Last month, we took a look at the most intriguing players in the WNBA’s historic rookie class. At the time, we noted that 22 rookies were averaging at least 10 minutes per game. That number is now up to 25. By contrast, just 15 sophomores have logged any minutes this season, with just 12 of those averaging more than 10 minutes. Even taking into account that number two overall pick Cameron Brink has missed the entire season thus far, the 2024 WNBA rookie class has been underwhelming at best. That being said, it is still early in their careers, and many of these players are quite young. Before these players get lost in the shuffle of the upcoming trade deadline and playoff races, I wanted to take a look at all 12 sophomores, in order of their Player Impact Estimate. While it is certainly not a perfect statistic, it gives us a nice baseline from which to evaluate these players both for this season and the future.

Angel Reese, Forward, Chicago Sky

A couple of weeks ago, I texted this question to a couple of my buddies who follow the WNBA: “Is Angel Reese actually a good player?” There is no doubt Reese puts up eye-popping numbers, but it is an open question how much Reese contributes to winning. Is she just a stereotypical player putting up good stats on a bad team? While she leads the sophomores in PIE, she is 15th overall, behind some bench players like Jessica Shepard and Laeticia Amihere. Reese has set a number of records, including becoming the fastest player to record 500 points and 500 rebounds and the fastest player to record 40 double-doubles. Last week, she became the only player in WNBA history with multiple streaks of 10+ double-doubles.

While there has been a lot of attention paid to Reese rebounding her misses, she is shooting 44.8 percent from the field, up from 39.1 percent as a rookie. She has worked to expand her game beyond the paint, taking on more ball handling, especially in transition. Reese has nearly doubled her assists up to 3.7 per game from 1.9 last season. Unfortunately, her turnovers have nearly doubled as well, from 2.2 per game as a rookie to 4.0 in 2025. While Reese is touching the ball more often outside of the restricted area, she isn’t shooting out there. Reese has taken 75.9 percent of her shots inside five feet of the basket. Last season, she took 76.6 percent of her shots from that range. When my Chicago Sky drafted her, I thought Angel Reese had the upside to be the next A’ja Wilson if everything broke right. Wilson has never been a three-point shooter either, but she is much better from the mid-range and much more efficient around the basket. Those are the areas I would like to see the 23-year-old improve, especially as she continues to grow with Kamilla Cardoso.

Caitlin Clark, Guard, Indiana Fever

Clark is pretty clearly better than Angel Reese right now, but it is fair to wonder how much better. Clark’s 44.1 effective field goal percentage is lower than Reese’s at 45.6. Clark leads the league with 5.1 turnovers per game, while Reese is second at 4.0. Clark’s usage is much higher, as you would expect, but she is also surrounded by much more talent. Clark still has time to turn her numbers around, considering she has played just 13 games all season. And even if she continues to struggle, it will probably be nothing more than a footnote in a long and storied career. That being said, maybe this is evidence that, as with Angel Reese, Caitlin Clark’s hype has outpaced her contributions to winning. Rookie Paige Bueckers has outplayed Clark in nearly every possible way this season, and Clark is arguably only the third-best player on her own team despite still having the fifth-best MVP odds.

Kamilla Cardoso, Center, Chicago Sky

Cardoso got off to a slow start as a rookie after a shoulder injury caused her to miss the first six games of the season. While I wouldn’t necessarily call this a breakout season, Cardoso has maintained the same level of efficiency while increasing her usage from 16.0 percent as a rookie to 22.3 percent as a sophomore. It remains to be seen if Cardoso and Reese fit together long-term, and I also want to see what Cardoso looks like with a legit pick-and-roll partner. I thought Cardoso demonstrated great chemistry with Courtney Vandersloot before Vandersloot tore her ACL. Hopefully, Cardoso has another high-level ballhandler to play off of next season.

Aaliyah Edwards, Forward, Washington Mystics

Edwards has been overshadowed by rookie Kiki Iriafen and the resurgence of Shakira Austin, but Edwards has been a solid fourth big for a surprisingly competitive Mystics team. I’m not sure Edwards has a standout skill, but she doesn’t have any glaring weaknesses, either. Edwards has the best on-court defensive rating of Washington’s post players, and while some of that is probably the result of facing bench units, there is no doubt she is solid on that end. If she continues to improve defensively, she could eventually become a starter in this league, but at a minimum, she should be a solid rotation player for years to come.

Leonie Fiebich, Forward, New York Liberty

The Liberty are 15-1 when Fiebich plays and 2-5 when she sits. I think New York’s struggles had more to do with Jonquel Jones’s injury than Fiebich’s stint with Germany for Eurobasket, but Fiebich does fit pretty perfectly in New York’s starting lineup. Jones can take the toughest defensive assignments while Breanna Stewart can slide to the three, where she is better on both ends. Fiebich may be reduced to a bench role when Emma Meesseman joins the Liberty, but she looks like she should be a starter in the league for a long time.

Kate Martin, Guard, Golden State Valkyries

WNBA fans were excited to see Martin get a chance with the Valkyries following her selection in the expansion draft, but her minutes and production have only increased slightly with her new team. Martin is taking a lot more threes, 8.6 per 36 minutes, but she is shooting just 33.7 percent on threes and 35.3 percent overall. Perhaps most problematic for Martin, she has a negative assist-to-turnover ratio this season. Martin still has a chance to carve out a role as a bench guard in this league, especially with five expansion teams set to join the league by 2030, but she needs to make more threes and take better care of the ball for that to happen.

Rickea Jackson, Forward, Los Angeles Sparks

It is surprising to see Jackson so low on this list when she is third among sophomores in minutes per game and points per game and fourth in usage. Jackson was the fourth pick in the 2024 WNBA draft, but like the other prominent members of this draft class, Jackson has produced impressive numbers but has struggled to do so efficiently. I think Jackson is probably miscast as a starting three at this point in her career. She isn’t a good enough three-point shooter (27.6% on 4.8 attempts per 36 minutes this season) to spend so much time standing in the corner on offense. Jackson and Cameron Brink could still be the Sparks’ frontcourt of the future, but it could turn out that Jackson is simply better in a bench role.

Jacy Sheldon, Guard, Connecticut Sun

Connecticut has three players on this list, but it is telling that we have gone this long without getting to one. Sheldon is shooting 47.1 percent from the field and 40.0 percent on threes, well above her percentages for Dallas as a rookie. She needs to improve on her 1.67 assist/turnover ratio if she’s going to start for a good team, but I think she could be a solid contributor off the bench right now.

Julie Vanloo, Guard, Las Vegas Sparks

Vanloo was a feel-good story for Washington as a 31-year-old rookie, and it looked like she would have a chance to contribute after she was selected by the Valkyries in the expansion draft. That didn’t exactly pan out as the Valkyries cut Vanloo after she helped lead Belguim to the Eurobasket title. Vanloo has shot the ball much better since joining the Sparks, probably proving that she is much better in a limited role off the bench.

Jaelyn Brown, Guard-Forward, Connecticut Sun

As an undrafted player out of California in 2020, Brown has done well to latch onto the Sun after she played 14 games for the Wings last season. If she continues to shoot well on threes on decent volume, she will carve out a role in this league. So far, she is shooting much worse on twos than on threes in her career, which could be a problem. That being said, she has the makings of a three-and-D wing, which every team is looking for.

Sevgi Uzun, Guard, Free Agent

Uzun was also an undrafted free agent for the Wings last season, and she played seven games for Phoenix this year before being waived in June. Uzun was named to the EuroBasket All-Star Second Team, so she can play. She hasn’t shot the ball well in either of her WNBA stints, but she will almost certainly get a shot again next season when the league adds two more teams.

Robyn Parks, Forward, Connecticut Sun

Parks was a 31-year-old rookie with the Sky in 2023, and she played six games with Connecticut this season before getting cut for Jaelyn Brown. Parks averaged 12.0 points and 5.7 rebounds at Eurobasket this season, but she hasn’t been nearly efficient enough to make an impact in the WNBA.