Brea Beal, Destanni Henderson cut from WNBA rosters days before season begins

Two former South Carolina women’s basketball stars have been waived from pro rosters just days before the start of the 2023 WNBA season on Friday.

The Minnesota Lynx announced on Tuesday that they’d cut former Gamecocks guard Brea Beal, who they’d picked No. 24 overall in the second round of last month’s WNBA Draft.

And the Indiana Fever have waived former Gamecocks guard Destanni Henderson, their 2022 second-round pick, according to the league’s transactions page.

Both players were waived amid preseason cuts for the WNBA’s 12 teams, who can only carry 12 players apiece on their regular-season rosters. A lack of roster space for talented players (only 144 spots league-wide) has led to numerous high draft picks getting cutting their first or second years, drawn criticism and fueled hopes that the league will eventually expand beyond 12 teams.

Other notable cuts from the 2023 WNBA Draft include former Maryland guard and No. 11 overall pick Abby Meyers (Dallas Wings), former national champion LSU guard and second-round pick Alexis Morris (Connecticut Sun) and former Iowa center and third-round pick Monica Czinano (Los Angeles Sparks)

Beal, a standout defender, played four seasons for USC from 2019-23 and was a part of the team’s 2022 national championship season as well as two more Final Four appearances.

The 6-foot-1 guard was a Naismith Defensive Player of the Year finalist and AP Honorable Mention All-American for South Carolina in 2022-23 as the Gamecocks went 36-1 and reached the Final Four.

As a senior, Beal started and played in all 37 games and shot a career-high 38.0% on 3-pointers. She also averaged 6.4 points and 4.3 rebounds per game and had the second most total assists, third most rebounds and fourth most blocks among USC players last season.

Henderson, a four-year player at South Carolina from 2018-22, was also a starter on USC’s 2022 national championship team and had a career-high 26 points in the championship game against UConn as a senior.

After getting drafted last spring, she played in all 36 of the Fever’s game with five starts as a rookie in 2022-23, averaging 5.3 points and 2.5 assist per game on 40.1% shooting.

South Carolina women’s basketball coach Dawn Staley took to Twitter to offer encouragement to both players Tuesday, tagging both players and telling them “you know you both belong. Let’s keep getting in the lab and work. I know your representatives are working to get you on another team’s roster. Heads high champs! Love you!!!! @GamecockWBB for life!”

Beal was one of a record five South Carolina players selected in last month’s WNBA Draft. Former All-American forward and reigning No. 1 overall draft pick Aliyah Boston is an obvious lock to make the Indiana Fever’s roster, while forward Laeticia Amihere (No. 8 to the Atlanta Dream), guard Zia Cooke (No. 10 to the Los Angeles Sparks) and forward Victaria Saxton (third round to the Fever) remain on their team’s rosters as of Tuesday.

With the waiving of Beal and Henderson, there are eight USC players on active WNBA rosters heading into Friday’s season opener. Outside of the four aforementioned 2023 rookies, league MVP forward A’ja Wilson of the Las Vegas Aces, guard Allisha Gray of the Dream, guard Tyasha Harris of the Sun and guard Tiffany Mitchell of the Lynx are also on rosters.