After an impressive WNBA debut from former West Virginia women's basketball guard Jordan Harrison, she will be looking for a new place to carve out a role at the professional level. The Portland Fire announced on Monday afternoon that they would be waiving the former Mountaineer.
The announcement came just hours before the team was scheduled to face the New York Liberty . The Fire became the WNBA's fifteenth franchise after a 24-year-long hiatus. Harrison was picked up as an undrafted free agent after the WNBA Draft last month, earning a roster spot in training camp, and seemed to be working her way to having a role for the team in their return season.
Harrison played 11 minutes for the Fire in their regular-season opener on Saturday, and despite a 98-83 loss to the Chicago Sky , she scored four points on two of five shooting to go along with four assists. The guard earned the "assist of the game" on the broadcast and demonstrated a lot of the skills WVU fans have become accustomed to seeing from the guard. Now, Harrison's professional future is at a crossroads.
Portland had to waive Harrison to make room for forward Kamiah Smalls, who is returning to the team after an injury. However, the Fire could technically keep Harrison thanks to the new WNBA CBA.
Along with having 12 players on a roster, each franchise is permitted to sign two development players who have less than three years of experience in the league. These players travel with the team and participate in practice, but can only appear in 12 games per season. If Harrison is not claimed by another team, this may very well be the route that makes the most sense for her.
The guard is coming off one of the best seasons for any West Virginia women's basketball player in history, leading her team to a Big 12 Tournament Championship victory for the first time in nine seasons. Harrison earned Big 12 Defensive Player of the Year Honors and was a finalist for the Naismith Defensive Player of the Year award. She averaged a whopping 3.2 steals per game last season for the Mountaineers, as they hosted their first and second-round NCAA Tournament games for the first time since 1992.
Harrison followed head coach Mark Kellogg to West Virginia after he was hired from Stephen F. Austin in 2023. It's hard to imagine that another team isn't willing to see what Harrison can provide them as a valuable two-way player.
This article was originally published on www.si.com/college/westvirginia as Jordan Harrison Waived By Portland Fire Days After Making WNBA Debut .
