Mercury Sign Former Top-10 Pick in Latest WNBA News

Originally posted on Athlon Sports | By Dave Holcomb | Last updated Jun 1, 2025 2:38 PM ET

The Phoenix Mercury have added a former first-round pick in the WNBA Draft who only turned 24 years old last month.

Phoenix announced on its social media account Sunday the team has signed Haley Jones. The Atlanta Dream selected Jones at No. 6 overall in the 2023 WNBA Draft.

"The Phoenix Mercury have signed guard/forward Haley Jones to a hardship contract," wrote the Mercury social media team.

A hardship contract is intended to be a short-term deal to allow WNBA teams to have more than the 12-player roster maximum for a period. It's used in the league to allow teams to add more players when several others on the roster are dealing with injuries.

Guard Kahleah Cooper and forwards Natasha Mack and Alyssa Thomas are currently sidelined for the Mercury.

Phoenix guard Lexi Held is also considered day-to-day entering the team's next game against the Los Angeles Sparks on Sunday.

The Phoenix Mercury have signed guard/forward Haley Jones to a hardship contract. pic.twitter.com/tj1EhiAz0X
— Phoenix Mercury (@PhoenixMercury) June 1, 2025

Jones was a star with the Stanford Cardinal. The guard started for Stanford in 2020-21 when the team went 31-2 and won the national championship.

The following season, Jones made first-team All-America with 13.2 points, 7.9 rebounds and 3.7 assists per game. During her senior season, she made third-team All-America, but her statistics improved to 13.5 points, 9 rebounds and 4 assists per game.

In 80 games with the Dream, Jones registered 3.8 points, 2.3 rebounds and 2.2 assists per contest. She started 30 of those 80 games.

Of those starts, 24 of them came in 2024. The Dream surprisingly released Jones this spring before the start of the 2025 WNBA regular season.

This article first appeared on Athlon Sports and was syndicated with permission.

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