Storm bring back familiar face in Alysha Clark
By Charles Hamaker
Seattle, WA - In their first free agent signing that isn’t a player returning (Nneka Ogwumike) or someone they acquired in a trade (Li Yueru), our Seattle Storm are bringing back a fan favorite and defensive stopper in guard Alysha Clark, per reporting by Ramona Shelburne of ESPN. Clark returns to the Storm, having spent the first 9 seasons of her career in Seattle after signing with them back in 2012. Clark has spent the last three seasons, in order, with the Washington Mystics and Las Vegas Aces as she played a critical role in the 2023 title for Vegas. Clark has put together an impressive career through 12 seasons in the WNBA so far, earning a strong reputation as a defensive stalwart on the court (All-defensive first team in 2020 and all-defensive second team in 2019) and picking up the WNBA Sixth player of the year award when she was part of the Aces 2023 title team. The signing puts the Storm at seven players on the roster for 2025 with Clark and Ogwumike not official from the team itself yet.
A strong resume that Seattle knows well
Clark’s WNBA career didn’t start out in an ideal way, as she was originally drafted in the 2nd round of the 2010 draft by the San Antonio Silver Stars, who are now the Las Vegas Aces. After spending her first two years of college play at Belmont University in Nashville, Tennessee, Clark transferred to Middle Tennessee and continued her impressive play as she racked up the accolades whether it be nationally or in conference. Clark was a strong scorer that led the NCAA in scoring during her two seasons at Middle Tennessee, but despite that strong point production went unsigned after the Stars drafted her. Before Clark joined the Storm in 2012, Alysha played in the Israeli National League on Ramat Hasharon where she earned Domestic Player of the Year and All-Israeli first time during her first year. Her overseas play includes that time, Turkey, Poland, and France. Her time in Seattle saw her become a fan favorite, where she earned the nickname of “The Eraser” as her defensive play wiped away that of who she was guarding. Her strong defensive play was a key to helping the Storm win titles in 2018 and 2020, with the 2018 championship against the Washington Mystics featuring an impressive run. Clark is credited with starting every game of that title run, guarding Diana Taurasi in the conference finals where she also dropped a double-double in the decisive game five, and led Seattle in playing time during the series deciding win of the finals. After helping the Storm win the title in 2020, which was played in the “Wubble” due to COVID-19, Clark signed with the Washington Mystics as she looked to help them return to competing for a title. Alysha, playing in Lyon, France in the offseason, suffered a Lisfranc injury in her right foot that required surgery that kept her out of the 2021 season. That Lisfranc injury was tough, as the serious injury and a new environment were factors that made it a difficult time for Clark, but her 2022 comeback season looked to be a nice bounce back as Washington was back in the playoffs. The Mystics, who were happy for the postseason berth after a tumultuous 2021 campaign, were swept in the first round by the Seattle Storm who eventually lost to the Las Vegas Aces where Alysha signed the next offseason.
As mentioned, the 2023 season was a big one for the Aces and Alysha as they looked dominant all year and Clark picked up 6th player of the year honors, with Las Vegas losing just one game during the playoffs. 2024 was a successful year for the Aces in terms of getting to the playoffs, but the New York Liberty won in a finals rematch of 2023 and Clark’s contract was up. Alysha, now at age 37, will return to Seattle as a player that remains valuable for a contender. She can still defend multiple positions, and keep opposing defenses honest due to her accuracy from beyond three-point range. That sort of floor spacing has been a critical aspect of the success that the Aces have seen in recent years, and will be ever critical for a Storm team that needs to fill out it’s bench in addition to losing Sami Whitcomb to Phoenix in free agency. This offseason, you can find Alysha in Nashville (About an hour from Mount Juliet, where Clark was born), as she’ll take part in Athletes Unlimited where she’s on Team Colson and recorded a stat line of 20 points, four rebounds, and one assist while getting the start on opening night of the competition.
Where the Storm sit currently
This is a sign of yet another player leaving the Las Vegas Aces (Sydney Colson, Tiffany Hayes, and now Clark have departed via free agency while Kelsey Plum is with the Sparks following that three-team trade that saw the Storm send Jewell Loyd to the Aces) while the Storm finally do something in free agency after fans anxiously watched plenty of movement throughout the WNBA. Las Vegas dealing with the constraints of the league’s hard cap is Seattle’s gain here, as the Storm have four players set for their starting five on their roster while Nika Mühl will miss extended time due to a torn anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) and meniscus in her left knee playing overseas this offseason, Li Yueru is on a training camp contract, and Gabby Williams has been cored but there’s uncertainty about whether or not she’ll return to the team. There isn’t too much firepower out there in the free agency market that you could add right away to your starters group, and the Storm need to fill out at least three to four bench sports currently to be ready for the 2025 season. It’ll be a fascinating conundrum that general manager Talisa Rhea and associate general manager Pokey Chatman need to work their way out of if they want to build a true contending roster for the year, and that seems to be what Seattle will want to do with the likes of Diggins-Smith and Ogwumike on the books through this year. The Storm currently have the most cap space in the WNBA per Spotrac.com but that’s before the signings of Ogwumike and Clark. Additionally, Seattle has the second overall pick in this years draft plus three other picks this year (one in the second round and two in the third round) and four picks total next year (three in the first round and one in the third round). There are assets to play with, the Storm just need to know how to maximize them and get in contact with players that want to be here.
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Check out Circling Seattle Sports’ previous Seattle Storm articles here.
Check out Circling Seattle Sports’ previous articles with writing by Charles Hamaker here.
Cover photo by Neil Enns for the Seattle Storm
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