Around the Sun

Sun Trade Guard Jacey Sheldon to the Washington Mystics for Forward Aaliyah Edwards

By Anthony Price 

Aaliyah Edwards talks to reporters before the Chicago Sky game. Photo: Stephen Joyner, Jr.

---

---

The Connecticut Sun are in transition, and time is running out. With a paltry six wins, the Sun’s former winning culture is gone. September is approaching, and this team will be packing its bags for the long off-season—not a deep playoff run. 
 
Still, the front office isn’t standing pat. Just before the August 7 trade deadline, the Sun traded second-year guard Jacey Sheldon, who provided the Sun with a jolt of energy, stifling defense and a consistent outside scoring threat, to the Washington Mystics. In return, the Sun gain the inside presence of 6-foot-3 forward Aaliyah Edwards, along with the right to swap the Mystics first-round pick for the Sun’s first-round pick. 

​It’s not a headline-grabbing blockbuster, but it’s a clear signal. The Sun are doubling down on youth, future flexibility, and a familiar formula: trust in UConn talent.
 
Bright Future 
 
While Sheldon’s effort didn’t always show up in the win column, the future is bright for the fifth pick in the 2024 draft. The Sun believe the same about Edwards, a fellow top-six pick and a former UConn Husky. 
 
This wasn’t about making headlines but about balance. It filled a void for a post player on the Sun roster, frees up minutes for French rookie Leila Lacan, and locks up players on rookie contracts on team-friendly terms, once a new collective bargaining agreement is in place. 
 
Before the trade deadline, the team had four rookies, who were selected in the 2024 and 2025 draft. Three of those rookies have started games and played considerable minutes for the team. The Sun are determined to build around them. 

Bria Hartley dribbles. Photo: Stephen Joyner Jr.

No team leans on Husky pride quite like the Sun.

​UConn Connection 
 
No team leans on Husky pride quite like the Sun. The University of Connecticut women’s basketball dynasty—12 national titles since coach Geno Auriemma arrived in 1985—has always been a pipeline to the pros.
 
From Jennifer Rizzotti and Rebecca Lobo’s first championship in 1995, to Morgan Tuck’s four straight titles in the mid-2010s, UConn has rewritten what dominance looks like. Forty-eight huskies have been selected in the WNBA draft—28 in the first round. Six Huskies were selected first over the years: Sue Bird, Diana Taurasi, Tina Charles, Maya Moore, Breanna Stewart and Paige Bueckers. 

Taurasi, Charles, Moore, Stewart, Napheesa Collier and Crystal Dangerfield have all been named WNBA Rookie of the Year. In addition, Taurasi, Charles, Moore and Stewart have each taken home MVP trophies. 
 
For the Sun, the connection runs deep. Edwards joins a roster that already features fellow Huskies Tina Charles, the second leading scorer in WNBA history; Olivia Nelson-Ododa; and Bria Hartley. 
 
At the start of the 2025 season, the WNBA had 15 former UConn players: Moriah Jefferson and Kia Nurse (Chicago Sky), Paige Bueckers (Dallas Wings), Tiffany Haynes (Golden State Valkyries), Azura Stevens (Los Angeles Sparks), Kiah Stokes (Los Vegas Aces), Napheesa Collier (Minnesota Lynx) Breanna Stewart (New York Liberty), Katie Lou Samuelson and Gabby Williams (Seattle Storm) and Stefanie Dolson (Washington Mystics). 
 
For the Sun, though, it’s more than a coincidence. It’s a philosophy. Youth, patience and an unwavering commitment to UConn talent—that’s the blueprint for the future. 

Tina Charles is all smiles before the Chicago Sun game. Photo: Stephen Joyner Jr.

---

---

Olivia Nelson-Ododa attempts a free throw. Photo: Stephen Joyner Jr.

​Back in Connecticut 
 
Before the Sky game, Charles talked to this reporter briefly about the trade. “I was very excited, just her coming back to Connecticut and what she means to these fans—because these fans are the ones that crossover from UConn,“ she said. “But you know, It’s a lot of upside for the organization, for the future. And I know she will be great.” 
 
Charles is ready to share her knowledge with Edwards. “Any way that I can impact whoever it was” she said, “[but] it’s always sweeter when it’s a UConn player because you just know the roots, you just know how our foundation is and the way we think, how coach Auriemma coached us and how we approached the game, so it’s nice.” 
 
Wearing a black headband, with purple and yellow braids cascading down her back, Edwards stood encircled by reporters before making her Connecticut home debut against the Chicago Sky. 
 
Questions flew at her from every direction, rapid and relentless, but Edwards remained composed. Having played at Mohegan Sun in college, she doesn’t have to worry about getting lost inside. And she is at ease joining a roster that already includes fellow former Huskies. 
 
“The biggest adjustment is probably just familiarity with the plays and sets, but other than that, I think my teammates and coaches have instilled so much confidence in me, you know, just hooping at the end of the day,“ Edwards said, like a veteran. “And my teammates have been super helpful in terms of spacing [on the floor] and all that.” 

Aaliyah Edwards is fouled. Photo: Stephen Joyner Jr.

​The Future
 
When asked about what type of opportunity she sees with this team, Edwards responded, “I see the franchise being a championship team in the future, and I would love to be a part of it, and I think it starts today with the building of good habits, creating that culture, and really working on the fundamentals now, since we are in the second-half of our season.” 
 
Edwards felt that the Sky game was almost a “home opener” for her. “With three games under my belt, wearing the Sun jersey, I’m loving every bit of it.” 
 
The second-year player sounds like Connecticut is where she wants to be to help rebuild the franchise in the state that helped her grow into a college star. 

I see the franchise being a championship team in the future.

---

---

Aaliyah Edwards drives to the basket. Photo: Stephen Joyner, Jr.

Edwards is not starry-eyed. “It’s a business. It’s a competitive league. You just go to stay working,” she said. “Stay prepared and be ready for whatever is thrown at you because if you’re not going to come to show up to work today, someone else is dying for the chance, dying for the opportunity.” 
 
In her home debut, the Sun beat the Chicago Sky, 71-62, for their sixth win of the season. In the next game, the Indiana Fever rallied from down 21 points to defeat the Sun in overtime, 99-93—which officially eliminated the Sun from the playoffs. 
 
President Jennifer Rizzotti and GM Morgan Tuck know that there is still more work to do. They know success will not be a walk down memory lane. 

​###

---

---

Anthony Price is an entrepreneur, author and publisher of CT Hoops Magazine. Around the Sun is a weekly column about the Connecticut Sun.