Guard Serena Sundell, the younger sister of the Seahawks offensive lineman Jalen Sundell, was among a trio of players waived by the Seattle Storm on Monday.

Seattle Storm lose another player for season to ACL injury

The Storm also cut 2024 third-rounder Mackenzie Holmes and Brianna Fraser as they appear to have set their roster for the start 2025 season, which begins with a road matchup Saturday against the Phoenix Mercury.

Serena Sundell, a 2025 third-round pick out of Kansas State University, led the nation with 7.3 assists per game and set Kansas State’s program record with 262 assists last season. The 6-foot-1 guard averaged 14.1 points and 4.4 rebounds. She was a two-time All-Big 12 selection and named as an AP All-American honorable mention this past season.

With Sundell being waived, none of the Storm’s three third-round picks from the 2025 draft made the roster. The team waived guards Jordan Hobbs and Madison Conner last week.

Holmes, a 6-foot-3 forward, missed all of last season while recovering from surgery on her left knee. The former Indiana University standout was a two-time All-American with the Hoosiers. She averaged 17.2 points, 6.7 rebounds and 1.8 blocks during a decorated five-year career at Indiana.

Fraser, a 6-foot-3 forward, was a McDonald’s High School All-American in 2015 before playing four seasons at Maryland. She’s played for multiple professional teams overseas and participated in training camps for the New York Liberty and Connecticut Sun but hasn’t appeared in a WNBA regular season game.

The Storm’s roster is now down to a league-minimum 11 players. That includes forward Katie Lou Samuelson, who is out for the season with a torn ACL. General manager Talisa Rhea told reporters last month she expects the team to start the season with 11 players.

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Seattle Reign FC was narrowly defeated by the visiting Houston Dash at Lumen Field on Sunday evening. The lone goal of the match was scored in the second half and though the Reign fought to make a comeback, they were unable to find an equalizer.

The match kicked off in drizzling rain, and it was clear from the first whistle that it would be a battle for dominance as the teams settled into the match in front of a crowd of 6,841 fans. The first 15 minutes were largely spent in the middle of the field, with neither team registering a shot.

As the match went on, Houston claimed more possession of the ball, though the Reign began to generate offensive momentum, threatening the Dash in the 30th minute. Forward Lynn Biyendolo started a Reign counter near midfield, receiving a ball in between Houston’s central defense, but as she attempted to control it while forging forward, she was whistled for a handball.

The Reign’s best chances continued to come from Biyendolo wreaking havoc as she tried to work through the defense. The rest of the half brought just one shot for the Reign, as forward Ana-Maria Crnogorčević struck a low shot just off frame in the 37th minute.

Coming out of the locker room after halftime, the Reign made no changes to the lineup, while Houston made just one change up top.

In the 53rd minute, Ji started an attacking opportunity for the Reign as she used her technical skill to dance through the Dash, eventually creating an opportunity for forward Maddie Dahlien to earn a shot, but it was blocked.

The visitors took the lead in the 57th minute, as a cross from forward Ryan Gareis was threaded diagonally through the Reign’s box and midfielder Maggie Graham touched it home.

Now working back from a deficit, the Reign were forced to get into the attack more. Head Coach Laura Harvey made a triple substitution in the 71st minute, bringing on the fresh legs of defender Shae Holmes, midfielder Ainsley McCammon and forward Emeri Adames.

Adames made an immediate influence on the match , settling a ball with her chest outside the box and half volleying it toward goal. It looked like she would level the score, but the ball rang off the crossbar instead.

Goalkeeper Claudia Dickey was called into action to make her first save of the match in the 80th minute, when Yazmeen Ryan dribbled to the near post and fired off a low shot.

In the dying minutes of the match, Seattle desperately searched for an equalizer, midfielder Maddie Mercado forcing the Houston goalkeeper to push the ball over the bar to keep the Reign off the board. Defender Shae Holmes also hammered a shot toward goal, but it was slightly off target. At the final whistle, the Reign fell 1-0 to the Dash.

UP NEXT: Reign FC travels to Kentucky to take on Racing Louisville FC on Friday, May 16 at 4:30 p.m. PT.

In some ways, Mark Schlereth may see a bit of himself in Seattle Seahawks rookie Grey Zabel.

Like Schlereth, Zabel, the No. 18 overall pick in last month’s draft out of North Dakota State, hails from an FCS school. Such schools tend to get overlooked, but as Schlereth – who won three Super Bowls and is now an analyst for Fox Sports – can attest to, they can produce some great players.

“Listen, I like the kid,” Schlereth said on Seattle Sports’ “Wyman and Bob.” “… Obviously people talk about small school and not elite-level competition and all that garbage. I came from a small school without elite-level competition. The kid, he just can play.”

Schlereth sees more than just a similar background, though. When looking at Zabel’s Senior Bowl tape, the former offensive lineman sees a player who can dominate at multiple levels.

“He’s really good not only on line of scrimmage but second-level stuff, really good keeping his feet moving, all that kind of stuff,” Schlereth said. “… He moved from guard to center to guard in the Senior Bowl and absolutely dispensed justice. I thought he was great. He was in front of guys, he locked guys up on line of scrimmage.

“There was no backing down, there was no intimidation, there was none of that small school guy (concerns). He came in there and gave them a mouthful on every rep.”

For a team that struggled so much along the offensive line last season, the Seahawks stand to massively benefit from the addition of Zabel.

“That stuff bodes well, the fact that he played multiple positions and he was flipping up and down the line of scrimmage,” Schlereth said. “… So there’s a guy that can come in and play right away, and play really well, I think.”

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