2025 Chicago Sky Training Camp Preview
Another head coach begins their tenure with a crowded camp fighting for limited available spots on the opening day roster.
It’s hard to call the 2025 season a “new era” for the Sky given the franchise’s two cornerstone pieces from a year ago—Angel Reese and Kamilla Cardoso—are back for their second seasons with Chicago, but there’s certainly an element of newness for the organization after another coaching change and the addition of two more first-round picks via this year’s WNBA Draft. Less than two weeks after that draft took place, Reese, Cardoso, new head coach Tyler Marsh, prized offseason acquisition Ariel Atkins and the rest of the Sky’s new look roster arrives in Chicago for a training camp that figures to be as competitive (thanks to a 20 player camp roster) as it is developmental. With Marsh overseeing his first camp as a head coach and Atkins looking to get quickly up to speed with the Sky’s young frontcourt duo, let’s dive into the biggest storylines to watch over the next couple of weeks.
Prologue: What about Ajša Sivka?
The elephant in the room for any discussion about the Sky’s 2025 roster construction is the status of Sivka–who was selected 10th overall in April’s draft. The 19-year-old could still choose to play in the WNBA this season and such a decision would change the dynamic for each of the three questions analyzed below, but my expectation is that Sivka will not play in the W this season. Based strictly on historical context for European players and the important role she played in helping Slovenia qualify for EuroBasket, I anticipate Sivka will choose to represent her country in EuroBasket and debut in the US next summer after one more year of seasoning in the European professional game next winter. Yet, there’s been no official confirmation at time of writing–with GM Jeff Pagliocca saying post-draft that the Sky would have “ongoing conversations” with Sivka to make plans for 2025 and beyond.
1. Who is the Sky’s starting small forward?
It feels like four of the Sky’s starters choose themselves with just three weeks to go until the start of the regular season, but the fifth starting spot is one that still looks very much up for grabs. With Atkins and Courtney Vandersloot firmly entrenched as the team’s starting backcourt and Reese and Cardoso set to reprise their dynamic tandem in the frontcourt, it’s Michaela Onyenwere and Rebecca Allen who are left to fight for the final spot at the position that ties the group together. And, in truth, it’s very much a “can’t lose” situation for both players and Marsh. If Onyenwere—who finished the 2024 season as the starter following the Marina Mabrey trade—reclaims the spot, Allen’s experience off the bench and ability to contribute at many different positions should allow her to settle into a comfortable role. If roles are reversed, there’s little reason to have concerns about Onyenwere’s attitude souring after she contributed so positively in spite of the up-and-down role she was given by Teresa Weatherspoon last season.
And while there should be plenty of minutes to share at the three, both players are also reasonable candidates to be the primary back-up to Reese at the four in smaller line-ups while Onyenwere, in particular, can also slot in at the 2 if Marsh decides to go with a big look. Thus, both should see similar (if not better) minute shares than they did a season ago thanks to their positional versatility, and the relative lack of depth behind them at the position. With both headed towards free agency next offseason and Sivka likely to arrive in the WNBA before the 2026 season, there’s likely an element of two players fighting for one available contract extension, but the optionality both offer to a head coach means they should have no trouble finding a solid contract with a consistent role elsewhere next offseason. Before then, Marsh should profit heavily from having a pair of unselfish, versatile defenders who also space the floor. In the end, Onyenwere seems a slight favorite to draw the opening day start on account of her youth and long-term fit with the Sky’s young core, but I wouldn’t be shocked if it was Allen instead. The pair could even alternate the role in the early part of the season as Marsh finds his best line-up combinations.
2. Who provides depth at the PG & PF position?
In the same way that the “loser” of the Allen/Onyenwere battle looks a pretty sure bet to fill the majority of the back-up minutes at the three, the early indicators point towards combo guard Kia Nurse, sharpshooter Rachel Banham and defensive stalwart Elizabeth Williams dominating the reserve minutes at the two and the five. The key bench question, then, is who will provide support to Vandersloot at PG and Reese at PF.
At point guard, there’s two obvious options (beyond Nurse who’s a comfortable ball handler): veteran Moriah Jefferson and 2025 draft choice Hailey Van Lith. After parting with a 2026 first-round pick to land Van Lith, it’s no secret that Marsh and GM Jeff Pagliocca see the former TCU guard as a potential point guard of the future, but it’ll be interesting to see whether she’s immediately handed the reins to the back-up spot out of camp. The Sky’s lack of realistic title chances mean that it would seem prudent to expedite her path into a rotational role, but there’s questions about how her game will translate to the professional level that—in other contexts—would warrant a bigger review. In any case, the version of Jefferson that the Sky saw in 2024 wasn’t one that looks likely to stake a huge claim to the role either. In fairness, injuries have impacted her productivity in recent years and, with her best shot (46.8% 3PT across the ’21-’22 seasons), she’s a better floor space than the rookie, but the simple fact is that Van Lith now has the franchise’s stamp of approval as a long-term option. Jefferson is hardly too old (31) to play a part in a winning Sky team in 2026 or beyond, but the Sky’s short-term focus should be development and Van Lith would be the logical candidate as a result.
At power forward, the dynamic is much different as Reese is the present and the future of the position and played nearly 33 minutes per game a season ago. While Van Lith has a reasonable chance to be the long-term successor at her spot, the Sky are looking for a complement to, not replacement for, Reese with the back-up at this position. In that respect, Chicago should have lots of options—particularly given the knowledge that 80%+ of the minutes at this spot will likely be taken up by Reese. The aforementioned small forward duo of Onyenwere and Allen have all of the physical attributes needed to play minutes here—especially if/when Marsh decides to experiment with line-ups that have Reese at the 5—while a couple of other names on the Sky’s camp roster could also be reasonable options.
Returnee Morgan Bertsch—who spent the 2023 season with Chicago before being traded to Phoenix as part of the Kahleah Copper deal—has solid experience in the W and in Europe and was a reliable shooter the last time she wore a Sky uniform (44% on 1.3 3PA per game). Despite sometimes lacking in strength as compared to the more physically dominant interior players in the W, she has plenty of height (6’4”) and positions herself well at the defensive end. She won’t register as a flashy choice (especially after her 3PT% dipped to 13% last season with Phoenix and Dallas), but she’ll give Marsh predictable minutes and showed during her last stint with Chicago that she can rise to the occasion when called upon to start games.
Second-round draft choice Maddy Westbeld also provides a similar “change of pace” profile to Bertsch. Despite struggling in an injury-hit final season at Notre Dame, Westbeld was a 35.6% three-point shooter in her first four seasons with the Fighting Irish, and she offers a slightly better blend of strength and speed than Bertsch which could serve her against some of the tougher (and more physically imposing) defensive challenges the WNBA presents. With the crunch on roster spots so tight in camp, expect only one of these two options to make the roster—with the possibility still existing that neither sees a consistent role given Onyenwere, Allen and Williams’ ability to offer help in the brief portions of the game where Reese sits. Regardless, expect one of Bertsch or Westbeld to make the final roster as they’re true power forwards who offer a change of pace from Reese thanks to their floor spacing abilities.
3. Who gets the final two (or three) spots on the roster?
Let’s start with who—barring an act of God—should make the roster:
Guards: Courtney Vandersloot, Ariel Atkins, Rachel Banham, Kia Nurse
Forwards/Centers: Michaela Onyenwere, Rebecca Allen, Angel Reese, Kamilla Cardoso, Elizabeth Williams
That’s already nine players and Van Lith—regular minutes or not—feels like a near certainty to make the team as well given Chicago moved assets to get her (though late first-round cuts are not uncommon in the WNBA). That leaves 8 players fighting for the final two spots on the roster:
Morgan Bertsch, Tilly Boler, Jessika Carter, Arella Guirantes, Moriah Jefferson, Sammie Puisis, Alex Wilson, Maddy Westbeld
From a depth perspective, there’s few huge holes in the group of 10 because, again, Allen and Onyenwere (and, to some extent, Nurse) offer Marsh so many different line-up options. Thus, the last two spots can and should be used to either (1) offer emergency replacement options in case a key contributor would get hurt or (2) develop players who could be a part of the Sky’s roster long-term. On both counts, Westbeld presents as a logical choice to fill the 11th roster spot given she’d offer important depth at her natural position and could reasonably be a key rotational cog as a floor-spacing four long-term. As mentioned above, she’ll still have to beat out the similar profile of Berstch, but the remaining years of team control her rookie deal will have after the 2025 season figures to tilt the scales in her favor even before camp opens.
That leaves 7 players for 1 spot left on the roster, and there’s very little to distinguish that group—beyond the guaranteed contract that Jefferson carries and none of the other six do. And despite early thoughts that there might be room under the cap to cut Jefferson and add one more player even while paying her, the Sky’s cap position from the scenario above and Jefferson’s hefty salary mean such a move would no longer be possible.
To understand why not, add up the 11 salaries (data from Her Hoop Stats) from above + the potential dead cap Jefferson would create:
Vandersloot ($185k) + Atkins ($200k) + Banham ($95k) + Nurse ($145k) + Onyenwere ($125k) + Allen ($160k) + Reese ($75k) + Cardoso ($78k) + Williams ($100k) + Van Lith ($72k) + Westbeld ($69k) + Jefferson ($145k) = $1,450,197
2025 WNBA Salary Cap = $1,507,100
Sky Remaining Cap = $56,903
2025 Minimum Contract = $66,079 ($78,831 for veterans with 3+ years’ experience)
In other words, the motivation to cut Jefferson straight out of camp is limited as there’s no reasonable combination of players that creates room for a “13th” salary under the cap without cutting Van Lith (or an established veteran on a non-guaranteed deal). However, that doesn’t mean the Sky couldn’t still cut Jefferson later in the season in order to make room for a different profile of player.
With the current structure of the WNBA CBA, the Sky could sign a player to a “rest-of-season” contract anytime after the start of the season. A rest-of-season deal is essentially equal to the value of the contract times the percentage of the season remaining–meaning the Sky would have room to sign a non-veteran minimum player under the cap as soon as day 17 of the 2025 season (which is ~118 days in total). With only 6 of the 44 games this season played in those first 17 days, the Sky could easily carry Jefferson for the season’s opening weeks and decide on a potential new addition heading into the June 7th Commissioner’s Cup opener against Indiana. Alternatively, they could sign a veteran minimum player as soon as day 33 of the season–with 33 regular season games still left to play after that date (~June 20th).
Lastly, Chicago could also pursue a buyout with Jefferson (the math/procedure for such a move is a bit more convoluted), but I’m not sure what motivation the player would have to accept one as there’s few teams with clear need for a reserve point guard that will come at the higher, veteran minimum of $78,831. Even if Jefferson knows the Sky might cut her later in the season, she’s better off sticking with the team and taking any playing time she can get to audition for the rest of the league in the meantime.