Connecticut Sun Must Seek New Standard After Forgettable WNBA Season

The Connecticut Sun is not used to losing seasons and this offseason will be one of soul searching for solutions.

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Many things went wrong for the Connecticut Sun during the 2025 season. The result was the franchise’s worst season in nine years.

The Sun’s 11-33 record was their worst in a full season since 2013 when they went 10-24. That sparked a four-season run of under-.500 records and failed seasons. It took a coaching change from Anne Donovan to Curt Miller to finally turn things around.

Connecticut hopes things don’t get that far after this season. Rachid Maziane took over for Stephanie White, who left the Sun to take over the Indiana Fever this season. It’s up to him, along with general manager Morgan Tuck, to navigate what comes next. The franchise clearly fell below the standard that Miller and White set. Just how horrible was the fall?

Connecticut’s Fall from Grace

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Miller led the Sun to the playoffs in his second season in 2017. From there, the franchise went on an eight-year playoff run, including the COVID-shortened 2020 season. Throw out that season’s 10-12 record and the Sun averaged 24 wins.

Franchises measure success by playoff berths and championships, and while the Sun hasn’t won a WNBA title it has been a consistent contender in that stretch. By failing to make the playoffs, Connecticut snapped a six-year streak of reaching no less than the WNBA semifinals, a streak that dated back to 2019. The franchise made the WNBA Finals in 2019, losing to Washington, and in 2022, losing to Las Vegas.

It was a call-back to the early part of the century when the Sun reached the WNBA Finals in back-to-back seasons under then coach Mike Thibault in 2004 and 2005. Connecticut lost to Seattle and Sacramento in back-to-back appearances.

The Sun’s 11 wins this season were the second fewest in a full season in franchise history, with only that 10-win season in 2013 bettering it. It’s possible the job of turning the franchise around now could be harder than 12 years ago.

Connecticut has a solid young core with All-WNBA rookie selection Leila Lacan, forward Aneesah Morrow and guard Saniya Rivers. But adding to the roster will require patience. The WNBA and the players’ association are negotiating a new CBA. No team can move forward with roster building until that deal is done.

The Sun also has another legitimate issue — ownership. The Mohegan Tribe has received at least four different offers, some of which would move the franchise out of Connecticut. If that situation isn’t settled by the time the CBA is settled, the franchise could find it hard to lure free agents.

The standard for nearly a decade in Connecticut has been winning. Setting a new standard will require relatively new leadership to deal with new variables and overcome a potential sale to build a team that matches past incarnations and builds toward the one thing the Sun has never achieved — a championship.

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