Sports

Your New Idols: the Portland Fire’s Roster

Who’s who on the Portland Fire.

Luisa Geiselsoder, Carla Leite and Nyadiew Puoch in a team huddle. (Courtesy of Portland Fire)

Before you go any further in your journey to die-hard Portland Fire fandom, you need to know who’s on the team. The roster was built in just weeks earlier this spring through an expansion draft in which the Portland Fire and the Toronto Tempo (the league’s other brand-new team) got to choose players from a pool of athletes left unprotected by the 13 preexisting WNBA teams. (Another way to put it: An expansion draft is sort of like picking teams at recess if the kids who were really good at sports weren’t allowed to be chosen. Except in this analogy, every kid in the school is far better at sports than the average person.) This roster is up to date as of Monday, May 25.

Bridget Carleton (WNBA)

Starters

Bridget Carleton

#6

Age: 28

Position: Forward

Height: 6’2”

Previous team: Minnesota Lynx

Career highlight: Carleton played on the Canadian national team at the 2020 and 2024 Summer Olympics.

Fun fact: Carleton has played professionally in several countries, including Australia, France, Israel, Spain, Hungary and Turkey.

Emily Engstler (WNBA)

Emily Engstler

#21

Age: 26

Position: Forward

Height: 6’1”

Previous team: Washington Mystics

Career highlight: Engstler was drafted as the fourth overall pick by the Indiana Fever in the 2022 WNBA draft.

Fun fact: Engstler got her start at age 11 as a streetballer in Roosevelt Island, N.Y.

Nyadiew Puoch (WNBA)

Nyadiew Puoch

#13

Age: 21

Position: Forward

Height: 6’3”

Previous team: UC Capitals (WNBL)

Career highlight: Puoch won the Women’s National Basketball League championship in Australia with the Southside Melbourne Flyers in 2024.

Fun fact: Puoch is one of seven siblings.

Luisa Geiselsoder (WNBA)

Luisa Geiselsoder

#15

Age: 26

Position: Center

Height: 6’4”

Previous team: Dallas Wings

Career highlight: Geiselsoder started at center for the German national team in its first-ever Olympic Games appearance in 2024.

Fun fact: Luisa is not the only professional athlete in her family; her sister, Laura, is a professional basketball player in Germany.

Carla Leite (WNBA)

Carla Leite

#0

Age: 22

Position: Guard

Height: 5’9”

Previous team: Golden State Valkyries

Career highlight: Leite was a EuroCup Women champion in 2025 and was named EuroCup Finals MVP.

Fun fact: Leite chose the number 0 her sophomore year of high school because she loved Russell Westbrook.

Megan Gustafson (WNBA)

Bench

Megan Gustafson

#17

Age: 29

Position: Center

Height: 6’4”

Previous team: Las Vegas Aces

Career highlight: Gustafson won the a 2025 WNBA championship with the Las Vegas Aces.

Fun fact: In her senior year playing for Iowa, Gustafson was named the ESPNW National Player of the Year and Naismith College Player of the Year.

Teja Oblak (WNBA)

Teja Oblak

#7

Age: 35

Position: Guard

Height: 5’8”

Previous team: Galatasaray (EuroLeague Women)

Career highlight: In 2025, Oblak won the EuroLeague Women’s championship.

Fun fact: Oblak has a French bulldog named Cyril.

Frieda Bühner (WNBA)

Frieda Bühner

#20

Age: 21

Position: Forward

Height: 6’2”

Previous team: Rookie

Career highlight: Bühner made history at the 2024 Paris Olympics as the youngest player on the German national team in their debut Olympic appearance.

Fun fact: Bühner is one of just five Germans in the WNBA.

Sarah Ashlee Barker (WNBA)

Sarah Ashlee Barker

#3

Age: 24

Position: Guard

Height: 6’0”

Previous team: Los Angeles Sparks

Career highlight: Barker is one of five players in Alabama history to surpass 1,000 points, 500 rebounds, and 250 assists (during her career with the Crimson Tide).

Fun fact: Before every game, Barker writes the same Bible verse, Isaiah 41:10, on her wrist.

Karlie Samuelson (WNBA)

Karlie Samuelson

#44

Age: 31

Position: Guard

Height: 6’0”

Previous team: Minnesota Lynx

Career highlight: In 2023, Samuelson ranked sixth in the WNBA in 3-point percentage at 42.6%.

Fun fact: Samuelson played two seasons at Stanford with her older sister Bonnie, and played against her younger sister Katie Lou in the 2017 Final Four.

Serah Williams (WNBA)

Serah Williams

#25

Age: 22

Position: Center

Height: 6’4”

Previous team: Rookie

Career highlight: Williams was the 2024 Big Ten Defensive Player of the Year.

Fun fact: Williams received the nickname “Big Canada” during her final season of college basketball at UConn, even though she is not from Canada.

Holly Winterburn (WNBA)

Holly Winterburn

#77

Age: 25

Position: Guard

Height: 5’11”

Previous team: Rookie

Career highlight: Winterburn won the FIBA EuroCup Women championship with the London Lions in 2024.

Fun fact: Winterburn got her start as an athlete in English football, which she played for most of her childhood.

Jordan Harrison (WNBA)

Jordan Harrison

#2

Age: 22

Position: Guard

Height: 5’6”

Previous team: Rookie

Career highlight: Harrison earned Big 12 Defensive Player of the Year honors at West Virginia University.

Fun fact: At 5-foot-6, Harrison is one of the shortest players in the WNBA.

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