The Seattle Storm added three familiar names to the Seattle Storm roster on April 11, 2026, re-signing guard Zia Cooke and forward Mackenzie Holmes while officially announcing the signing of free agent guard Natasha Hiedeman. The moves came as Seattle keeps reshaping the team ahead of its May 8 home opener against Golden State.
Hiedeman is the most notable addition. Reports first surfaced Friday that she was headed to Seattle on a two-year deal, but the Storm did not release contract specifics. They also did not disclose terms for Cooke or Holmes. Hiedeman arrives after two seasons in a reserve role with the Minnesota Lynx, where she finished second in Sixth Person of the Year voting for 2025 and averaged 9.1 points, 2.8 assists and 1.9 rebounds while shooting 49.2% from the field, 37.1% from 3-point range and 76.1% from the free-throw line.
For Seattle, the signing brings in a veteran guard who spent the first five years of her WNBA career with the Connecticut Sun, which selected her in the second round of the 2019 WNBA Draft out of Marquette. Cooke and Holmes, meanwhile, are both trying to turn past starts and stops into steadier roles. Cooke appeared in 26 games off the bench in two separate stints with Seattle last season, averaging 3.5 points in 10.0 minutes per game while shooting 35.7% from the field and 39.5% from 3-point range. The Storm traded her to the Washington Mystics in early August for Brittney Sykes, then brought her back off waivers two weeks later. The 10th overall pick in the 2023 draft is averaging 4.0 points, 0.7 rebounds and 0.7 assists in 94 career games with Seattle and the Los Angeles Sparks over three seasons.
Holmes has had a more stop-start path. The third-round pick in the 2024 draft missed the 2024 season after knee surgery, was cut at the end of training camp last season and re-signed in June. She appeared in 10 games, totaling 10 points, nine rebounds and five steals while averaging 5.8 minutes per contest and shooting 5 of 7 from the field in limited action. Seattle’s willingness to keep both players says as much about the state of the Seattle Storm roster as the signings themselves: the team is replacing major free-agent losses, including Nneka Ogwumike and Skylar Diggins, while Gabby Williams signaled her own exit Friday night with an Instagram post that read, “Thank You Seattle. Love, Gabby.”
The Storm also used Monday’s WNBA Draft to add another high-end piece, taking Awa Fam Thiam at No. 3. For now, the shape of the roster is clear even if the exact contract terms are not: Seattle is leaning on continuity where it can, and trying to rebuild the rest fast enough to be ready when the season opens in two weeks.
