ABOUT THIS EPISODE
This episode of The Forecast, Seattle's weekly women's sports show, features host Maggie Mertens and producer Jeff Scott Shaw discussing recent highlights in the Seattle women's sports community before diving into a comprehensive roundtable analysis of the Seattle Storm's 2026 WNBA season with reporters Bella Munson of The Nine Sports and Jeff Brown of the Storm Chasers newsletter.
The show opens with congratulations to University of Washington student-athlete Hannah Moll for winning silver in pole vault at the World Championships in Budapest, which elevated her to number one in the world rankings. The Seattle Reign's playoff push is also highlighted, with Captain Jess Fishlock scoring two goals in a 2-0 victory over Boston Legacy FC.
The main segment focuses on the Seattle Storm's historically challenging 2026 season—the worst in franchise history by record—yet potentially one of the most exciting for long-term development. Despite missing the playoffs, the young roster featuring 20-year-old starters and a 22-year-old demonstrated significant growth through adversity, including injuries to key players like Ezi Magbegor and a compressed offseason that left coaches minimal preparation time.
Reporters Munson and Brown noted overwhelmingly positive exit interview vibes, with players praising Head Coach Sonia Ramen's analytical approach, belief-building with young talent, and emphasis on joy and patience through mistakes. Players like Natisha Hiedeman, Jordan Horston, and Flau’jae Johnson specifically credited Ramen's developmental philosophy.
Natisha Hiedeman emerged as a surprise leader, cementing her starting point guard role with a career-high 14 assists in the final game while building strong community connections through initiatives like Run Buds. Flau’jae impressed with her scoring growth, leadership maturity, and authentic personality—finishing the season averaging nearly 15 points per game and technically breaking the rookie scoring record. Rookie Awa Fam also showed promising development, particularly in her three-point shooting.
Looking ahead, the Storm face key roster decisions with only Stephanie Dolson as an unrestricted free agent, while Jade Melbourne and Zia Cooke hold restricted/reserved rights. The panel debated strategic approaches: prioritizing young player development versus accelerating contention through veteran additions, with consensus favoring complementary pieces aged 25-29 over aging stars seeking immediate championships. The two-year lottery rule and Ezi Magbegor's ACL recovery timeline further complicate offseason planning.
Despite the disappointing record, the reporters expressed optimism for the franchise's future, emphasizing the young core's chemistry, individual growth, and exciting draft positioning—with hopes for a top-five selection in a deep 2027 draft class.
Episode Notes0:00 - Weekly Sports Recap
1:40 - Seattle Storm Post Season Roundtable
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Jeff Brown has been covering the Seattle Storm since 2015. Storm Chasers is dedicated to covering the 4-time WNBA Champion Seattle Storm and the WNBA league overall. Aiming to be the very best media coverage for the Storm. You can follow and support Jeff’s coverage by subscribing on substack https://stormchaserswnba.substack.com/ or by following on X : https://x.com/wnbastormchaser
Bella Munson has been a contributor for The IX Basketball since September 2023 and is the site's Seattle Storm beat reporter. She also writes about women's soccer for The IX Sports, The Equalizer and Home Fields. Having graduated with a Journalism & Public Interest Communication degree from the University of Washington, she also covers the WNBA for Spotrac. Follow more of Bella’s works here : https://www.theixsports.com/author/bella-munson/
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The Forecast is a Production of :
KVRU (https://www.kvru.org/shows/the-forecast/) & JEFFSCOTTSHAW
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Executive Producer + Host // Maggie Mertens // Maggie@KVRU.org
Executive Producer // JEFFSCOTTSHAW // Jeff@KVRU.org
Additional Production Support Provided By // Crystal Fincher & Shannon Cheng & Maurice Jones Jr.
