It’s almost time to play ball. And the roster is set
Two days before the home opener at Barclays Center, the Liberty announced the team is entering the 2025 regular season with 12 players on the active roster.
The 2025 roster is SET. ✅#SEAFOAMSZN | #LIGHTITUPNYL🗽 pic.twitter.com/9oo8xG6EhL
— New York Liberty (@nyliberty) May 15, 2025
After announcing the team waived forwards Esmery Martinez and Leaonna Odom, Liberty head coach Sandy Brondello now has her final 12:
- Guards: Jaylyn Sherrod, Marquesha Davis, Rebekah Gardner, Sabrina Ionescu, Marine Johannes and Natasha Cloud
- Forwards: Kennedy Burke, Leonie Fiebich, Isabelle Harrison, and Breanna Stewart
- Centers: Jonquel Jones and Nyara Sabally
General manager Jonathan Kolb and the team were able to the roster to 12 after suspending Betnijah Laney-Hamilton’s contract. Contract suspension is a procedural move that allows a team to remove a player’s salary off the books. The Liberty will keep exclusive negotiating rights for Laney-Hamilton in the future.
Laney-Hamilton will miss the entire 2025 WNBA season after undergoing surgery to repair a left meniscus injury sustained during the inaugural Unrivaled season.
For this season’s roster, the main core remains the same. The star trio of Breanna Stewart, Sabrina Ionescu and Jonquel Jones will lead the charge in hopes of defending the Liberty’s first title in franchise history. Leonie Fiebich is back for the start of the WNBA season after winning 2024–25 Liga Femenina Endesa championship on Sunday with Spanish club Valencia. And guard Natasha Cloud will be a mainstay in the rotation while replacing the defensive responsibility lost with Laney-Hamilton’s injury.
With Kayla Thornton in Golden State, Kennedy Burke could see an uptick in minutes (12.1 per game in 2024) in Brondello’s system of “positonless basketball.” The system is a fit for Burke, who is known for her ability to interchange between the guard-forward positions.
As it stands, Nyara Sabally is the first center off the bench behind Jones for the second consecutive season and Marine Johannes is hoping to be instant offense for the Libs after completing an entire WNBA training camp for the first time in her career. While Johannes brings offense off the bench, Rebekah Gardner brings her sticky defense. The 2025 WNBA season will be her first action in the league since 2023. She missed the entire 2024 season after suffering an Achilles injury while playing overseas.
Isabelle Harrison, Marquesha Davis and Jaylyn Sherrod round out the reserves for Brondello. Brondello mentioned during training camp the guards’ improvement shooting three-pointers. And the head coach hopes to get steady contributions from Harrison, who could see some minutes behind forwards slotted higher in the rotation.
