Seattle Storm's Katie Lou Samuelson, Natalie Achonwa reflect on balancing motherhood with WNBA careers

In its 30th season, the WNBA shares a special connection with Mother's Day, which celebrates the love and support of moms everywhere.

There are about 30 mothers in the league, which represent roughly 17% of the 180 active players.

Here are a couple of Mother's Day stories from the Storm (0-1), who play a road game against the Connecticut Sun (0-1) at 10 a.m. Sunday.

‘You've changed three diapers before practice'

Katie Lou Samuelson raised a few eyebrows at media day a few weeks ago when she said recovering from a right ACL injury that forced her to sit out last season has been less taxing than returning to the WNBA after sitting out in 2023 due to pregnancy.

"This is definitely challenging, but coming back from when I had my daughter was a lot more challenging," said Samuelson, who gave birth to Aliya Renae Cannady on August 4, 2023. "It kind of put things in perspective for me."

There's no textbook or group chat to help working mothers in the WNBA juggle the myriad challenges of parenthood and the demands of being a professional athlete.

The 28-year-old Samuelson, who starred at the University of Connecticut before being taken No. 4 overall in the 2019 WNBA draft, receives advice from Minnesota Lynx star Napheesa Collier and took cues from former teammates Skylar Diggins and Dearica Hamby, who are among the most notable WNBA moms.

"It's definitely a special bond you have with those players," said Samuelson, a sixth-year forward. "You know what they go through on a daily basis. It's not just showing up and working out. There are so many things. You've changed three diapers before practice, and things that other people don't necessarily have to worry about. So, you just have a connection with those other players in the league."

Samuelson remembers her first four years in the WNBA before being a mom and says she's better at multi-tasking than ever before.

"My husband (Devin Cannady) plays overseas, so we spend a lot of time apart, just naturally with our seasons," Samuelson said. "Everything will be easier once he's back and that'll be nice. But when it's just me, my personal alarm clock, which is my child, wakes me up between six and seven and we start the day just making her breakfast, getting her ready and then go from there.

"It's important making sure I have people to watch her and figuring out what she's doing that day. … I try to separate and compartmentalize a little bit when I get to the gym, and try to focus while I'm here. Then my afternoons pretty much look like some sort of park, some sort of activity like going to the aquarium, just anything I can do with her to end the day before we get into a bedtime routine."

Samuelson, who signed a two-year guaranteed deal worth $840,000 last month, is grateful for the WNBA's new collective bargaining agreement that provides charter flights, child-travel support and enhanced family benefits.

"I've been fortunate in that since I've had Aliya, there's been charters so I've always been able to have her with me at games," Samuelson said. "I want her to be able to see me accomplish my dreams and be surrounded by so many amazing women. It's such a cool part of being in the WNBA and being a mom. She gets to see more diversity, more strong woman than people might actually be able to interact with their entire life.

"I'm not only doing this for myself. I'm doing this for her to see that she can do anything she wants to do. I feel like I'm going to have such a confident and independent little girl, and I couldn't be more proud of that."

‘Becoming a mother unlocked this superpower in me'

Long before giving birth to her son Maverick in 2023, Natalie Achonwa was nicknamed ‘Mama Nat' by teammates.

The Toronto native and former Notre Dame star who was selected No. 9 overall in the 2014 WNBA draft by the Indiana Fever was part of the players' association executive committee that negotiated the landmark parental leave policy in 2020.

Six months after Maverick's arrival, Achonwa returned to the court one last time and led the Canadian national team at the 2024 Summer Olympics.

"I always thought our society put the idea in my mind that you had to choose if you wanted to be a mother or an athlete or whatever occupation at the highest level," said Achonwa, a first-year Storm assistant. "I used to believe women had to choose which road they wanted to take.

"When I became a mother and decided to come back and play at the highest level and play in the Olympics and get back in shape, I realized that you can do anything that you really want to. Becoming a mother unlocked this superpower in me, and I realized that we put so many limitations on our own minds and on our own capabilities. With a little bit of extra motivation, work and support, you can really do anything."

Following an eight-year WNBA career, Achonwa segued into coaching in 2024 at the urging of Michigan women's basketball coach Kim Barnes Arico and spent two seasons on her staff.

Being a mom in the WNBA presents different challenges for coaches and players, Achonwa said.

"When you're an athlete, you have to live your job a little bit more physically," she said. "With coaching, it's more time consuming off the court with extra film. My son's kind of used to us doing something with me on a computer or a basketball game on the TV all the time. He knows that's mommy's work.

"I love the representation that you can be a mother in the sport and still do so many different things. Lou is showing that you can be a player. I'm showing that you can be a coach. (General manager) Talisa (Rhea) is a new mom too. We are showing what you can be in basketball and be in so many different roles. You can be a parent and be great at both things."

Achonwa advises anyone considering motherhood and professional sports to build a reliable support system.

She credits her best friend and former WNBA player Devereaux Peters for helping her through postpartum while Achonwa's mom helps daily with Maverick and her two dogs, a 10-year-old Goldendoodle and an eight-year-old Mini Goldendoodle.

"I'm heavy on the support because I feel that we don't pour enough into our mothers, into our parents and into the villages that are needed to support moms," Achonwa said. "That's how you can do it all. Yes, you have to put in the work, but you also have to have people support you and people that believe you can do it all."

While many moms will spend Mother's Day relaxing, Achonwa will be on the Storm sidelines and Maverick will on hand at the Mohegan Sun Arena.

"I'll spend it doing what I love and I think that's what makes me a great mother," she said. "I've been able to be ambitious and chase my dreams and my goals, and it makes me a better mom knowing that I'm not settling in any aspect of my life."

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