• Skip to main content
  • Skip to secondary menu
  • Skip to primary sidebar

Phoenix Sports Today

Phoenix Sports News Continuously Updated

  • Cardinals
  • Diamondbacks
  • Coyotes
  • Basketball
    • Mercury
    • Suns
  • Soccer
  • Colleges
    • Arizona State
    • Grand Canyon University
    • Northern Arizona
    • University of Arizona

Phoenix Mercury cut roster to 12 active players, include former Arizona forward Sam Thomas

May 4, 2022 by AZ Desert Swarm

2022 WNBA Pre-Season - Seattle Storm v Phoenix Mercury
Photo by Barry Gossage/NBAE via Getty Images

Work hard. Get your new coach on your side. Get some support from the greatest player in the sport’s history. And have some fun on the way.

That was the recipe former Arizona Wildcat Sam Thomas used to try to get a spot on the final roster of the Phoenix Mercury. With every day and every cut that does not include her, it appears that she has made it.

Thomas went undrafted in the April draft, but she signed a training camp contract with the Mercury just afterward. While the team did not issue a press release naming its final roster, the online roster was cut to 12 active players and Brittney Griner on May 3. One of the 12 active players is Thomas.

Although the roster limit in the WNBA is 12, in the past the Mercury have carried 11 or fewer players for salary cap reasons. Going into this season, that does not appear to be an issue due to the unsettled nature of Griner’s arrest in Russia. The WNBA granted the team an exception for Griner. Her contract will be honored but she does not count against the player limit.

As of now, Thomas is still in the mix to become one of two Arizona players to suit up with a WNBA team this season, joining former teammate Aari McDonald.

The former Arizona standout made a strong impression on her new head coach, Vanessa Nygaard. Thomas was the first player Nygaard mentioned after the team’s initial preseason game. She also seems to have made a good impression on the team’s leader, Diana Taurasi.

The Mercury are not expected to issue a press release naming the final roster until May 5. If Thomas is still on the roster when that happens, she will join the team on May 6 as they host the Las Vegas Aces at the Footprint Center in Phoenix. The game starts at 7 p.m. MST and will air on NBA TV.

Filed Under: University of Arizona

Primary Sidebar

Recent Posts

  • Oddsmakers aren’t buying what the Suns are selling
  • Shams: Suns to hire Jesse Mermuys as top assistant
  • (no title)
  • Watt An NFL Introduction For Elijah Simmons
  • Arizona football: Ratings for every Wildcats player in EA Sports College Football 26

Categories

Archives

Our Partners

All Sports

  • 247 Sports
  • ArizonaSports.com - 98.7 FM
  • Bleacher Report
  • Heat Waved
  • OurSports Central
  • The Arizona Republic
  • The Sports Fan Journal
  • USA Today

Baseball

  • Arizona Diamondbacks
  • AZ Snake Pit
  • Last Word On Baseball
  • MLB Trade Rumors
  • Venom Strikes

Basketball

  • Phoenix Suns
  • Amico Hoops
  • Basketball Insiders
  • Bright Side Of The Sun
  • High Post Hoops
  • Hoops Hype
  • Hoops Rumors
  • Last Word On Pro Basketball
  • Pro Basketball Talk
  • Real GM
  • Valley Of The Suns

Football

  • Arizona Cardinals
  • Cardinals Gab
  • Cards Wire
  • Deep Dive
  • Last Word On Pro Football
  • NFL Trade Rumors
  • Our Turf Football
  • Pro Football Rumors
  • Pro Football Talk
  • Raising Zona
  • Revenge Of The Birds
  • Words From The Birds

Hockey

  • Elite Prospects
  • Five For Howling
  • Howlin Hockey
  • Last Word On Hockey
  • Pro Hockey Rumors
  • Pro Hockey Talk
  • The Hockey Writers

Soccer

  • Last Word on Soccer
  • MLS Multiplex

College

  • AZ Desert Swarm
  • Busting Brackets
  • College Football News
  • College Sports Madness
  • Devils In Detail
  • House Of Sparky
  • Last Word On College Basketball - Univ of Arizona
  • Saturday Blitz
  • Zags Blog
  • Zona Zealots

Copyright © 2025 · Magazine Pro on Genesis Framework · WordPress · Log in