Brittney Griner Excited About Hailey Van Lith Joining Connecticut Sun Roster

Brittney Griner is set to begin her first WNBA season with the Connecticut Sun on Friday night, hitting the road to face Breanna Stewart and the New York Liberty at Barclays Center in Brooklyn. This comes after the Sun secured a 1-1 record in the preseason, taking down one of the new expansion teams, the Toronto Tempo, before falling to the Liberty in the preseason finale.

Griner saw plenty of action during Connecticut’s preseason slate. The former Phoenix Mercury star averaged 11.5 points, 4.5 rebounds and 1.5 assists in 18.5 minutes per game while making two starts. Now, as the Sun prepare for their regular-season opener, they have added another weapon to the roster.

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Hailey Van Lith, after spending her college career with Louisville, LSU and TCU, was selected by the Chicago Sky with the No. 11 pick in the first round of the 2025 WNBA Draft. During her rookie season, Van Lith found a role off the bench with the Sky, playing in 29 games and averaging 3.5 points on 33.9% shooting, 1.1 rebounds and 1.6 assists per game.

But during the 2026 preseason, Van Lith showed significant improvement, raising her averages to 12.5 points and 4.5 assists per game. However, it was not enough to earn her a roster spot with Chicago, which cut Van Lith before signing former New York Liberty guard Natasha Cloud shortly after her departure.

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And on Wednesday, just two days after she was cut by the Sky, the Sun announced they had claimed Van Lith off waivers, giving the team additional depth at the guard position.

“Welcome to Connecticut, Hailey☀️,” the Sun wrote on X. “The Connecticut Sun have been awarded Hailey Van Lith on a waiver claim.”

Shortly after Connecticut signed Van Lith, Griner expressed her excitement about the move with two posts on Threads, signaling she is ready to get to work with her new teammate.

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“HVL 💪🏾🔥,” Griner wrote. “CT young and turnt for real 🤣 I love it 🔥”