Liberty bring back intriguing guard ahead of WNBA free agency
01/14/2025 09:00 PM
The WNBA free agency negotiation period doesn’t begin until Jan. 21, but in the meantime teams are allowed to assign core designations as well as tender qualifying offers to restricted and reserved free agents. A few teams, such as the Chicago Sky, have tendered qualifying offers to their restricted free agents. Others, like the Las Vegas Aces, have assigned core designations. The New York Liberty, fresh off winning their first championship in franchise history, made a key roster move regarding a developing young guard before the WNBA free agency period.
The New York Liberty brought back Jaylyn Sherrod to their roster on a training camp contract, ahead of the official free agency period as per Madeline Kenney of The New York Post.
Sherrod was a reserved free agent, meaning she had fewer than three years of experience in the league. As a reserved free agent, the Liberty also held exclusive negotiating rights. Signing her to a training camp contract means that Sherrod accepted the qualifying offer the team extended.
In addition to bringing Sherrod back, the Liberty cored Breanna Stewart, while also tendering qualifying offers to their other reserved free agents in Marine Johannes, Rebekah Gardner and Ivana Dojkic.
Jaylyn Sherrod’s rookie season with Liberty
Sherrod went undrafted in the 2024 WNBA Draft, but secured a training camp spot with the Liberty. She was one of the final cuts before the start of the regular season despite having a strong preseason.
But when the Liberty need healthy players later in the season, they brought her back on a seven-day contract. She ultimately ended up signing with the Liberty for the rest of the season, and was a part of their championship team.
Sherrod didn’t get much playing time as a rookie. She appeared in only ten games and played only a little over three minutes per game. She averaged only 1.9 points, but shot 50 percent from the field and 33.3 percent from the three-point line in the game she did appear in.
Sherrod scored her first career WNBA points on Aug. 20 against the Dallas Wings. Her best game of the season, statistically, came during one of the Liberty’s final games of the regular season on Sept. 19 against the Atlanta Dream. She finished with eight points, one rebound, one assist and one steal while shooting 3-of-5 from the field.
While the Liberty are a team that’s looking to defend their title, Sherrod is the type of player for them to continue to develop and to see if she can possibly play a larger role at some point this upcoming season.
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