Could This Be Tyler Marsh's Last Game Coaching Sky?
The Chicago Sky missed the postseason last year for the first time after five seasons in a row of qualify for the playoffs. From 2019 to 2023, the team made the playoffs and even won the 2021 WNBA championship.
With the departures of key players like Candace Parker and veteran guard Courtney Vandersloot, the team could not sustain that level of success. In 2024, with Teresa Weatherspoon as the head coach and a pair of rookie players incoming, forward Angel Reese and center Kamilla Cardoso,
The @chicagosky welcomes Tyler Marsh as their new head coach 🚨
— WNBA (@WNBA) November 3, 2024
Marsh previously served as an assistant coach for the Las Vegas Aces franchise pic.twitter.com/qnXwBbAaKQ
After winning just 13 games, the general manager for the Chicago Sky, Jeff Pagliocca, brought in a former assistant head coach from a former WNBA championship team to replace Weatherspoon. After three seasons with the Las Vegas Aces, Tyler Marsh took over as the head coach of the Sky going into the 2025 WNBA regular season.
The team signed former Washington Mystics guard Ariel Atkins, in addition to re-signing Vandersloot, both on one-year deals. That Sky also drafted Hailey Van Lith, a former teammate from LSU of Reese's, and forward Maddy Westbeld. Both of which haven't had much impact on Chicago's progression.
Thursday night is the last game of the 2025 WNBA regular season as the Sky host the defending champions, the New York Liberty. This could be Marsh's last time calling the shots on the sidelines for Chicago and here's why.
Chicago continued to get blown out against the rest of the WNBA
The Sky began the 2025 WNBA regular season going 0-4. The first three losses were by a combined 73 points, all of which were by at least 13 points or more. After winning back-to-back games against the Dallas Wings, Chicago had another tough losing streak.
Their next three losses were by a combined 64 points, including two more double-digit defeats to the Liberty and the Indiana Fever. Go back to July16 when Chicago failed to score 50 points or more for the fourth time in franchise history, the Sky lost 89-46 on the road against the Atlanta Dream.
In Chicago's last two games, both against Marsh's former team (the Aces), the Sky were handed two more losses of 14 and 31 points, respectively. The 2021 WNBA champions have not looked like a playoff team the past two seasons. The only difference is that Weatherspoon isn't around this year to blame, but Marsh is.
The Sky are the WNBA's worst ball handlers.
Marsh is not to blame for Vandersloot's unexpected ACL injury. To their point guard's credit, her 10.6 points and 5.3 assists a game was not going to make this team a championship contender. However, it only added to Chicago's biggest Achilles heel, taking care of the basketball.
This season, the Sky average a league-high 15.6 turnovers per game. The next closest team, the Mystics, are almost 1.5 better. The four teams with the most turnovers per game this year all are not making the playoffs (Sky, Mystics, Los Angeles Sparks, and the Connecticut Sun).
In the history of the franchise, Chicago has gone through multiple coaches in multiple seasons. The Sky currently on their fourth head coach in less than three seasons. The team also went through three different head coaches in their first three years in the WNBA.
All the more reason to wonder if Thursday night's game against the Liberty could be Marsh's last game with the Sky. Time will tell but given Chicago's history of having a quick trigger, it does not look good for the former Aces assistant's future.
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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.