Just weeks after being acquired by the Golden State Valkyries in a stunning draft-day trade, former Horned Frog Marta Suarez has signed a developmental deal with a new team.
Former TCU forward Marta Suarez was involved in one of the more interesting moves of the 2026 WNBA Draft, where her draft rights were acquired by the Golden State Valkyries after being drafted No. 16 overall by the Seattle Storm.
The Valkyries sent their No. 8 overall pick, Flau'jae Johnson of LSU, to Seattle in exchange for Suarez and a future second-round pick the night of the draft.
"I turned around, the commissioner came out, and I saw my name. I saw something. I saw purple," Suarez said, via WNBA Roundtable reporter Grant Afseth. "As soon as I saw purple I said, 'No way.'"
Suarez likely felt akin to the purple shade of the Valkyries after her lone season with the Horned Frogs, in which she was an All-Big 12 honoree after averaging 16.7 points and 7.6 rebounds a game.
However, her short stint with Golden State has now ended. Suarez was recently cut by the Valkyries as WNBA teams across the map host training camp.
With Golden State's draft-day trade looking even more questionable now than before, general manager Ohemaa Nyanin finally explained the reasoning while speaking with reporters this week.
"The decision-making around the draft had a lot to do with cap flexibility. We thought we had the opportunity to potentially sign another athlete," Nyanin said. "My job, specifically, is to make sure that we maintain understanding of what's happening today and what could happen in the future."
For Suarez, it didn't take her long to find a new home via the waiver wire. The former Frog has signed a developmental contract with the Phoenix Mercury.
"The new CBA forces every team to carry 12 standard contracts. There are also two developmental slots, which sit outside the cap," Afseth reports.
"Dev players get a stipend with full benefits and can practice with the team. They can be activated for up to 12 regular-season games this year, and after that, a team has to convert them to a prorated minimum deal. To sign someone to a dev contract, a team has to waive the player first. Once she clears waivers, any other team can sign her. The team that waived her doesn't get priority."
Suarez started all 35 games she appeared in last season for the Horned Frogs. She paired up with dynamic point guard and the WNBA's No. 2 overall pick this year, Olivia Miles, in leading TCU to its second straight Elite Eight under head coach Mark Campbell.
The 6-3 Spaniard Suarez will be eligible for 12 games with the Mercury this season, which begins later this month.
