UpShot league to provide pro women’s basketball spots for college players

Another professional women’s basketball startup league is planning to make its debut in 2026, but this time, it’s one that will cater to players who are transitioning out of college. UpShot, which has been pitched as a developmental league, will start its inaugural season in May of next year.

UpShot is more comparable to the NBA’s G League than the other global leagues that have popped up to potentially rival the WNBA. It is backed by Zawyer Sports & Entertainment will be led by the W’s former president, Donna Orender. Women’s basketball legends are also involved, including Cheryl Miller as one of its financial investors.

The newly announced league will act as almost an extension of the WNBA’s rosters, giving players who would normally be left off of rosters due to limited space a chance to prove and enhance their skills at a pro level without having to go overseas.

The first teams UpShot has announced will be playing from Jacksonville, Florida, Savannah, Georgia, and Greensboro and Charlotte, both in North Carolina. Baltimore, Maryland, was announced as a team that will take the court from 2027.

Each of UpShot’s teams will feature 11 roster spots, creating 44 extra opportunities within the first season alone for former collegiate players who would’ve been left without a domestic playing option. The debut season will last for four months, with 20 games played at home and another 20 on the road.

UpShot’s emergence as another WNBA alternative comes amid the launch of Project B, which has signed multiple players from the W already 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 clarified that they don’t intend to directly compete with the WNBA, and UpShot is so far following that same lead.

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