New WNBA team brutally cuts ex-Dawn Staley product days before start of season

The Golden State Valkyries have made their final wave of cuts ahead of the 2025 WNBA season, and former South Carolina star Laeticia Amihere was among those waived

Sania Feagin shared how Dawn Staley prepared her for life as a WNBA player(Image: Photo by Jacob Kupferman/Getty Images)

The Golden State Valkyries have released former South Carolina standout Laeticia Amihere in the final cut, leaving her without a WNBA team just days before the 2025 season kicks off.

It’s been a mixed bag of an offseason for Gamecocks head coach Dawn Staley, as she saw outgoing seniors Te-Hina Paopao, Bree Hall, and Sania Feagin get picked in the 2025 WNBA Draft. Feagin has since opened up about how Staley helped her gear up for the WNBA, but Hall was let go by the Indiana Fever and is currently a free agent.

Amihere was also part of the South Carolina squad as recently as 2022, where she clinched a national championship with the Gamecocks and was chosen eighth overall by the Atlanta Dream in the 2023 WNBA Draft. After being waived by Atlanta this past offseason, Amihere was scooped up by the Valkyries, only to face another hurdle.

The Valkyries are the latest addition to the WNBA and will make their debut this season. After being claimed off waivers, Amihere showed promise in preseason, even racking up 20 points in 19 minutes against the Los Angeles Sparks.

On average, Amihere scored 12.5 points in preseason with a shooting percentage of 60 from the field and 50 from beyond the arc. Despite these stats, Amihere narrowly missed making the final roster and will now evaluate her long-term plans.

While it’s typical for expansion teams to focus on young talent when entering the league, the Valkyries are charting a different course. Despite having three picks in the 2025 WNBA Draft, none of their selections will be hitting the court for them next season.

Juste Jocyte, a Lithuanian national who was picked fifth overall, is anticipated to join the Valkyries down the line but won’t be playing in 2025. The 19 year old has chosen to continue honing her skills in Europe before making her WNBA debut.

Laeticia Amihere starred in preseason but failed to make the Golden State Valkyries roster.(Image: 2025 NBAE)

Although Jocyte is expected to return, the Valkyries released both Shyanne Sellers and Kaitlyn Chen after drafting them in the second and third rounds respectively. Sellers had an average of 14.4 points at Maryland last season, while Chen averaged 6.9 points and was a crucial part of UConn’s championship team.

Professional sports can be ruthless, and Staley would have readied her South Carolina team for all possibilities. Fortunately for Feagin, her preparation during her time with the Gamecocks secured her a spot on the Sparks roster for the upcoming season.

Feagin, initially projected as a first-round pick, fell to the second round, a move that left Sparks general manager Raegan Pebley astonished. “Our whole war room was stunned that she was still available as late as she was,” Pebley stated. “And we wanted to bring some post depth, some center depth, some rim protection depth.”

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Feagin’s prowess has been honed by Staley, and the Gamecocks alum paid homage to her former coach at the Sparks’ media day. “I did feel prepared when I arrived here,” Feagin shared with journalists.

“Just knowing that she put a lot of stuff in me to understand that I could be great one day. I’d say my biggest takeaway coming from South Carolina is being a sponge. Learning what I could do best, understanding what I could do to grow and be a better athlete. So I’d say that’s my biggest takeaway.”

Kelsey Plum, a seasoned pro, expressed her admiration for Feagin to Mirror U.S. Sports during training camp: “I’ve been very impressed with Sania. I think that she is beyond her years in terms of the way she talks. She can pass. She rebounds well. She doesn’t shy away from physicality, which is very rare for a young player in the league. So she’s in there banging.”