2025 WNBA Season Preview Part I: Valkyries, Sun, Mystics

The Valkyries are young and hungry, but they’ll have their hands full this season. Only one player, point guard Julie Vanloo, was a full-time starter last season. The rookie point guard from Belgium started 34 games for the Washington Mystics in 2024. Tiffany Hayes and Kayla Thornton provide much-needed WNBA experience, but the lack of star power in the roster will make it difficult for the Valkyries to consistently compete.

12. Connecticut Sun

The Connecticut Sun have a combined regular season record of 106-42 (0.716) over the past four seasons. They have made the playoffs every year since 2017 and advanced to the semifinals six seasons in a row.

The most successful franchise in recent history is starting over.

Only three players from last season, Marina Mabrey, Olivia Nelson-Ododa, and Caitlin Bickle, are returning. Those three had a combined three starts for the Sun last year. All-Stars Alyssa Thomas, DeWanna Bonner, and Brionna Jones departed. DiJonai Carrington, named First Team All-Defense in 2024, and starting point guard Tyasha Harris signed with Dallas. Even head coach Stephanie White is gone. She left for Indiana after only two seasons at the helm in Connecticut.

Frenchman Rachid Meziane takes over as head coach after a successful coaching career overseas. He arrives with newcomers Tina Charles, Lindsay Allen, and Diamond DeShields. Charles is back in Connecticut after being selected first overall in 2010. She won the Rookie of the Year that year and was the league MVP in 2012. Connecticut traded her to New York after the 2013 season.

The Sun will struggle on the offensive end in a league dominated by efficient scorers. They will need to lean on rookies Annesah Morrow, picked seventh out of LSU in the 2025 Draft, and Saniya Rivers, picked eighth out of North Carolina State.

It’ll be an adjustment period for the Sun and their fanbase. They will be clinging to small victories, growth, and signs of optimism in a new era.

11. Washington Mystics

Washington fell one game short of making the playoffs last season despite losing their first 12 games. They fired general manager Mike Thibault and head coach Eric Thibault. Jamila Wideman takes over as general manager.

Wideman is best known for her playing career. Her high school team was the subject of Madeleine Blais’s popular book In These Girls Hope is a Muscle. Wideman was the third overall pick in the inaugural WNBA Draft in 1997. Recently, she worked in the NBA as the Vice President of Player Development.

Sydney Johnson was named the new head coach of the Mystics. After coaching men’s basketball at Princeton (his alma mater) and Fairfield, Johnson most recently worked as an assistant for the Chicago Sky last season. He also coached the 3×3 women’s team for USA Basketball.

The Mystics hope that Brittney Sykes and Shakira Austin return from injury-plagued seasons in 2024. Sykes, a four-time All-Defensive Team member, missed 22 games due to ankle and foot injuries. Austin, a force inside at 6-foot-5, played in only 12 games due to a lingering hip injury.

Washington will be without four of their six most productive players from last season. Ariel Atkins (Chicago), Julie Vanloo (Golden State), and Shatori Walker-Kimbrough (Atlanta) all left. Additionally, the Mystics recently traded sharp-shooting Karlie Samuelson to Minnesota for a first-round pick in the 2026 Draft.

The Mystics attempted to bolster their roster through the draft with three picks in the top six. With the third pick, they drafted Sonia Citron, a versatile 6-foot-1 guard from Notre Dame. Her size, combined with her solid all-around game and defensive prowess, translates to the WNBA.

Washington drafted forward Kiki Iriafen out of USC with the fourth overall pick. She joins a crowded frontcourt of non-shooters that includes Austin, second-year forward Aaliyah Edwards and 22-year-old Sika Koné. The Mystics’ other first-round draft pick, point guard Georgia Amoore from Kentucky, tore her ACL and is out for the season.

The current Mystics roster is last in the WNBA in total number of games played last season. They are also last in total points. A healthy Sykes and Austin will make a big difference for the Mystics, but they will struggle throughout the season as they figure out their identity and roles.