New York Liberty Sign Aubrey Griffin and Julie Vanloo
Published on May 8, 2026 under Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA)
New York Liberty News Release
NEW YORK - The New York Liberty have signed forward Aubrey Griffin and guard Julie Vanloo to hardship contracts, the team announced today.
Griffin, a 6-1 forward, was selected by Minnesota with the 37th overall pick in the 2025 WNBA Draft. The Ossining, N.Y., native spent five seasons (2019-25) at the University of Connecticut, where she recorded career averages of 7.8 points, 5.4 rebounds, 1.1 assists and 1.3 steals per game in 126 contests (41 starts). She averaged career highs of 11.3 points and 6.6 rebounds per game in 2022-23 while ranking 10th in the Big East with 1.4 steals per game and leading the conference in two-point field goal percentage at 59.6 percent. Griffin won the 2025 National Championship with Connecticut and earned an All-Big East Honorable Mention selection as a redshirt junior in 2022-23. She tied Liberty Legend Rebecca Lobo's UConn record for most consecutive made field goals in a game after shooting 11-for-11 from the field on Dec. 8, 2022.
Vanloo, a 5-8 guard, spent the 2025 WNBA season with the Valkyries and Sparks, where she averaged 2.8 points and 1.9 assists per game in 35 outings (two starts). Vanloo was selected by Golden State in the 2025 WNBA Expansion Draft after starting her WNBA career with the Mystics in 2024. As a rookie, she averaged 7.4 points, 4.3 assists and 1.6 rebounds per contest in 40 games (34 starts) for Washington while connecting on 72 3-pointers, which is the sixth-most by a rookie in WNBA history. The Ostend, Belgium native has represented the Belgian Cats national team in the 2020 and 2024 Olympics while leading all players at the 2024 Paris Games with 6.8 assists per contest. Vanloo, who has won championships in the Belgian League and Swedish League, spent the 2025-26 international season with ÇBK Mersin, where she won a EuroCup Championship and averaged 10.0 points, 4.0 rebounds, 1.1 steals and a EuroCup-high 6.9 assists per game in 15 EuroCup contests.
The Liberty begin their historic 30th season at Barclays Center with the team's home opener tonight, May 8, at 7:30 pm ET vs. the Connecticut Sun. Tickets are on sale now through Ticketmaster. To learn more and explore additional ticketing options, including group tickets and partial season plans, visit liberty.wnba.com/tickets.
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