Valkyries executive Maria Valdehueza named to Sports Business Journal Forty Under 40

Maria Valdehueza has been named to Sports Business Journal’s Forty Under 40 class of 2026, a recognition that arrives as the Golden State Valkyries keep turning ticket demand into one of the WNBA’s fastest-rising business stories. The class will be honored Friday, Nov. 20, at Pier Sixty in New York City.

The Valkyries named Valdehueza senior vice president of ticketing and events on June 3, 2024, after 15 years with the Golden State Warriors, where she had most recently been vice president of ticketing. Her portfolio includes season tickets, group sales, single-game initiatives, customer service, event strategy and oversight of the Chase Center box office, a job that carries added weight in a building that hosts the Warriors and nearly 200 events a year.

The numbers around the Valkyries’ launch have been striking. By May 17, 2024, the team said it had surpassed 10,000 season-ticket deposits, including more than 2,500 since the brand launch on May 14. By April 23, 2026, the Valkyries said season tickets for the 2026 season were sold out and that the team had topped 12,000 season-ticket holders. The club also said it sold out every home game in its inaugural season and set WNBA attendance records, with average attendance of 18,064 and total attendance of 397,408.

Those sales figures have been paired with on-court momentum that has given the franchise immediate credibility in San Francisco’s crowded sports market. On Sept. 4, 2025, the Valkyries beat the Dallas Wings 84-80 at Chase Center to clinch a postseason berth, becoming the first WNBA expansion franchise to reach the playoffs in its inaugural season.

Valdehueza’s rise also reflects the Bay Area’s deeper sports labor pipeline. She spent more than a decade inside the Warriors organization before moving into a senior role with the Valkyries, and the team and local television coverage have identified her as a Filipina American, adding another layer of visibility to a front office helping define how women’s professional basketball shows up in San Francisco. As the franchise fills Chase Center and builds its business operation around ticketing, events and fan growth, Valdehueza’s recognition points to a team that is doing more than selling seats: it is assembling the infrastructure of a lasting sports brand.