MINNEAPOLIS/ST. PAUL – Minnesota Lynx Head Coach and General Manager Cheryl Reeve today finalized the team’s 2021 training camp roster by signing rookie guards Japreece Dean and Selena Lott, rookie center Mikayla Vaughn and rookie forward Alex Wittinger to training camp contracts. Per team policy, terms of the deals were not disclosed. In an additional move, the Lynx waived guard Lexie Brown.
Dean played her final three seasons at UCLA, averaging 12.1 ppg, 3.0 rpg and 4.3 apg in 90 appearances. The Austin, Texas native began her collegiate career in 2015-16 at Texas Tech, where she tallied 12.7 ppg, 3.3 rpg and 3.4 apg in 30 contests. Selected by Chicago in the third round (30th overall) of the 2020 WNBA Draft, the 5-7 Dean was waived by the Sky on May 25, 2020. She made her professional debut this past winter with Russian club Dynamo Novosibirsk, averaging 12.0 ppg, 2.7 rpg and 2.7 apg in 20 PBL outings.
Lott, 5-11, played in 124 games during her four-year career at Marquette and earned Big East Co-Defensive Player of the Year and All-Big East First team honors as a senior in 2020-21, a season that saw her average a team-best 14.7 ppg (on 46.1% shooting), 5.3 rpg, 5.2 apg and 2.08 spg in 26 starts. The Troy, N.Y. native wrapped up her Golden Eagles career ranked ninth in school history in steals (223).
Vaughn saw action in 80 games over the course of four seasons at Notre Dame, registering career averages of 6.3 ppg (on 57.0% shooting), 4.3 rpg and 1.06 bpg. The 6-3 native of Philadelphia was part of the Fighting Irish’s run to the NCAA championship game as a sophomore in 2018-19, appearing in all six postseason games and contributing nine points and 11 rebounds in the opening-round victory vs. Bethune-Cookman.
Wittinger, a 2019 Illinois graduate, earned All-Big Ten Second Team honors in each of her final two seasons and finished her career with averages of 13.6 ppg (on 49.1% shooting), 8.2 rpg and 2.32 bpg in 118 games. The 6-1 native of Delano, Minn. spent this past winter playing for German club BasCats USC Heidelberg, where she averaged 8.4 ppg (50.8%), 5.6 rpg and 1.22 spg in nine DBBL contests.
Acquired from Connecticut on Apr. 10, 2019, Brown appeared in 50 games over two seasons with the Lynx, averaging 7.2 ppg, 1.6 rpg, 1.8 apg and 1.24 spg while shooting 35.3% from three-point range. She posted career highs across the board with a 26-point, six-rebound, nine-assist effort vs. Indiana on Aug. 7, 2020, and ranked 2nd in the WNBA in steals in 2020 (1.82 spg) and 9th in three-point accuracy in 2019 (38.5%).
Led by the 2020 WNBA Coach of the Year in Reeve, Minnesota’s 2021 training camp roster is highlighted by 2017 MVP Sylvia Fowles, 2020 All-WNBA and All-Defensive Team choice Napheesa Collier and 2020 Rookie of the Year Crystal Dangerfield. This offseason, the Lynx added free agent guards Kayla McBride and Aerial Powers, free agent forward Natalie Achonwa and forward Rennia Davis, the team’s first-round pick in Thursday’s 2021 WNBA Draft.
The Lynx will tip-off their 23rd WNBA season, presented by Mayo Clinic, on May 14 vs. Phoenix at 8:00 p.m. CT. The 2021 season includes 32 regular season games from May 14 through Sept. 19. Details related to Minnesota’s broadcast schedule and ticketing information will be announced at a later date.
To view the full 2021 Minnesota Lynx training camp roster in PDF form, please click here.
2021 MINNESOTA LYNX TRAINING CAMP ROSTER
| No |
Player |
Pos |
Birthdate |
College/From |
Exp. |
| 11 |
Natalie Achonwa |
F |
11/22/1992 |
Notre Dame/Canada |
7 |
| 8 |
Asheika Alexander |
G |
08/24/1997 |
Langston/USA |
R |
| 15 |
Rachel Banham |
G |
07/15/1993 |
Minnesota/USA |
6 |
| 6 |
Bridget Carleton |
F |
05/22/1997 |
Iowa State/Canada |
3 |
| 24 |
Napheesa Collier* |
F |
09/23/1996 |
Connecticut/USA |
3 |
| 2 |
Crystal Dangerfield |
G |
05/11/1998 |
Connecticut/USA |
2 |
| 12 |
Damiris Dantas |
F |
11/17/1992 |
Brazil |
7 |
| 0 |
Rennia Davis |
F |
02/24/1999 |
Tennessee/USA |
R |
| 1 |
Japreece Dean |
G |
06/04/1996 |
UCLA/USA |
R |
| 34 |
Sylvia Fowles |
C |
10/06/1985 |
Louisiana State/USA |
14 |
| 20 |
Kelsey Griffin |
F |
07/02/1987 |
Nebraska/Australia |
6 |
| 5 |
Linnae Harper* |
G |
01/31/1995 |
Ohio State/USA |
2 |
| 14 |
Selena Lott |
G |
10/26/1999 |
Marquette/USA |
R |
| 21 |
Kayla McBride* |
G |
06/25/1992 |
Notre Dame/USA |
8 |
| 23 |
Maya Moore^ |
F |
06/11/1989 |
Connecticut/USA |
8 |
| 25 |
Mikayla Pivec |
G |
11/18/1997 |
Oregon State/USA |
R |
| 3 |
Aerial Powers |
G |
01/17/1994 |
Michigan State/USA |
6 |
| 10 |
Jessica Shepard |
F |
09/11/1996 |
Notre Dame/USA |
2 |
| 35 |
Alexandra Wittinger |
F |
04/07/1997 |
Illinois/USA |
R |
| 17 |
Mikayla Vaughn |
C |
12/17/1998 |
Notre Dame/USA |
R |
| 9 |
Cecilia Zandalasini^ |
F |
03/16/1996 |
Italy |
2 |
*Collier, Harper, McBride and Zandalasini will be late arrivals due to overseas commitments
^Griffin and Moore will begin the 2021 season on the Suspended List
Minnesota Lynx Pronunciation Guide
| Asheika Alexander |
Uh-SHEE-kuh |
| Rachel Banham |
BAN-um |
| Napheesa Collier |
Nuh-FEE-suh |
| Damiris Dantas |
Duh-MEER-iss DAHN-tahs |
| Rennia Davis |
Reh-NYE-uh |
| Japreece Dean |
Juh-PREES |
| Sylvia Fowles |
FOULS |
| Cecilia Zandalasini |
CHE-Cheelia |
| |
|
Head Coach/General Manager: Cheryl Reeve (La Salle)
Assistant General Manager: Clare Duwelius (Wayne State)
Assistant Coaches: Katie Smith (Ohio State)
Plenette Pierson (Texas Tech)
Rebekkah Brunson (Georgetown)
Athletic Trainer: Chuck Barta (Wisconsin-La Crosse)
Assistant Athletic Trainer: Brandi BlueArm (Minnesota State University, Mankato)