Hailey Van Lith landing spots: Where the former Sun guard could go next originally appeared on The Sporting News.
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The Connecticut Sun on Thursday waived guard Hailey Van Lith, as the former TCU standout continues to try and establish herself in the WNBA.
Roster update: The Connecticut Sun has activated Leïla Lacan. In a corresponding move, Hailey Van Lith has been waived. #GetClose | #CTSunpic.twitter.com/iQ6HjljE75
— Connecticut Sun (@ConnecticutSun) May 28, 2026
Van Lith played last season with the Chicago Sky, but the Sky waived her on May 4. Two days later, the Sun picked her up — but in order to welcome back Leila Lacan from international duty, Connecticut had to make a sacrifice.
That was in the form of waiving Van Lith, who had made three starts for the rebuilding Sun in 2026.
MORE: Why Hailey Van Lith was waived by Sun despite averaging 8.1 PPG
Though the Sun waived her on Thursday, Van Lith is hardly a lost cause.
She averaged 8.1 points across nine games, during which she shot 49.2 percent from the field and 47.1 percent from 3-point territory over 17 minutes on average. Feasibly, she could be claimed off waivers and it wouldn’t be a big surprise — Van Lith is demonstrating that she can contribute in the WNBA.
Van Lith is grateful to the Sun, sources told me and @alexaphilippou , for their transparency and the opportunity, and remains motivated to carry forward the momentum from her time with the Sun. https://t.co/2zCuhceQi7
— Kendra Andrews (@kendra__andrews) May 28, 2026
The expansion Portland Fire are showing a knack for identifying and developing inefficiencies in the market. Van Lith would boost Alex Sarama’s guard rotation and give an exciting young team another shooter.
The Washington Mystics are another young team that could use an injection of shooting talent — not to mention some backcourt depth. The Mystics rank 13th out of 15 teams in offensive efficiency, as well as in team 3-point shooting.
The defending champion Las Vegas Aces need more guard depth, too. Dana Evans remains sidelined with a leg injury, and Van Lith could fill a need as a shooter while benefiting from Vegas’ strong winning culture.
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