Which UConn women’s basketball alumni made WNBA opening day rosters — and who got waived

Here’s where every UConn alum is playing in the WNBA as the 2026 regular season begins:

Chicago Sky

Azura Stevens ’18: Stevens, a 6-foot-6 forward, signed with the Sky as a free agent after spending the last three years with the Los Angeles Sparks. She previously played in Chicago from 2020-22 and rejoins the franchise for her ninth season in the WNBA. Stevens had a career year in 2025, starting all 44 games and averaging 12.8 points, eight rebounds, 1.2 steals and 1.1 blocks with the Sparks.

Connecticut Sun

Aaliyah Edwards ’24: Edwards was drafted No. 6 overall by the Washington Mystics in 2024 but got traded to the Sun in the middle of 2025. She returns to Connecticut for her third WNBA season after averaging 4.6 points and 4.2 rebounds in 15 game appearances with the team last year. She missed the Sun’s second preseason game Sunday with a left thigh injury but logged 14 points and five rebounds in its April 29 win over the Toronto Tempo.

Olivia Nelson-Ododa ’22: Nelson-Ododa, a 6-foot-5 center, signed a two-year contract with the Sun as a restricted free agent entering 2026. She had the most productive season of her career in 2025 averaging 8.2 points, five rebounds and 1.2 blocks in 21 minutes per game. This will be her fifth season in the WNBA and fourth with the Sun.

Dallas Wings

Paige Bueckers ’25: Bueckers, the No. 1 pick in the 2025 WNBA Draft, looks o continue her rise to superstardom in second professional season after winning Rookie of the Year and earning second-team All-WNBA honors in 2025. The 6-foot guard led the Wings in nearly ever statistical category last year averaging 19.2 points, 3.9 rebounds, 5.4 assists and 1.6 steals.

Azzi Fudd ’26: Fudd was selected No. 1 by the Wings in the 2026 WNBA Draft, joining Bueckers as the first college teammates ever drafted to the same team with consecutive top picks. The 5-foot-11 guard heads to Dallas after earning consensus first team All-American honors in her redshirt senior season at UConn. She averaged 17.3 points, 3.1 assists and 2.5 steals shooting 44.7% on 3-pointers to help lead the Huskies to a 38-1 record.

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Golden State Valkyries

Kaitlyn Chen ’25: Chen was Golden State’s third-round draft pick in 2025 and was initially waived during her rookie training camp. She rejoined the team last June on a temporary hardship contract and remained on the roster for the rest of the year, averaging 10/3 minutes over 24 game appearances. After playing overseas in Prague and in Athletes Unlimited during the offseason, the 5-foot-9 guard earned a spot on the Valkyries’ opening day roster in her second professional season.

Tiffany Hayes ’12: Hayes started 24 games for Golden State in 2025 and returned on a one-year contract for her 14th WNBA season. The 5-foot-10 guard averaged 11.7 points, 3.8 rebounds and three assists to help lead the Valkyries to the WNBA Playoffs in their first season as an expansion franchise.

Kiah Stokes ’15: Stokes enter her 11th WNBA season on a two-year contract with Golden State after spending the past four and a half years with the Las Vegas Aces. The 6-foot-3 center won three WNBA championships in Vegas but played a limited role on the Aces’ 2025 title run, averaging 3.6 rebounds and 1.1 points in 12.9 minutes per game.

Gabby Williams ’18: Williams was a blockbuster free agent signing for the Valkyries after her career year with the Seattle Storm in 2025. The 5-foot-11 guard earned her first All-Star nod and selection to the All-Defensive first team, averaging 11.6 points, 4.3 rebounds, 4.2 assists and 2.3 steals. Williams returns to the WNBA after a standout season playing overseas in Turkey with Fenerbahce, helping lead the club to the EuroLeague championship and winning EuroLeague Defensive Player of the Year.

Minnesota Lynx

Napheesa Collier ’19: Collier was the MVP runner-up in 2025, averaging a career-high 22.9 points plus 7.3 rebounds, 3.2 assists, 1.6 steals and 1.5 blocks while becoming the second player in league history to record 50/40/90 shooting splits. She re-signed with Minnesota on a one-year supermax contract, but the star forward won’t be on the court for the Lynx until at least June after undergoing surgery to repair injuries in both ankles in January.

Dorka Juhasz ’23: Juhasz sat out the 2025 WNBA season, but the 6-foot-5 center will return to the Lynx in 2026 for her third year in the league. She had a spectacular overseas season with her Turkish team Galatasaray, becoming the youngest player ever named EuroLeague MVP. However, she sustained a right foot injury during the EuroLeague playoffs and will be sidelined for the start of the WNBA season. There is currently no timeline for her return.

New York Liberty

Breanna Stewart ’16: Stewart, a two-time WNBA MVP, led the Liberty to their first league title in 2024, but she was limited by a knee injury throughout 2025 and averaged 18.3 points, a career-low 6.5 rebounds, 3.5 assist, 1.4 steals and 1.4 blocks. Stewart bounced back playing in Unrivaled during the offseason, powering Mist to the 3-on-3 league title, and she also joined Fenerbahce for the EuroLeague playoffs to help the club to the championship.

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Portland Fire

Serah Williams ’26: Williams was a third-round pick in the 2026 WNBA Draft, traded on draft night from the Connecticut Sun to the Fire. She joins the new expansion franchise after logging 6.7 points, 4.4 rebounds and 1.3 blocks per game at UConn in 2025-26. Williams was a standout in both of Portland’s preseason games, averaging 10.5 points on 67% shooting plus 5.5 rebounds, 1.5 steals and a block across her two appearances.

Toronto Tempo

Kia Nurse ’17: Nurse signed a one-year protected contract with the Tempo after averaging 7.2 points in 22 minutes per game with the Chicago Sky in 2025. The 6-foot guard has played for five different teams in the last five seasons, but joining the WNBA’s first Canadian expansion franchise was a no-brainer for the Hamilton, Ontario native.

Seattle Storm

Stefanie Dolson ’14: Dolson signed a one-year contract with the Storm in free agency after spending the previous two seasons with the Washington Mystics. She averaged 3.7 points and 2.3 rebounds in 15 minutes per game last season. The 6-foot-5 center is entering her 13th year in the league and will be the most veteran player on Seattle’s rebuilding roster.

Katie Lou Samuelson ’19: Samuelson was sidelined for the 2025 WNBA season after tearing her ACL during training camp, and she will miss the start of this year to complete her recovery process. The 6-foot-3 forward has played for five different teams over her five seasons in the league, most recently for the Indiana Fever in 2024. She previously played for Seattle in 2021 and signed a two-year deal with the franchise entering 2026.

Who got waived

Caroline Ducharme ’26: Ducharme went undrafted in 2026 but signed a training camp contract with the Golden State Valkyries. The 6-foot-2 guard averaged 7.4 minutes across 25 game appearances for UConn during her redshirt senior season. It was her first full year back on the court after she missed nearly all of the previous two seasons due to head and neck injuries. Ducharme scored logged three points, a rebound and an assist in her lone preseason appearance with the Valkyries before she was waived April 29.

Aubrey Griffin ’25: Griffin was the Minnesota Lynx’s third-round pick in the 2025 draft but did not report to training camp last year after undergoing arthroscopic knee surgery at the end of the college season. The 6-foot-1 forward logged six points in Minnesota’s preseason game against the Mystics but did not score in the second game and was waived May 2.