Valkyries sign UConn standout amid Eurobasket absences

Of all the WNBA teams losing players to Eurobasket this month, the Golden State Valkyries may have the worst of it. It makes sense, given their roster is filled with international talent, and it also allows them to sign and test out some of their training camp players who were waived due to roster constraints.

The Valkyries suspended the contracts of Janelle Salaun, Julie Vanloo and Cecilia Zandalasini and also waived Kyara Linskens so all of them could go compete for their respective countries in Eurobasket. Salaun with France, Vanloo and Linskens with Belgium, and Zandalasini with Italy. That means they were well within the range to start signing hardship players, obviously.

They started by bringing back Laeticia Amihere, who was one of their last cuts in training camp. She scored 20 points for them in one of their preseason games and has gotten a ton of international run with Team Canada to go with overseas experience in Australia, despite not playing much in the time she spent with the Atlanta Dream. From there, they signed veteran Aerial Powers, and on Sunday, they announced a few more moves.

First, they signed veteran forward Chloe Bibby, an Australian who played college hoops at Maryland but went undrafted in the WNBA in 2013. She has played in the WNBL in Australia as well as stints in Poland and Spain, and had one WNBA training camp stint in Minnesota in 2023, before coming over to the Valkyries this season.

The other player the Valkyries signed Sunday was rookie Kaitlyn Chen out of UConn. Chen played four years with Princeton before transferring to UConn to use her last year of NCAA eligibility, winning a National Championship with the Huskies. Chen quickly became a fan favorite in Connecticut for her steady on-court presence, her ability to adapt to the games of her superstar teammates, and her reliability. She ended up being drafted in the third round by the Valkyries in the 2025 WNBA Draft, and was the first Taiwanese-American to be drafted into the WNBA.

There was hope she would make the opening day roster for Golden State, given the fact that there wasn’t much precedence for how they would build a team. Chen ended up being waived near the end of training camp, much to the dismay of her fans. Especially since she grew up in California, albeit closer to Los Angeles. She later signed with the 3x3 Basketball Association (3XBA) before she was re-signed by the Valkyries.

Chen will still be playing behind Valkyries guards Tiffany Hayes, Kate Martin, Carla Leite and Aerial Powers, but could get some playing time over the next few weeks. She will likely be waived again once the team reinstates the contracts of their other players. Yet, the chance to practice, travel, and potentially play with the Valkyries will be great for the young guard, who could end up getting a more permanent place in the league next year when 24 more roster spots open up. With expansion teams coming to Toronto and Portland, many players getting signed to hardship contracts this season are essentially “trying out” to be signed to training camp rosters next season.

Both Chen and Bibby will be available for the Valkyries on June 17 when they play the Dallas Wings, giving Chen the opportunity to play against her former teammate and fellow National Champ Paige Bueckers for the first time as professionals.