Connecticut Sun guard Hailey Van Lith (2) controls the ball past New York Liberty guard Pauline Astier (18) during a WNBA basketball game in New York on Friday, May 8, 2026. (AP Photo/Adam Hunger)
Adam Hunger/AP
PORTLAND, OR – MAY 27: Ashlon Jackson #3 of the Connecticut Sun handles the ball during the game against the Portland Fire on May 27, 2026, at Moda Center in Portland, Oregon. (Photo by Mollie Handkins/NBAE via Getty Images)
Mollie Handkins/NBAE via Getty Images, Photo courtesy of Connecticut Sun
CHICAGO, IL – JUNE 5: Hailey Van Lith #2 of the Connecticut Sun dribbles the ball during the game against the Chicago Sky on June 5, 2026 at the Wintrust Arena in Chicago, IL. (Photo by Gary Dineen/NBAE via Getty Images)
Gary Dineen/NBAE via Getty Images, Photo courtesy of Connecticut Sun
Rookie Ashlon Jackson signed a player development contract with the Connecticut Sun for the chance to go home to Texas.
After being waived twice in the first month of the season, second-year guard Hailey Van Lith just wanted to keep a job.
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For the first time in the history of the WNBA, players like Jackson and Van Lith finally get the chance to not only stay in the league but also prove they deserve a spot.
One of the WNBA’s most critical flaws has been its lack of opportunity.While recent expansion has brought the league to 15 teams with 12-player rosters, there still isn’t room for depth in the case of injuries.
Unlike its NBA counterpart, the WNBA doesn’t have a designated development league, like the G League. In the past, players who didn’t make a team’s 12-player roster often found themselves signing with overseas teams, smaller domestic leagues or doing whatever they could to stay fit and remain on teams’ radars in case a hardship contract opened.
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Now, thanks to the league’s new collective bargaining agreement, these players on the fringe not only have a chance to develop, but also get consistent playing time.
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“The W, to me, it’s the best league in the world, but it’s very hard to get to be a part of it,” said Sun general manager and former UConn women’s basketball star Morgan Tuck. “… The more spots that are available, the better. There’s a lot of really good, talented players that just don’t get the chance.”
This offseason, the league and its players’ union agreed to a new, historic collective bargaining agreement that featured seven-figure salaries, stronger player benefits, and more opportunities than ever before with the creation of player development contracts.
According to the new CBA, each team has the option to sign two development players to its roster without affecting its salary cap. From the moment they sign, these players get the full experience. They’re a part of team meetings, participate in practice and travel with the team on road trips.
Player development contracts were created to give younger players, specifically those on the fringe of roster cuts, the space to improve their skills while still having an opportunity to play in games and integrate themselves within team cultures and league expectations. These contracts are reserved for players with fewer than four years of experience in the WNBA or fewer than six years, if they’ve played between one and160 minutes in the prior season.
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PORTLAND, OREGON – MAY 27: Guard Ashlon Jackson #3 of the Connecticut Sun reaches for a loose ball during the first half of the game against the Portland Fire at Moda Center on May 27, 2026, in Portland, Oregon. (Photo by Ali Gradischer/Getty Images)
Ali Gradischer/Getty Images, Photo courtesy of Connecticut Sun
“It’s a good situation to be in, especially because you’re learning something new every single day, whether that’s being around your teammates, your staff,” said Jackson. “Still being able to have the full experience, be a part of the team, play some games; it’s really great.”
Despite a much smaller weekly stipend than the players’ salaries on the regular 12-player roster, the biggest difference in these contracts is their game limit.
Development players can play up to 12 games per contract. Each team, however, can only play a development player in 24 total games each season. After a development player plays 12, they can choose to stay with their team and continue participating in practice (without playing in games), or they can sign a new contract with a different team as their individual game limit resets.
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Once a team hits 24 games, they can no longer play any development player in any game that season (if a team chooses to play both its development players in the same game, that counts as two games against their 24-game limit). If a team wishes to sign a development player to a regular roster spot, it must first make room by waiving another player to keep within the salary cap.
“I think anytime you can have more people on a roster, I think it’s a good thing,” Tuck said. “… I think it’s really key for people that you want to obviously develop for development spots, but then also people that you think can give you some benefit during the season in their limited amount of games.”
As of June 11, nine of the league’s 15 teams have signed two development players, while two teams (Las Vegas and Toronto) have both of their development spots still open. When it came to Connecticut’s development spots, Tuck says she wanted a mix of players who provided depth and players whom the team could invest in “long term.”
SEATTLE, WASHINGTON – MAY 20: Ashlon Jackson #3 of the Connecticut Sun lays up a shot against the Seattle Storm at Climate Pledge Arena on May 20, 2026 in Seattle, Washington. (Photo by Kevin Ng/Getty Images)
Kevin Ng/Photo courtesy of Connecticut Sun
Jackson was drafted No. 23 overall (No. 8 in the second round) in April’s WNBA Draft by Golden State. After the Valkyries waived her during the last week of training camp, Connecticut reached out, offering her one of its player development contracts.
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The former Duke star sees the development role not only as a way to get better, but as a way to impress the Sun for a potentially larger role next season. Connecticut relocates to Houston this offseason, which is about an hour and a half west of where Jackson is from in China, Texas.
“I feel like at the end, I’ll become a better player for it and a better person,” said Jackson of being a development player. “… Just being able to stay ready and continue to get better every single day, whether that’s within your focus or how you approach things, the way you prepare, like whenever you think no one’s watching, they’re always watching.”
Jackson has played five games for the Sun this season. Head coach Rachid Meziane chose to activate her on May 20 ahead of the Sun’s 80-78 win at Seattle. Against the Storm, Jackson recorded four points, two steals, one assist and one rebound in 15 minutes off the bench.
“As a developmental player, it’s never easy to play, to show up, and right now she’s one of our best defenders, and she showed tonight that she’s someone we can rely on,” Meziane said after the game.
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UNCASVILLE, CONNECTICUT – MAY 13: Head coach Rachid Meziane of the Connecticut Sun gives direction to Haley Van Lith #2 against the Las Vegas Aces in the second half at Mohegan Sun Arena on May 13, 2026 in Uncasville, Connecticut. (Photo by Sean D. Elliot/Getty Images)
Sean D. Elliot/Getty Images, Photo courtesy of Connecticut Sun
Van Lith was drafted No. 11 overall by Chicago in the 2025 WNBA Draft. She played 29 games for the Sky last season, averaging 3.5 points, 1.6 assists, 0.9 rebounds and 0.4 steals in 12.4 minutes per game. After Chicago waived her during the last week of training camp this year, she signed a regular contract with the Sun. The former TCU/LSU/Louisville star played in Sun’s first nine games, averaging 8.1 points and 2.2 assists in 17.5 minutes per game.
However, when Connecticut activated star guard Leila Lacan on May 28, it waived Van Lith to make room for Lacan. Van Lith says Tuck was transparent with her from the start about the team’s intentions with her role. Two days after waiving her, the Sun signed Van Lith to its second development player spot.
“(It was) the chance to keep a job and play,” Van Lith said. “… At the end of the day, I still believe in me, and I know that it’ll all pan out in the end.”
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She added: “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’s a lot of players that are worthy of roster spots that 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 that don’t understand the WNBA.”
PORTLAND, OR – MAY 27: Hailey Van Lith #2 of the Connecticut Sun handles the ball during the game against the Portland Fire on May 27, 2026, at Moda Center in Portland, Oregon. (Photo by Cameron Browne/NBAE via Getty Images)
Cameron Browne/NBAE via Getty Images, Photo courtesy of Connecticut Sun
Since signing her player development contract, Van Lith, who was the 2025 Big 12 Player of the Year and a 2025 All-American, has only played in one game – the Sun’s 85-80 loss at Chicago on June 5 (she scored four points with one rebound in six minutes). She’s currently unavailable due to a left ankle contusion.
Meziane says even though the team really liked Van Lith’s addition to the 12-player roster, the plan was always to waive her when Lacan was activated due to roster space. The Sun head coach said he’s impressed with Van Lith’s maturity in signing a player development contract despite her previous experience in the league.
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“She’s someone who wants to practice and to work hard, and she’s every time asking for extra work. So, it’s a pleasure to have a player like that who wants to work. And as a developmental player, I think she has to,” said Meziane. “… She’s one of our hungriest players. You can feel that during practice, you can feel that even in our film sessions. She wants to be part of something. She’s not here to be here; she wants to show that she wants to earn minutes.”