The Chicago Sky are back this weekend — but this team will be hardly recognizable, even for longtime fans.
After a blockbuster trade sent Angel Reese to the Atlanta Dream, this year’s Sky roster features only four returning players from 2025: Rachel Banham, Elizabeth Williams, Kamilla Cardoso and Courtney Vandersloot.
New players bring new expectations for a Sky team that hasn’t made the playoffs since 2023. They went 23-61 over the last two seasons, including a brutal 10-34 record last year during coach Tyler Marsh’s first season at the helm of a WNBA team.
Opening against the Portland Fire — an expansion team with limited firepower — should give the Sky an opportunity to start the season on better footing. But with a four-game road trip to open the 2026 schedule, the new-look Sky roster will face a hefty challenge before returning to Chicago for the May 20 home opener against the Dallas Wings at Wintrust Arena.
Here’s what to know ahead of Saturday’s opener (8 p.m., The U, NBA TV).
Spaced out
Sky guard Jacy Sheldon (0) and center Kamilla Cardoso high-five during player introductions for a preseason game against the Dream on April 29, 2026, at Wintrust Arena. (Chris Sweda/Chicago Tribune)
The Sky shifted their roster in favor of guards and wings, with a four-player frontcourt featuring Cardoso, Williams, Azurá Stevens and Rickea Jackson. But they also aim to give the 6-foot-2 Jackson significant minutes at the three, which would allow them to size up on the perimeter.
While Cardoso offers a massive presence at 6-7, the Sky don’t plan to camp their starting center in the paint. Cardoso will get the highest volume of pick-and-roll action she has seen in the WNBA, playing into her strengths as a rolling big who scores best when she’s crashing toward the basket head-on.
That style should mesh with the improved depth in the backcourt, which was overhauled in the offseason with the additions of Skylar Diggins, Jacy Sheldon, DiJonai Carrington, Natasha Cloud and first-round draft pick Gabriela Jaquez. The Sky made a sizable upgrade in playmaking, their greatest weakness last year after Vandersloot’s season-ending ACL injury wiped the roster of any true point guards.
The Sky made a late addition to pick up Cloud, who should bring a secondary layer of passing they desperately needed after recording a demoralizing 1.14 assist-to-turnover ratio in 2025. They entered the preseason prepared to spread out the secondary ballhandling duties “by committee” with a combination of Sheldon, Hailey Van Lith — who was waived to make room for Cloud — and off-ball shooter Rachel Banham. The shift to Cloud will allow the Sky to bring high-level ballhandling off the bench, altering the team at the point of attack.
Injury concerns
Sky forward Azurá Stevens answers questions after practice April 20, 2026, at the UIC Flames Athletic Center. (Eileen T. Meslar/Chicago Tribune)
The Sky will begin the season with three notable players sidelined: Vandersloot, Carrington and Stevens.
Stevens didn’t play in the preseason because of a knee injury but returned to practice in the last week and should be cleared to play by the end of May. Carrington suffered a significant left foot sprain during last year’s playoffs that required offseason surgery, then underwent a second procedure during training camp to remove hardware from her foot. Vandersloot still is recovering from the torn ACL she suffered in early June, which could place her return much later in the summer.
The Sky signed Carrington with the understanding she might not play until the second half of the season, reflected in the reduced rate of her one-year, $650,000 deal. But starting the season with two guards in long-term injury recovery places the Sky in an uncomfortable position — one that is amplified by the absence of Stevens, the highest-paid player on the roster who is expected to catalyze the entire offense. In the meantime, younger players such as Jaquez will have an opportunity to grow with potentially increased minutes.
Hard cuts
Dream forward Angel Reese puts a move on Sky forward Maddy Westbeld in a preseason game April 29, 2026, at Wintrust Arena. (Chris Sweda/Chicago Tribune)
The Sky waived 2025 draft picks Van Lith, Maddy Westbeld and Aicha Coulibaly as three of their final cuts from training camp. The Connecticut Sun claimed Van Lith off waivers, while the Sky re-signed Westbeld and Coulibaly to developmental contracts.
These contracts are a new feature of the collective bargaining agreement designed to provide players with three or fewer years of experience an opportunity to train with teams. Both players will receive a weekly stipend and player housing while practicing and traveling with the Sky. Developmental players can be activated for up to 12 games and can be promoted to a full contract at any time.
Although Westbeld and Coulibaly will remain with the team in this reduced capacity, the Sky will start the season without a single 2025 draft pick on their roster. This is not irregular. WNBA draft picks often struggle to maintain roster spots. More than half of the 2025 draft class is either not in the league or on a different team than the one that drafted them.
Still, the turnover in former draft picks reflects the current state of talent retention and development for both the Sky and the WNBA at large. While general manager Jeff Pagliocca has been quick to trade high draft picks in the past, the front office still has a desire to build through the draft — and has not been successful in that endeavor.
One newcomer made the cut: Sydney Taylor, a guard who went undrafted out of Louisville in 2024. Taylor stood out throughout training camp with her lights-out 3-point shooting, which should complement fellow sharpshooter Banham.
Draft anomaly
Ajsa Sivka, left, poses for a photo with WNBA Commissioner Cathy Engelbert after being selected 10th by the Sky during the first round of the WNBA draft April 14, 2025, in New York. (AP Photo/Pamela Smith)
The fourth and final piece of the Sky’s 2025 draft class is Ajša Sivka, who will make the jump to the U.S. this fall — but not to play in the WNBA.
Sivka committed Wednesday to play for Kentucky, using her remaining NCAA eligibility despite being selected by the Sky with the No. 10 pick in last year’s draft. The Sky were hopeful Sivka would play in the WNBA this season, but the Slovenian wing opted instead to pursue college ball.
“We were in regular communication with her and her family and her representatives (on) what she wanted this year to look like,” Marsh told reporters Wednesday after practice. “She wanted the college experience, from a basketball standpoint and from a lifestyle standpoint. We all felt like this was the best decision.”
It’s not rare for international players to wait a few years before joining their WNBA team — or not to come over at all — even if they attended draft festivities and made a verbal commitment to play in the league. But Sivka is unique in her decision to play college basketball after being drafted.
As a 20-year-old with four years of pro experience in Europe, Sivka will be a veteran first-year player for the Wildcats. And while the Sky are hopeful she will join their roster sooner rather than later, her decision to play in college could delay her entry to the WNBA by multiple years. Regardless, the Sky will retain her rights when she reaches the league.
2026 Chicago Sky roster
0 Jacy Sheldon, G, 5-10
1 Elizabeth Williams, C/F, 6-3
4 Skylar Diggins, G, 5-9
5 Rickea Jackson, F, 6-2
7 DiJonai Carrington, G, 5-11
9 Natasha Cloud, G, 5-10
10 Kamilla Cardoso, C, 6-7
11 Gabriela Jaquez, G, 6-0
12 Sydney Taylor, G, 5-9
21 Maddy Westbeld, F, 6-3*
22 Courtney Vandersloot, G, 5-8
24 Rachel Banham, G, 5-10
30 Azurá Stevens, F/C, 6-6
35 Aicha Coulibaly, G, 6-0*
* developmental contract