Sky Veteran Guard Plans Return for 2026 Season
The Chicago Sky were defeated twice over the weekend. On Friday, the 2021 WNBA champions lost to the Indiana Fever and then lost to the Las Vegas Aces on Sunday.
While both losses were on the road, the Sky received some good news on their home front. One of their veteran guards and members of their only championship team announced to the media over the weekend that she is coming back.
Courtney Vandersloot indirectly responding to Angel, I don’t see how the Sky and Angel Reese move forward. One of the most exciting things in the offseason will be seeing where Angel ends up. pic.twitter.com/VdFXW3xGKy
— Quin (@Quinthox) September 6, 2025
Her name is Courtney Vandersloot. She has been sidelined since early June with an ACL tear. Angel Reese and Hailey Van Lith also sat out Sunday's game due to injuries. Both players are under contract past this season, as Vandersloot and another veteran, Ariel Atkins, are not.
Vandersloot was averaging 10.6 points, 3.1 rebounds, and 5.3 assists a game before her season was ended early. According to Women's Hoops Network, she made it clear over the weekend that she fully plans to come back to the Sky for the 2026 WNBA season.
What Vandersloot's return could mean for the Sky?
The 36-year-old player admits she's done with the sport she loves. That helps Chicago going forward.
The only major players on their roster that aren't free agents after this season are Reese and Kamilla Cardoso, as well as their rookies Van Lith and Maddy Westbeld.
Atkins may want to sign with another contender, as could role players Rebecca Allen, Kia Nurse, Rachel Banham, and others.
A year after her mom died from multiple myeloma, Chicago Sky guard Courtney Vandersloot still doesn’t know how to love playing basketball the same.https://t.co/qQKMrc9mHx
— Chicago Tribune (@chicagotribune) September 8, 2025
What Vandersloot has done for the Chicago Sky already
Drafted by the Sky in 2011, the former Gonzaga Bulldog player was a part of the team when the franchise qualified for the WNBA playoffs for the first time ever in 2013. Hall of Famer Sylvia Fowles and Candace Dupree were on the roster then, too.
Since the 2015 WNBA season, Vandersloot has averaged at least 10 points, except for the 2016 season (9.5 points per game), and last year in her second of two years with the New York Liberty (6.4 PPG).
Vandersloot has played in 366 games for the Sky, counting the seven she was in this season. She has 3,745 career points while with Chicago, another 70 with her former team, the Liberty.
She has won a title with both teams. Thus, her championship experience and her leadership make her an asset for the Chicago Sky going forward.
Reese and Cardoso know what it's like to win at the collegiate basketball level. However, the Sky's two All-Stars have yet to play in the WNBA postseason. Hopefully that changes next year with the return of Vandersloot.
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My name is Scott Conrad and I am a Contributor for the Chicago Sky with Sports Illustrated.com. I am also a Contributor with FanSided on NinerNoise, as well as Da Windy City. In addition, I am the Site Editor/Expert for The View from Avalon. I spent two seasons (2015 & 2016) with the Tampa Bay Times as a Correspondent covering high school football. I am a two-time published author with more work to come. In my teenage years, I started watching both MLS and WNBA start in 1996 and grow to be the juggernauts they are in their respective sports. Much love to the career on and off the court for fellow-Napervillian and former Sky forward Candace Parker. Outside of the sports journalism world, I am a travel volleyball coach. I accepted the Head Coach position with Greater Cincinnati Volleyball Club for their U13-2 team. In terms of active sports, I play volleyball, soccer, softball, kickball and train in mixed martial arts.