Now the roster math has flipped in Van Lith’s favor. Connecticut is already buried at 10-28, eliminated from the playoff race and running thin as international duty pulls players away, so the Sun have turned back to a player they had already pushed to the fringe.

“Connecticut Sun announced they have signed Hailey Van Lith to a 7-day contract (1st contract),” read the post by AllThingsWNBA, reporting this development on August 25.

“The 5’9″ guard has appeared in 16 games (3 starts) with the team in 2026, averaging 5.3 PPG, 1.0 RPG, 1.9 APG, 0.7 SPG and 0.2 BPG in 14.4 MPG.”

Connecticut has handed Van Lith a seven-day contract, giving her another shot as international duty opens minutes in the rotation. For now, though, the move feels more like a roster necessity than a true comeback.

The irony is brutal: Lacan’s return helped cost Van Lith her spot, and Lacan’s departure has now reopened the door, leaving Van Lith with just seven days to prove she is more than a temporary roster fix.

To understand how Van Lith ended up fighting for another seven-day lifeline, you have to go back to where the uncertainty began.

Hailey Van Lith entered her second WNBA season with little margin for error after averaging just 3.5 points and 1.6 assists across 29 games as a rookie. Chicago then waived its former No. 11 overall pick before the 2026 season, forcing Van Lith back onto the market only a year after drafting her.

Connecticut quickly gave her another shot, and Van Lith responded with 8.1 points, 2.2 assists, and 1.1 rebounds across nine games, including three starts. For a player Chicago had just discarded, that was a noticeable jump from her rookie production and proof that her WNBA case was far from dead.

But improved numbers did not guarantee security. When Connecticut activated Leïla Lacan, the Sun needed a regular roster spot and waived Van Lith, with coach Rachid Meziane later acknowledging that this had essentially been the plan once Lacan returned.

Even then, Connecticut was not ready to move on completely. Just two days later, the Sun brought Van Lith back on a developmental contract, keeping her inside the organization while Lacan occupied the regular roster spot.

Van Lith accepted the reduced role, even if she did not hide how difficult it was. “(It was) the chance to keep a job and play. … At the end of the day, I still believe in me, and I know that it’ll all pan out in the end,” she said.

She was even more candid about swallowing her pride to remain in the league. “It’s nice to be wanted, and even though it’s not ideal for me, it’s nice to be wanted somewhere. The WNBA is such a cutthroat league; there are a lot of players who are worthy of roster spots but don’t even have development spots. So, putting my ego to the side and understanding that, you know, it’s a great opportunity, regardless of what it looks like to people who don’t understand the WNBA.”

The opportunity, however, remained limited. In her first game under the developmental deal, Van Lith logged just six minutes against Chicago, scoring four points with one rebound while also dealing with a left ankle contusion.

Still, she stayed in the picture, shooting 42.9% from the field, 40.9% from three and 90.9% from the free-throw line by late August.

The bigger collapse was happening around her. Connecticut entered its August 26 game against Golden State at 10-27 and already eliminated from playoff contention, then fell 89-64 to drop to 10-28.

Now the situation has come full circle. With Lacan leaving for France’s FIBA World Cup duties, Van Lith suddenly has another opening to reclaim regular-roster minutes.

The Sun, meanwhile, took the time to honor one of their and the WNBA’s all time great.

Tina Charles Honored By The Connecticut Sun

There is a new jersey up in the rafters at Mohegan Sun Arena. The Connecticut Sun honored Tina Charles, who started and ended her storied career with the Sun, in a ceremony held on August 25.

Tina Charles’ legacy has been honored by the Sun as her No. 31 jersey goes up forever.

The UConn women’s basketball legend was part of the Connecticut Sun during their rebuilding phase, having played for them for five seasons.

Tina Charles was drafted as the No. 1 overall pick by the Sun in the 2010 draft after she led UConn to back-to-back undefeated championships. She won Rookie of the Year in 2010 and became the Sun’s first-ever player to win MVP in 2012.

Charles’ Connecticut story came full circle when she returned to the Sun for the final season of her career, but calling her legacy ordinary would be ridiculous.

She now joins the franchise’s legends, while former coach Mike Thibault is set to be honored on September 20. Jonquel Jones, Alyssa Thomas, Curt Miller, and Jasmine Thomas have already received their recognition, placing Charles among the biggest names tied to the Sun’s history.

Tina Charles leaves a lasting legacy in the WNBA, and not just for the Sun franchise, finishing second on the WNBA’s all-time scoring list with 8,396 points. She also recorded 4,262 career rebounds.

Charles expressed her gratitude for the Sun franchise in a teary-eyed speech.

“I’m just thankful that my legacy did start here. I’m thankful that everything was in Connecticut as a total, from school, UConn; it’s nine years that I was here,” Charles said to the media before the ceremony.

“It’s the most that I’ve spent in any city, so Connecticut is a lot of who I am and who I became, and it’s very full circle where I got my first shot professionally here, and UConn is just where the standard was set. So, just thankful.”

“My thing about legacy: success is what you accomplish, and significance is just what you leave behind. For me, I’m just trying to make sure that I’m going from success to significance; that’s more important.”

Charles’ contributions to the WNBA will continue to inspire the next generation of players.

The Connecticut Sun will hope to get back to winning ways against the Indiana Fever in their next game.