Given the limited roster spots in the WNBA and the incredible talent out there, third-round picks don’t often make a roster early in their career or step onto the court much. Mackenzie Holmes did the former. After missing her rookie season in 2024 due to a knee injury, she appeared in 10 games with the Seattle Storm in the 2025 season. She barely played, but had a chance to be around the Storm’s veterans and work out with the team.
Her second season in the WNBA could look much different—if not with the Storm, then maybe with one of the expansion teams joining the league. Holmes is putting together an incredibly strong season in Australia that will surely increase WNBA teams’ interest in her.
Mackenzie Holmes is having an excellent season in Australia
Holmes plays for the Geelong Venom this season. The team also features Alissa Pili, another WNBA youngster who hasn’t had many opportunities to showcase her talent with the Lynx and Sparks. Averaging 24.4 points, 9.8 rebounds, 1.5 assists, and 1.1 blocks, Holmes has emerged as the most productive player on the team. She leads the Venom in points per game, rebounds per game, and blocks per game. In seven games, she has not scored fewer than 18 points and has even hit the 30-point mark twice.
Holmes is also the WNBL’s leading scorer at the moment and ranks fourth in rebounds per game. The only players averaging more rebounds than Holmes are Cayla George, Anneli Maley, and Kelsey Griffin. Holmes is one of only two players to average over twenty points per game. Isobel Borlase is the other one.
Holmes could land with an expansion team ahead of the next W season
After the Golden State Valkyries’ successful WNBA debut, two more teams are getting ready to join the league: the Toronto Tempo and the Portland Fire. While the ongoing CBA negotiations mean that there is no date yet for the next expansion draft—or set rules, for that matter—there will be one eventually.
The last expansion draft was uneventful for the Storm, as the Valkyries opted not to select any of their players. That decision wasn’t overly surprising. Seattle’s roster was very top-heavy and lacked young talent as well as the type of high-level role players the Valkyries were able to snag from other teams. Since Nneka Ogwumike was ineligible for the expansion draft, the Storm were able to protect every player who was sure to be a key piece in the 2025 season and their most promising young players.
This time around, the Storm may actually lose players in the expansion draft and Holmes could be one of them. Unless the Storm’s front office decides to go all-in on a rebuild and protect all of their young players, Holmes is unlikely to be high up on the team’s list of priorities.
The Fire could be interested in a young player like her, especially if she continues to play well in Australia. Portland hired a young, inexperienced head coach who comes with an innovative new approach and a great reputation as a player development specialist. That decision suggests that they may take a slower route than the Valkyries did and focus on young talent they can develop for the future.
If Holmes gets an opportunity with an expansion team, it may come with a bigger role than she had with the Storm.