Sophie Cunningham Among Trio of Athletes Debuting in 2026 SI Swimsuit Issue

There’s always a first for everything. For Sophie Cunningham, Napheesa Collier and Melissa Jefferson-Wooden, their first SI Swimsuit issue is about to hit the magazine racks in May.

The 2026 SI Swimsuit Issue is set to feature these three inspiring female athletes photographed in Fort Myers, Fla. as part of their exciting debuts for the magazine. Together, Cunningham, Collier and Jefferson-Wooden represent empowering role models for girls across the nation who want to look good and play good—and this ever-talented trio is showing them how.

Sophie Cunningham, SI Swimsuit — Sophie Cunningham poses for the 2026 SI Swimsuit Issue. | Katherine Goguen/Sports Illustrated

Cunningham, 29, is currently an unrestricted free agent and is expected to try to work out a new contract with the Indiana Fever. She soared to nationwide fame after stepping up as Caitlin Clark’s “enforcer” last season, but she wants the world to know she can truly do it all.

“This is probably one of the most empowering things that I have done ever,” Cunningham told SI Swimsuit. “ ... I truly do think, like, go kick a-- out on the court, and then go kick a-- out in the real world being a woman who is strong, who is powerful and who has a mindset that she can do anything.”

Cunningham is also set to make her broadcasting debut in 2026 as a contributor for studio coverage on USA Network throughout the upcoming WNBA season.

Collier, 29, is coming off an MVP-caliber season and helped lead the Minnesota Lynx on a deep playoff run where they ultimately got eliminated in the semifinals. The five-time WNBA All-Star has kept busy this offseason as the co-founder of Unrivaled, a women’s 3-on-3 basketball league, and as the vice president of the WNBPA.

The WNBA players’ union and the league recently negotiated a new collective bargaining agreement (CBA) that will usher in a brighter future for women’s professional basketball, including higher salaries for players and a fairer revenue-sharing system.

Collier, who is entering her eighth year in the W, received a core qualifying offer from the Lynx, which gives Minnesota exclusive control over her free agency. The offer guarantees Collier a lucrative new deal, projected to be a one-year supermax of $1.4 million under the new CBA.

Napheesa Collier, Minnesota Lynx, SI Swimsuit — Minnesota Lynx star Napheesa Collier poses for the 2026 SI Swimsuit Issue. | Katherine Goguen/Sports Illustrated

Jefferson-Wooden, 25, is a five-time World Champion in track and field. The South Carolina native owns two Olympic medals, one gold in the women’s 4x100-meter relay and one bronze in the individual 100-meter dash in the 2024 Paris Games. She additionally boasts a 2025 World Championship treble, having clinched gold in the 100-meter, 200-meter and 4x100-meter relay last year. She is the first American to achieve this feat and only the second woman ever to do so behind Jamaica’s Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce.

“A dream come true,” Jefferson-Wooden said of her impressive World Championship haul. “Looking back at it now, it feels like it happened so quick, but it took so long to get there. And I’m just happy.”

Melissa Jefferson-Wooden, SI Swimsuit — American track and field sprinter Melissa Jefferson-Wooden poses for the 2026 SI Swimsuit Issue. | Katherine Goguen/Sports Illustrated

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