WNBA: With back-to-back 1st-round picks, can the Sun find stars?

Forced to rebuild, retool, refresh or reinvigorate (pick your preferred term that optimistically contextualizes the situation of an organization expected to struggle through a rough season) after the team’s stars and coach chose to exit Uncasville, the Connecticut Sun can take a step toward a brighter, or at least less dim, future with the 2025 WNBA Draft.

Through the four-team trade that sent Alyssa Thomas to the Phoenix Mercury and DiJonai Carrington to the Dallas Wings, the Sun, previously without a first-round draft pick, ended up with picks No. 7 and No. 8. The back-to-back selections give the Sun two shots at landing a future star, or at least a solid contributor or two.

Although its easy to get swept up in draft day dreamings, where every player is imagined as reaching her highest upside, the reality is usually less rosy—especially in this draft. With several surefire first-round picks deciding to exercise their final year of college, headlined by new TCU Horned Frog Olivia Miles and newly-minted UConn Husky champion Azzi Fudd, the depth of the 2025 draft has been depleted, reducing the possibility that the Sun can nab the kind of impact player the team desperately needs.

That said, prospect projection is often an indecipherable mix of art and science, with who pops in the W versus who muddles through on seven-day contracts immune to prediction. Thus, a ray of hope returns for the Sun. Angel Reese was the No. 7 overall pick last year. Ariel Atkins, recently traded for a lottery pick, was the No. 7 pick in 2018. The franchise itself picked Brionna Jones with the No. 8 selection in 2017.

In search of mid-first round future All-Star, here’s three player archetypes that Connecticut could target with their two selections:

A big guard

Powered by Alyssa Thomas during The Engine’s 10 seasons as a Sun, Connecticut understands the effectiveness of a big playmaker. So, it wouldn’t be surprising if the Sun selected a big guard who can fill up the box score with one of their two picks. Both Maryland’s Shyanne Sellers and NC State’s Saniya Rivers fit that profile.

At Maryland, the 6-foot-2 Sellers garnered comparisons to Thomas, a former Terrapin. A near-triple-double threat when at her best, she passed Thomas on the program’s all-time assists list this season. However, in contrast to Thomas, Sellers is a reliable shooter, shooting a career-best 40.8 percent from 3 as a senior. As Eric Nemchock wrote in his prospect profile of Sellers:

At 6-foot-2, Sellers has above-average size for a guard and lengthy strides that give her an advantage in getting past defenders off the dribble. Complementing that driving game is a smooth midrange jumper; if Sellers can’t beat an opponent off the dribble, she can just as easily pull up and drain a shot over them.

That kind of dynamism could appeal to new Sun head coach Rachid Meziane, who is expected to implement an innovative offense. If Sellers is off the board, Rivers presents similar potential, albeit with shakier shooting, as she never shot better than 30 percent from 3 as a collegian, but more explosive athleticism.

The 6-foot-1 Rivers is a superior defensive playmaker who is more active on the boards, averaging almost three “stocks” and nearly seven boards per game as senior at NC State. In the second edition of his 2025 mock draft, Eric had the Sun selecting Rivers, pitching her as an “upside swing” whose athletic gifts, combined with the right development, could allow her to blossom into a high-impact player.

A pick-and-roll playmaker

Conversely, Connecticut could look to add a modern pick-and-roll playmaker who provides more of a scoring threat. Kentucky’s Georgia Amoore, South Carolina’s Te-Hina Paopao and TCU’s Hailey Van Lith represent three possibilities.

After four seasons at Virginia Tech, Amoore followed head coach Kenny Brooks to Kentucky for her final college season, where she led the SEC in assists per game, finishing third nationally. Her passing portfolio is enhanced by the threat of her 3-pointer, as the 5-foot-6 Amoore has the handle required to create space for nasty stepback triples. Because of the difficulty and volume of her attempts, she doesn’t sport a sparking percentage from downtown, but no one doubts her ability to drain deep treys.

Paopao, in contrast, does own a superb 3-point percentage, injecting South Carolina with needed shooting during her two seasons in Columbia. As junior, the 5-foot-9 guard led the nation in 3-point shooting, netting nearly 47 percent of her triples. She’d be a perfect replacement for another former Gamecock in Ty Harris, who also was part of the offseason exodus from Uncasville. The two Dawn Staley mentees are low-turnover offensive operators with sweet pull-up jumpers. Paopao also showed off an improved drive game during her final college season, taking advantage of aggressive closeouts by getting to the basket.

Sun president Jennifer Rizzotti also served as the coach of the US 3×3 Olympic team at the 2024 Paris Games, giving her an up-close understanding of Hailey Van Lith. After the 5-foot-7 Van Lith followed up her bronze medal summer with a stand out final college season at TCU, where she not only improved her shooting efficiency but also displayed an expanded playmaking repertoire, Rizzotti might be very inclined to bring HVL to central Connecticut.

And while draft picks should be about basketball more than business, the popular Van Lith would give the Sun a needed PR boost.

The worker

What position does she play? Will her game translate? Is she too small? Can she shoot?

Who cares! No, Aneesah Morrow might not fit into a traditional positional profile as a 6-foot-1 forward. But, after a quick look at her college production, it seems unwise to doubt that she’ll find a way to make an impact in W.

In her two seasons at DePaul, she was second in the nation in scoring, all while owning the boards. As a freshman, she led the nation in rebounds per game, a feat she replicated in her senior season at LSU. Across four college seasons, she never did not average double-digit boards. She also was a premier defensive playmaker, securing at least 2.5 steals per game throughout her career. Whatever needed to be done, Morrow did it—and did it well.

For a franchise like Connecticut that is looking to re-establish a culture of winning, there are few prospects who will bring more tangibles and intangibles to the table than Morrow. As Eric said when analyzing her pro potential, “Morrow’s motor and instincts are not in question…and the way she approaches the game at the collegiate level suggests that she’ll be a quick study wherever she lands.”