Former Arizona Wildcat Sam Thomas was not on the Phoenix Mercury roster as of Tuesday afternoon.
As teams are rushing to get down to the 12-player limit before the season starts Friday night, it appears Thomas is one of the latest to be waived.
Thomas, who made last seasonβs Mercury team off a training camp contract β a very rare feat β made the WNBA All-Rookie team last year. She was invited to training camp this season, as well.
It is unknown whether Thomas will be re-signed shortly, as Shey Peddy injured her knee and may be out for some time. Jennie Sims was also cut Tuesday.
Phoenix Mercury coach Vanessa Nygaard said recently that she was happy with Thomasβ growth in the offseason, especially on the defensive end.
βSam definitely improved going over and putting in that work overseas in Italy,β Nygaard said. βI think it's a personal growth challenge. We see improvement in her game, especially the defensive end.
"She was always a very good system defensive player, but she's not going for a lot of the fakes and things that she went for last year. She'll be a more complete defensive piece within the system and she's still a great 3-point shooter. Really happy with her improvement in her work in the offseason and feel like she could be a good addition for our squad as well.β
