As the 2026 WNBA season tips off, two former Northwestern Wildcats find themselves at pivotal moments in their careers—one ascending as a franchise cornerstone, the other returning home with something to prove. Veronica Burton and Nia Coffey, both products of the Wildcats' storied program, are entering campaigns that could define their professional legacies.
Just two years ago, Burton was fighting to stay in the league after being waived by the Dallas Wings. Fast forward to today, and the Golden State Valkyries guard is coming off a breakout 2025 season that earned her the Most Improved Player award and an All-Defensive Second Team selection. Starting all 44 games for the expansion Valkyries, Burton saw her scoring average skyrocket from a career 2.7 points per game to 11.9, while also dishing out a team-high 6.0 assists and grabbing 4.4 rebounds per contest. Her remarkable turnaround—from being left unprotected by the Connecticut Sun in the 2024 expansion draft to becoming the face of a new franchise—has made Golden State's gamble look like a masterstroke.
"She's the backbone of this team," Valkyries general manager Ohemaa Nyanin said after Burton signed a lucrative multiyear extension in April, following the WNBA's historic new collective bargaining agreement. "She's the connective tissue between our locker room and our coaching staff." Burton's offseason only bolstered her rising star status, as she won her second Unrivaled championship playing alongside superstars Breanna Stewart and Arike Ogunbowale.
Across the country, Nia Coffey is writing a very different story. After averaging a career-low 10.4 minutes per game with the Atlanta Dream last season, the veteran forward has returned to her home state of Minnesota, signing with the Lynx—a team with championship aspirations. While Burton is proving she belongs among the league's elite, Coffey is on a mission to remind everyone why she was a first-round pick in 2017. For the former Wildcat, this season is about reclaiming her role and contributing to a deep postseason run.
Two Wildcats, two paths, one common goal: making 2026 a season to remember.