If you’ve been holding your breath to find out who will be on the final roster for the Seattle Storm, you can let it all out now. The team announced their final roster for opening night this week and it included ten returning players from last season: Sue Bird, Abby Bishop, Alysha Clark, Markeisha Gatling, Crystal Langhorne, Jewell Loyd, Kaleena Mosqueda-Lewis, Jenna O’Hea, Ramu Tokashiki and Monica Wright. Then there’s also Blake Dietrich and of course, Breanna Stewart, this year’s number one draft pick.

Waived team members included Lexi Eaton Rydalch, Angel Goodrich, Quanitra Hollingsworth and Krystal Thomas, as well as the newest team member, Tiffany Bias. Goodrich and Hollingsworth were on the roster last season and will be missed this season.

Storm President & GM Alisha Valavanis said, “Training camp was a competitive and energetic environment but now we’re thrilled to begin the regular season. We look forward to opening up in Los Angeles on Sunday.” It is quite possible that the Storm will have the Rookie of the Year yet again with Stewart on the team, and both Bird and Clark are looking particularly strong this season. The Storm is set up to win. Now we just have to wait to see if that is what the women of the team will do.

Of Stewart, Seattle Storm Head Coach Jenny Boucek says, “Breanna’s got a tough matchup every night. That’s the fun part of the WNBA, and I think she understands that. She hasn’t experienced it, so intellectually she understands that, but I don’t know how much she really gets it yet. But she’s looking forward to that. She’s looking forward to the challenge of the WNBA, and I think that’s very authentic.”

Stewart herself says that she can’t wait to go up against L.A. After her graduation and visiting the White House yet again upon completing her fourth championship in a row, it may just be a piece of cake for her to jump into the WNBA and win her first game. There’s going to be a transition period like there is with every rookie, but I have a feeling that Stewart will take it in stride. She says, “I’ve been looking forward to it a lot, because now I can just focus on the Storm.”

Do you have your tickets yet for the home opener? If not, they are still on sale, so be sure to get them as soon as you can.

Photo courtesy of Wikipedia