PWHL Las Vegas finally has players on the board. The expansion club made its first official roster moves Saturday, signing Minnesota Frost defenders Mae Batherson and Kendall Cooper to two-year deals that make them the franchise’s first players ahead of its inaugural 2026–27 season on the Las Vegas Strip. Both arrive with proven PWHL experience and are expected to anchor the new blue line when the team opens at T-Mobile Arena this fall.
According to PWHL Las Vegas, both players signed two-year Standard Player Agreements on June 6 that run through the 2027–28 campaign. The team called Batherson and Cooper its “historic first signings” and said they are the opening pieces of a five-player core the expansion club will add during the league’s Phase 2 signing window.
Batherson, 25, finished 2025–26 with 15 points (three goals, 12 assists) in 30 games and a plus-10 rating, while Cooper, 24, recorded 19 points (two goals, 17 assists) in 30 games and tied for second among rookies in scoring. The two were teammates on the Minnesota Frost and bring both regular-season and postseason experience to the new Las Vegas roster, as detailed by News 3 (KSNV).
What Batherson And Cooper Bring To Las Vegas
Cooper has earned a reputation as a playmaker who can handle heavy minutes, setting a single-season assist mark for a defender and putting together the league’s first six-game assist streak. Batherson counters with steady defensive instincts and playoff-tested toughness. Together, they give Las Vegas an instant mix of offense from the back end and veteran poise, the kind of combination that can shorten the usual expansion learning curve. Those streaks and milestones were highlighted in league notebook recaps and weekly reports by OurSportsCentral.
How The Expansion Signing Window Works
The moves came during Phase 2 of the PWHL’s expansion player distribution process, which allows each new club to add up to five players by signing from protected lists or through a selection mechanism. Per the league’s expansion rules, only players on an expansion team’s 20-player exclusive negotiation target list are eligible to be signed during Phase 2, and existing teams can lose a maximum of three contracted players in this period, according to the PWHL expansion rulebook.
What’s Next For PWHL Las Vegas
Las Vegas will continue to add players through Monday’s Phase 2 deadline, and fans can expect more signings before the window closes. The franchise is slated to debut at T-Mobile Arena this fall, as reported by The Associated Press during the league’s expansion rollout earlier this month.
