Around The Sun

For Sale: The Sun Open Season Amid Ownership Uncertainty

By Anthony Price

Mohegan Sun Arena Scoreboard. Photo: Anthony Price

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​The Connecticut Sun started their season with more questions than answers—off the court, not on it. 
 
On Monday, Sportico reported that the Mohegan Tribal Gaming Authority, which owns the Sun and operates Mohegan Sun, has hired Wall Street powerhouse investment bank Allen & Company to explore a possible sale of the franchise. 

​The report blindsided fans and cast a shadow over the opening week. In a state still haunted by the 1997 departure of the Hartford Whalers, even whispers of another team leaving hits a nerve.
 
For now, no decisions have been made. But a high-stakes process is underway behind closed doors. The Sun’s owners may decide to cash out, or reinvest and double down. Either way, the clock is ticking.
 
In a league on the rise and a market that’s struggled to pack arenas, the Sun are playing two games this season: one for the playoffs and one for survival.  

Making the Cut 
 
For first-time WNBA head coach Rachid Meziane and new GM Morgan Tuck, the stakes are high, and distractions unwelcome. But despite headlines swirling around the franchise, the Sun are pushing forward like it’s business as usual. 
 
On Thursday, the team trimmed its roster to the league maximum of 12 players, down from the 21 who were invited to training camp. It took some creative maneuvering to get there. 

Leila Lucan, the French guard selected 10th by the Sun in the 2024 draft

We are building a new story. We are starting a new cycle.

Among the roster gymnastics: Leila Lucan, the French guard selected 10th by the Sun in the 2024 draft, was placed on temporary suspension while she plays in the Finals in Ligue Féminine de Basketball—the top professional French league for women. She has yet to suit up for the Sun. 
 
In total, ten new players join a restructured team that made the semifinals last season. The only returning players are six-year veteran Marina Mabrey and third-year forward Olivia Nelson-Ododa.. 
 
Mabrey, acquired midseason in 2024, averaged 14.4 points, 4.4 rebounds, and 4.1 assists. Nelson-Ododa is a long, athletic big with defensive versatility and floor-running speed. She averaged 3.4 points and 2.5 rebounds last season and is expected to take on a larger role. 

Marina Mabrey, Connecticut Sun. Photo: Anthony Price

Mabrey, acquired midseason in 2024, averaged 14.4 points, 4.4 rebounds, and 4.1 assists. 

Veteran center Tina Charles, entering her 14th season, and Mabrey will anchor the team. But chemistry questions linger—Mabrey requested a trade during the offseason, which team president Jennifer Rizzotti denied. The tension remains palpable.
 
While the roster is set at 12 players—for now—nothing is permanent in professional basketball. Coach Meziane, speaking in his thick French accent, made that clear on Thursday. 
 
“We know that we are fixable, so we can change pieces or some players during the regular season,” he said. “We are building a new story. We are starting a new cycle.” 
 
Meziane emphasized the phrase “opening roster”—a clue buried in plain sight that this team is still under construction, and that his European style of basketball is still in a trial phase.

​Press Conference 
 
At practice, the mood was electric. Laughter echoed through the gym. Jacy Sheldon stood out—not just because of her long blonde ponytail trailing behind her like a comet in motion—but because of the way she played. 
 
The second-year guard, acquired from the Dallas Wings in the offseason after being selected fifth in the 2024 draft, was everywhere in the Sun’s 5-on-5 play. Sprinting baseline to baseline. High-fiving teammates. Smiling. Clapping. Energizing the court with a contagious enthusiasm. 
 
Sheldon looked like someone with something to prove—and she does. A high draft pick traded after one year, she enters 2025 with a chip on her shoulder and a point to make. 
 
Practice ended with shooting drills, but the workday was not over. Behind a black curtain, down a long red-carpeted hall in the Mohegan Sun Arena—past the metal food serving stations— reporters packed a tight room that seemed designed to cause claustrophobia. 

Jacy Sheldon, Connecticut Sun. Photo: Anthony Price

​Olivia Nelson-Ododa and Jacy Sheldon, wearing matching gray T-shirts and blue shorts trimmed with orange, stepped in together to face the media. 
 
Sheldon calmly answered a question about her time in Dallas: “The best experience is getting out there and being on the floor, which I was able to do a lot of my rookie year,” she said. “I think that helps you going into year two.” 
 
In her rookie season with the Wings, she started in 26 games and averaged 5.4 points and 2.5 assists over 40 games. During the offseason, she focused on improving her scoring on all three levels and adjusting to the league’s physicality. 
 
“From college to here, that’s a big difference,” she said. “Just kind of working with the physicalness and using it to my advantage now.”

She is someone who is very enthusiastic, and she is coachable, and she wants to improve every day

Sheldon, a longtime Ohio State fan, played five years at Ohio State University, where she averaged 15.6 points over her career, scoring 2,024 points over 130 games, good for sixth on the school’s all-time list. 
 
Earlier in the same room, Meziane complimented her. “She will bring a lot of energy, a lot of pace. I think that she understands that she has a big chance to contribute to our team this year, and I like her. She is someone who is very enthusiastic, and she is coachable, and she wants to improve every day.” 

Coach Rachid Meziane, Connecticut Sun. Photo: Anthony Price

New Season 
 
Life rarely unfolds in a straight line. And right now, the Sun are knee-deep in the chaos. 
 
Ownership uncertainty looms like a storm cloud. Potential suitors will be circling—and like a ghost from the past, you can bet Boston will be in the mix—money in hand, history in tow. 
 
But ready or not, the season begins on Sunday against the Washington Mystics. For the new front office executives, it’s more than just a game. It’s a proving ground.
 
Fans will show up. They’ll cheer.  They’ll find new heroes in players like Jacy Sheldon. Will the noise fade, or grow louder? 
 
This isn’t just a basketball season—it’s a high-stakes cliffhanger. And the final chapter hasn’t been written yet. 

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