Sophie Cunningham Turns Heads in Black Bikini During Beach Shoot
As much as Indiana Fever fans might not want to admit it, there's a real chance that Sophie Cunningham is not on the team's roster for the 2026 season.
This is the byproduct of the upcoming Expansion Draft for the Toronto Tempo and the Portland Fire, which takes place on April 3. All 13 current WNBA teams will be allowed to protect five players for this draft, rendering them unavailable for Portland and Toronto to take. The Fever will be protecting Caitlin Clark, Aliyah Boston, Kelsey Mitchell, and, most likely, Lexie Hull. After that, the fifth selection would likely either be Cunningham or Makayla Timpson.
Cunningham and Mitchell are both set to become unrestricted free agents, and the Fever are only allowed to give one of them a "core" designation, which will keep them on the 2026 roster. They'll give that to Mitchell (who finished fifth in 2025 WNBA MVP voting) over Cunningham. Therefore, if the Fever were to protect Cunningham, she could still leave in free agency shortly after, rendering that a wasted protected pick.
There's still a chance Indiana could decide Cunningham is worth the risk. Or they could not protect her, she does not get selected in the expansion draft, and she ultimately rejoins the Fever in free agency. But that doesn't seem like the most likely scenario right now.
Sophie Cunningham Causes Stir with Beach Bikini Post Amid Fever Offseason
Regardless, Cunningham's fate is out of her hands at this point. And she doesn't seem to be letting her uncertain future stop her from enjoying this offseason.
This was shown by a March 28 Instagram post she made that featured several photos of her at the beach. The post was captioned, "workouts done by 8am straight to bikinis, coconut oil, and UV 11 before noon? YEP🌴 YES🥥 YASSSS☀️" and Cunningham can be seen wearing a black bikini in the photos.
One reason why Cunningham might be compelled to return to the Fever in free agency (even if she has to take a pay cut) is that her proximity to Caitlin Clark has skyrocketed her stardom.
In fact, there's a strong case to be made that her sponsorships with the Fever would more than make up for whatever salary she might be sacrificing to re-sign with the Fever as opposed to joining another team this offseason.
Regardless, this Instagram post shows that Cunningham knows how to market herself.
Grant Young covers Women’s Basketball, the Indiana Fever and the New York Mets for Sports Illustrated’s ‘On SI’ sites. He holds an MFA degree in creative writing from the University of San Francisco (USF), where he also graduated with a Bachelor’s Degree in Marketing and played on USF’s Division I baseball team for five years. However, he now prefers Angel Reese to Angels in the Outfield.
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