Serah Williams was drafted by the Connecticut Sun in the third round of the WNBA Draft this week — and then traded to the Portland Fire while she was in an elevator following the ceremony. Williams, who later said she was in attendance to support teammate Azzi Fudd, found out the new information during the frenzy that followed.
Williams' path to the WNBA came by way of the University of Wisconsin and then UConn. The 6'4" forward spent three seasons with Wisconsin before entering the portal, and chose UConn over other programs including LSU and UNC.
The move to UConn saw a dip in Williams' stats and numbers, but also offered her the opportunity to play under one of the most renowned coaches in the NCAA. And though she didn't have the powerhouse senior season some expected, Williams averaged 6.7 points, 4.4 rebounds, and 1.5 assists in 17.4 minutes on the court — and the shift to Portland gives her a chance to truly develop and even potentially lead a WNBA team.
Serah Williams has a big opportunity in Portland
Expansion teams are tricky; there's no record in place, even for a team like the Fire, who played in the league from 2000 to 2002. And though the Golden State Valkyries enjoyed an enomorously successful debut in the WNBA last season that culmianted with a playoffs run and coach Natalie Nakase being named Coach of the Year, it's not necessarily wise to assume the Fire (and the Toronto Tempo) will follow suit.
It's also still too early to know how the season will go for Williams, who may not even be in Oregon yet. But the experience of joining a brand new team could not be more opposite of her decision to leave Wisconsin for a program like UConn's, which has been established as one of the best in women's college basketball for decades.
The move also offers Williams a chance to reinvent herself to a degree, and to show fans what she's capable of doing. Some Fire fans will undoubtedly be aware of who she is and where she's played, but she's a brand new face to a lot of people. Williams will have the chance to be part of the team that defines what the culture of the Portland Fire is in 2026, a stark contrast to joining a UConn Huskies team that knew exactly what kind of piece she needed to be in for a puzzle that was already set up long before she ever joined.
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