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Even after earning last season’s opportunity to sign on with the Liberty through the playoffs, point guard Jaylyn Sherrod knows her spot in the WNBA is far from solidified.
There’s room for growth in every aspect of her game, from making reads to improving as a shooter. So this offseason, she made a pledge to maximize every opportunity that came her way.
“More than anything coming off of last season, it was important for me to get as much experience playing-wise as possible,” Sherrod told The Post.
Sherrod spent a month playing in China, but is now preparing for Athletes Unlimited’s upcoming season.
In Sherrod’s eyes, playing a monthlong season in which players are redrafted weekly at a centralized location — in this case Nashville, Tenn. — alongside several WNBA veterans, including three-time champion Alysha Clark and WNBA journeywoman Sydney Colson — may be the best thing for her.
“I’m always asking questions and [want] to surround myself around players that are where I want to be and getting to go against and then train alongside them,” Sherrod said. “Just a great opportunity.”
In a lot of ways, the past years have prepared Sherrod for Athletes Unlimited.
After starring at Colorado and leading the Buffaloes to a Sweet 16 appearance in 2024, Sherrod didn’t hear her name called at the WNBA draft and was invited to the Liberty’s training camp.
General manager Jonathan Kolb and coach Sandy Brondello saw the potential in Sherrod, but she was waived before the season. Three months later, though, Sherrod was back in New York and signed a series of weeklong contracts before earning a chance to stay through the playoffs.
Sherrod operated how most rookies do. She played in fear of making a mistake, which, in some ways, hampered her.
“It can be very intimidating at first just because of the standards and the excellence that they play at,” Sherrod said.
Sherrod went from watching Breanna Stewart and Jonquel Jones play on TV in high school to sharing a locker room with them as a professional. When Sherrod returned to the Liberty in July, Sabrina Ionescu pulled her aside at a practice and helped ease some of her nerves.
“You’re on the team now,” Sherrod recalled Ionescu telling her. “You don’t have to approach everything as if you’re trying to prove yourself anymore. You’re here. You’re with us. You’re part of the team.”
Being a part of a championship run altered Sherrod’s mentality. She’s now more motivated than ever to prove she has staying power in the WNBA.
“From where I started last season, to getting cut, to getting re-signed, to having weekly contracts to finishing out the rest of the season, like, I always say you couldn’t write the script [any] better than that,” Sherrod said. “Just being able to do that my first year in the league, seeing what it takes to win a championship, how hard it is, seeing that so early and being in the locker room with so many great players, it was a blessing.”
Sherrod signed a training camp contract with the Liberty earlier this month. There’s no guarantee that she’ll be with New York when the Liberty begin their title defense May 17 against the Las Vegas Aces.
Not that Sherrod is focusing on that at this point.
Sherrod is locked in on Athletes Unlimited and committed to developing as a point guard.
“To be great, you gotta go against greatness,” she said. “And so [Athletes Unlimited is] just a good way to push myself, see where I’m at and actually just have good competition night in and night out.
“It’s [about] trying to be better. It’s all about being on the right trajectory. … I kind of grew up with the mentality, like, if you’re not getting better, you’re getting worse. There’s no in between. So it’s just about getting better every day and growing and how can I maximize the opportunity in front of me.”
