we would see many of this year’s Draft Rookies, especially those who were home grown at DI universities across the country, remain on these rosters. But as it turns, even an extra 12 roster spots in the League this season turned out not to be enough to save some of these stellar athletes from waivers less than a month after they were drafted.

Just like the WNBA Draft, Summer House has routinely been drafting themselves new Rookies each season in effort to keep the (slightly aging veteran cast) fresh and young. But even the 7-bedroom, 8-bathroom house wasn’t enough space to keep some of this year’s Rookies from being cut out of episodes on the editing room floor.

Of note, this year we saw Shyanne Sellers (of the University of Maryland), drafted 17th overall in the Second Round, Bree Hall (of the University of South Carolina), drafted 20th overall in the Second Round, Harmoni Turner (of Harvard University), drafted 35th overall in the Third Round, all waived from their respective teams.  Sellers was drafted by the Oakland Valkyries, Hall by the Indiana Fever and Turner by the Las Vegas Aces.  Thankfully, Sellers was almost immediately picked up by the Atlanta Dream, so we will keep our eye out to see if she makes the final season roster by the May 16 deadline and will look out for to see if Turner and Hall land somewhere before then as well.

This season, the Summer House crew picked up Lexi Wood (of Canada), Imrul Hassan (of Bangladesh) and Bailee Henderson (of Kentucky).  Lexi Wood was clearly drafted early in the First Round, Imrul late in the Second, and Bailee a like last minute pick up in the bottom of the Third Round.  Unlike the fates of the WNBA counterparts, Lexi seems to be having a Paige Bueckers (first pick overall of the Draft to the Dallas Wings from University of Connecticut) type of season.  Just like Bueckers, securing her spot putting up good numbers, passes worthy of rewatch on every platform and a highly anticipated regular season performance, Lexi immediately secured her spot this season with her instant boyfriend Jesse and her highly anticipated drama with Ciara.    

Bailee and Imrul, however have seem to have met fates similar to those of Turner and Hall.

Around the 4th or 5th episode we completely stopped seeing Bailee at all in the house with rumors that she was having “boyfriend problems”.  It seems Bailee has ended up waived and left on the cutting room floor.  Jury is still out on whether Imrul will make the “final summer house roster”.  He was notably absent from this past week’s episode and was slow to arrive to the house at the beginning of the Summer. We will have to tune in May 20th to see if Imrul makes the finale episode, solidifying his spot on the 2025 Summer House roster.

But Sellers’ immediate bounce back with the Atlanta Dream gives us hope for Turner and Hall, and there’s always a chance we’ll see Imrul and Bailee back on our TV in some other reality fashion (cough, cough – looking at you Traitors [the show that seems to pick up any and all reality TV celebrity who has ever graced or disgraced the presence of our TVs]).

We are just FIVE (5) days away from regular season tip-off and just one (1) episode away from the Summer House Finale.

Make sure to drop in the action (places and times to watch below) and tune in next week for another round of Bravo and Ball – more similar than you think!

Also, for those who do not know, ION airs all the WNBA action on Friday nights and most, if not everyone, can access ION for free, so no excuse not to tune in!

GAMES:

Season Openers – Friday May 16, 2025

·      Atlanta Dream at the Washington Mystics on ION @ 4:30 PM Pacific Time

·      Minnesota Lynx at the Dallas Wings on ION @ 430 PM Pacific Time

·      Los Angeles Sparks at the Oakland Valkyries on ION @ 7 PM Pacific Time

EPISODES:

Summer House airing on Bravo 9/8c this Wednesday, May 14, 2025.