April 18, 2021
The Lynx waive Lexie Brown and sign more rookie contracts as they finalize their training camp roster
A lot of young talent joins training camp to challenge the veteran squad
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Over the weekend, the Minnesota Lynx added more rookies to their training camp roster. Guards Japreece Dean and Selena Lott; center Mikayla Vaughn; and forward Alex Wittinger will join the team’s training camp set to start April 25. Dean and Lott join Mikayla Pivec, all young guards with training camp contracts.
Japreece Dean, 5’7, averaged 12.1 ppg, 3.0 rpg, and 4.3 apg in 90 appearances in her final three seasons at UCLA. Selected 30th overall by the Chicago Sky in the 2020 WNBA Draft, she was waived by the Sky on May 25, 2020. Dean made her professional debut this past winter with Russian club Dynamo Novosibirsk, averaging 12.0ppg, 2.7 rpg, and 2.7 apg in 20 PBL outings.
The 5’11 Selena Lott hails from Marquette and earned Big East Co-Defensive Player of the Year and All-Big East First team honors as a senior in 2020-21. She played in 124 games during her four-year career. In her senior year, she averaged a team-best 14.7 ppg (on 46.1% shooting), 5.3 rpg, 5.2 apg, and 2.08 spg in 26 starts.
Mikayla Vaughn played in 80 games over four seasons at Notre Dame, with career averages of 6.3 ppg (on 57.0% shooting), 4.3 rpg and 1.06 bpg. The 6’3 center was part of the Fighting Irish’s run to the NCAA championship game in her 2018-2019 sophomore year.
A 2019 Illinois graduate, Alex Wittinger earned All-Big Ten Second Team honors in each of her final two seasons and finished her career with averages of 13.6 ppg (on 49.1% shooting), 8.2 rpg, and 2.32 bpg in 118 games. The 6’1 forward spent this past winter playing for German club BasCats USC Heidelberg, where she averaged 8.4 ppg (50.8%), 5.6 rpg, and 1.22 spg in nine DBBL contests.
Also announced was that the team would be waiving three-year guard Lexie Brown. “After discussing her future in Minnesota at length, we agreed Lexie would prefer to enter free agency and consider other organizations moving forward.” Brown’s management group said in a statement.
The Lynx acquired Lexie Brown from the Connecticut Sun in 2019, getting minutes in 50 games over two seasons. She averaged 7.2 ppg, 1.6 rpg, 1.8 apg, and 1.24 spg and shot 35.3% from the three-point range while with the team. Last season, Brown posted career highs across the board in an Aug. 7th game vs. Indiana with 26-points, six rebounds, and nine assists. She also ranked second in the WNBA with steals with 1.82 spg.
With the roster set, the Lynx training camp promises to be competitive. The young talent will help push the veteran squad as final roster decisions are made.
