Carla Leite signs in Turkey with Mersin after standout WNBA season

Mersin made the signing official on August 24, announcing that the French international point guard had agreed to terms through 2028. In its statement, the club wrote: “Our club, as part of building its roster for the 2026-2027 season, has reached a two-year agreement with Carla Leite, a guard who has worn the colors of the Portland Fire in the WNBA and of the French national team.”

A season split between EuroLeague and WNBA

Carla Leite arrives in Turkey off the back of a strong two-league campaign. In EuroLeague with Zaragoza, the former Tarbes and Villeneuve d’Ascq guard averaged 10.4 points and 2.9 assists as her club finished third in the competition. She then moved to the WNBA with the Portland Fire, where she appeared in 34 games and posted 15.8 points on 45.1% shooting, 6.3 assists and 2.1 rebounds in 26 minutes per night. She ranked 24th in the WNBA in scoring and 6th in assists this season, and finished as Portland’s leading scorer and top assist provider.

At Mersin, Leite steps into a role previously held by fellow French guards Marine Fauthoux and Marine Johannès, who both played for the club during the 2024-2025 season. Unlike the previous season, Mersin will compete in the EuroCup rather than the EuroLeague in 2026-2027 — a competition she won in 2025 with Villeneuve-d’Ascq. The Turkish club has been described as a wealthy program looking to return to the top tier of European basketball.

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World Cup duty comes first

Before she reports to her new club, Leite is set to rejoin the French national team for the 2026 World Cup, scheduled for September 4-13 in Berlin. She is among the WNBA-based players expected to return to the French squad in the coming days, and she replaces Marine Fauthoux on the roster as France finalizes its group for the tournament.

The move to Mersin had already been taking shape for months. BeBasket first reported in a May 23 article by Arthur Puybertier that Leite’s next destination was beginning to come into focus following her WNBA experience, well before the deal was made official this week.