Connecticut Sun Announce Unfortunate Hailey Van Lith Decision on Tuesday
Hailey Van Lith and the Connecticut Sun looked for a second consecutive win on Tuesday evening as they faced off against Angel Reese and the Atlanta Dream. The Sun are coming off an 84-81 win against Dearica Hamby and the Los Angeles Sparks, improving their record to 2-8 on the 2025 WNBA season.
Ahead of the season, Van Lith was waived by the Chicago Sky before the Sun claimed the former TCU star off waivers two days later. The guard has appeared in nine games for Connecticut this season, including three starts, averaging 8.1 points, 1.1 rebounds and 2.2 assists in 17.6 minutes per game.
But on Thursday, the Sun, sitting at a 1-9 record following their 71-61 loss to the Portland Fire, elected to waive Van Lith, activating guard Leila Lecan as a result. However, Connecticut felt Van Lith had done enough to stick around, re-signing her to a development contract ahead of their win over LA on Saturday, just a couple of days after getting waived.
With Van Lith now on a player development contract, she can only be activated for a maximum of 12 games. And with 34 games remaining, coach Rachid Meziane and the Sun elected to keep her out of Tuesday's matchup against Reese, her former LSU teammate, and the Dream, listing it as a coach's decision. Guard Ashlon Jackson was also ruled out.
"UPDATED Game Status Report vs. Atlanta Dream - 06.02.26 Ashlon Jackson - OUT (Coach's Decision) Hailey Van Lith - OUT (Coach's Decision)," Connecticut Sun PR wrote on X.
UPDATED Game Status Report vs. Atlanta Dream - 06.02.26
— Connecticut Sun PR (@CTSunPR) June 2, 2026
Ashlon Jackson - OUT (Coach's Decision)
Hailey Van Lith - OUT (Coach's Decision) https://t.co/hezTBrTO3v
Following the matchup against Atlanta, the Sun will head to Chicago to face the Sky on Friday at 7:30 p.m. ET.
Related: Caitlin Clark Reacts After Emotional Personal Announcement on Friday
Copyright 2026 The Arena Group, Inc. All Rights Reserved
This story was originally published June 2, 2026 at 3:55 PM.