The Golden State Valkyries selected forward María Conde with their second pick in the 2025 WNBA Expansion Draft.
The Chicago Sky selected Conde with the 27th pick in the 2019 WNBA Draft. She was the final selection of a Sky class that featured forward Katie Lou Samuelson and guard Chloe Jackson. Conde played for the Florida State Seminoles from 2015-17. The Spanish forward averaged 3.6 points, two rebounds and 1.1 assists per game during her two seasons with FSU. During her freshman year, she played with center Adut Bulgak, a former first-round pick by the New York Liberty who spent one season with the Sky. Conde has yet to play in the WNBA.
Conde, a former champion in EuroBasket Women 2017, currently plays for ZVVZ USK Praha of the Czech Women's Basketball League. She averaged 14.8 points per game in six games of EuroLeague play and 11.6 points per contest in nine games of ZBL play, according to EuroBasket. Conde averaged 5.2 assists and about five rebounds per game between her EuroLeague and ZBL games. She scored as many as 26 points and dished as many as 10 assists during a 14-point EuroLeague win over UNI Gyor in October.
A total of 11 players were selected in the 2025 WNBA expansion draft. The Valkyries did not select a player from the Seattle Storm. Conde will join New York Liberty forward Kayla Thornton, Phoenix Mercury forward Monique Billings and Los Angeles Sparks forward Stephanie Talbot, among a variety of other picks.
Guard Veronica Burton, a three-time Big Ten Defensive Player of the Year during her time at Northwestern, joined the Valkyries from the Connecticut Sun. She was added to an early guard rotation that features Kate Martin of the Las Vegas Aces, Julie Vanloo of the Washington Mystics and Carla Leite of the Dallas Wings.
The Sky were able to protect up to six players going into this year's expansion draft. They have six players under contract following the expansion draft, according to Spotrac. Guard Chennedy Carter, forward Michaela Onyenwere and guard Dana Evans are listed as restricted free agents.
Guard Diamond DeShields, forward Brianna Turner and forward Isabelle Harrison will be unrestricted free agents. Chicago currently holds the No. 3 and No. 10 selections in the 2025 WNBA Draft. Adding extra shooting and scoring help must be a priority for a Sky squad on the rise with two high-potential bigs and with a new head coach in Tyler Marsh.