THE Connecticut Sun face massive uncertainty heading into 2025 WNBA season without head coach and with five players set to enter unrestricted free agencybut the release of the team’s schedule Monday leaves little room for growing pains.
Head coach Stephanie White parted ways with the team on October 28 to accept the same position with the Indiana Fever after going 55-25 in two seasons with Connecticut. Assistant coach Austin Kelly will also join White’s staff at Indiana, and assistant Briann January has reportedly interviewed for head coaching positions this cycle. All three Sun’s All-Star veterans – Alyssa Thomas, DeWanna Bonner and Brionna Jones – are currently free agents, and Thomas is the only member of the trio eligible to receive a base designation. Connecticut also doesn’t have a first-round pick this year after trading him to the Chicago Sky to acquire sharpshooter Marina Mabrey in July.
The Sun’s schedule for next season includes four matchups with 2024 playoff teams in the first two weeks. Connecticut hosts the Las Vegas Aces, who reached the semifinals last season after back-to-back championships in 2022 and ’23, for its second game of the year, then faces the Minnesota Lynx on the road after their run to the 2024 WNBA Finals. The Sun will play five of their first ten games on the road in some of the league’s toughest arenas, including the Indiana Fever’s Gainbridge Fieldhouse in Indianapolis and the New York Liberty’s Barclays Center in Brooklyn.
From the former UConn stars’ homecomings in Connecticut to Game 2 at TD Garden in Boston, here are the biggest matchups on the Sun’s 2025 schedule:
May 18: Season opener vs. Washington Mystics
Connecticut will host the Mystics for the first game of the 2025 season at Mohegan Sun Arena, and it will also mark the debut of two first-year head coaches who have yet to be hired. The Mystics were one of six teams to make a change this offseason, firing the father-son head coaching duo. Eric Thibault and general manager Mike Thibaultformer Sun coach on October 23, and they are now one of three teams along with the Sun and the Dallas Wings who have not yet filled their vacancies.
The Sun swept the Mystics in 2024, but all four meetings were battles, including an overtime game on the road in June. Washington’s roster also includes a former UConn star player Aaliyah Edwardswho averaged 7.6 points and 5.6 rebounds in 22 minutes per game as a rookie last season.
May 27: Paige Bueckers’ probable first WNBA game in CT
THE Dallas Wings won first place overall 2025 WNBA Draft Lottery Picksand it is widely believed that they will use it to select the UConn superstar Paige Bueckers. Bueckers is in the midst of his redshirt senior season with the No. 2 Huskies and is currently averaging 22 points, 4.5 rebounds, 4.5 assists and two steals on 62.7 percent shooting from the field. If she lands with the Wings, Bueckers will play her first professional game in Connecticut in just the second week of the season.
The Sun went 3-0 against the Wings in 2024, but Bueckers could be a game-changer for the franchise alongside the four-time All-Star Arike Ogunbowale and pick #3 2023 Maddy Siegrist. Dallas will play a second game at Mohegan Sun Arena on June 20, so Connecticut fans should have several opportunities to see the Huskies star during his rookie year.
June 25: First meeting with the Golden State Valkyries
For the first time since 2008, a brand new franchise will join the WNBA in 2025. Valkyries of the Golden State are the first of three expansion teams expected to join the league by 2026, and the Sun will face the newcomers for the first time on the road in San Francisco in June.
The Valkyries are led by head coach Natalie Nakase, who helped the Las Vegas Aces win back-to-back WNBA titles during three years as an assistant to coach Becky Hammon from 2022-24. Golden State will begin at building its roster with the WNBA expansion draft this Friday, and the Sun will have to let at least one of its young stars — Olivia Nelson Ododa, Veronica Burton or first-round selection 2024 Laila Lacan – without protection.
July 15: Sun returns to TD Garden against Indiana Fever
The Sun made history in 2024 at TD Garden, playing the first-ever WNBA game in Boston in front of a sold-out crowd of more than 19,100 at the home of the Boston Celtics. Connecticut defeated the Los Angeles Sparks 69-61 in the game, and they will look to break records again when Caitlin Clark and the Indiana Fever travel to Boston in 2025.
The Fever and Sun have a budding rivalry after Connecticut eliminated Indiana from the 2024 WNBA playoffs in a 2-0 sweep at Mohegan Sun Arena. The Sun went 3-1 against the Fever during the regular season, suffering their only loss on the road at Indianapolis.
Connecticut Sun take step toward becoming ‘New England’s Team’ with first-ever TD Garden game
August 30: Sun hosts the Minnesota Lynx for a semifinal rematch
The Lynx and Sun battled in a hotly contested series in the 2024 WNBA playoffs, and Connecticut was ultimately eliminated in the semifinals for the second year in a row after forcing a deciding Game 5 in Minneapolis. Minnesota then forced Game 5 of an all-time WNBA Finals series against the New York Liberty that included two games going to overtime and four decided by three points or less.
The Lynx will return second MVP Napheesa Collier in 2025 and will host Connecticut twice before the All-Star break on May 23 and June 29 at Target Center. The Sun will play their only home game against Minnesota late in the season, which could mean high stakes for playoff seeding if the teams are as close as they were in 2024. Connecticut scored of 2-1 against Minnesota in the regular season with all three. matches determined by a single score.
