The Chicago Sky could be short-handed to start the season.
The Sky opened training camp Sunday on campus at UIC — where they will train through the end of May while awaiting the completion of their new Bedford Park training facility — with five key players off the court. Kamilla Cardoso, Elizabeth Williams and DiJonai Carrington have yet to report, while Azurá Stevens and Maddy Westbeld were in attendance but limited due to injury.
Cardoso and Williams were both absent from the first day of training camp while completing duties for their overseas teams. Williams played for Galatasaray in the EuroLeague Final in Spain on Sunday, while Cardoso returned home to Brazil for a brief visit after wrapping up her season in China. Coach Tyler Marsh said both players are expected to return “in the next few days” ahead of the first preseason game.
Carrington was absent while meeting with team doctors to assess a left foot injury that ended her 2025 season prematurely. The guard suffered a severe foot sprain, which sidelined her for the entire offseason. Marsh said the Sky have not yet determined whether Carrington will be available for the first game of the season.
Marsh declined to offer specifics regarding the lower body injuries nagging Stevens and Westbeld, neither of whom participated in scrimmaging during the final half-hour of training camp made available to the media. Westbeld spent that time on an exercise bike while Stevens sat to the side with guard Courtney Vandersloot, who is still recovering from an ACL injury that occurred last June.
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Vandersloot knows that she will not be available for the Sky’s season opener on May 9, but the guard is still unsure when she will be cleared to return to play.
“Right now, they’re not trying to put a timeline on it just because they don’t want to put pressure on it,” Vandersloot said. “We are going to take our time just to make sure that I don’t jeopardize all the work that we put in. I’m definitely going to be on the court this season, so that’s the most exciting target.”
Facilitating questions
The Sky recentered their backcourt around veteran point guard Skylar Diggins. But with Vandersloot sidelined for the start of the season, it’s unclear who will inherit the responsibilities of a backup on-ball facilitator.
This isn’t new for the Sky, who have often handled playmaking in recent seasons while putting the ball in the hands of shooting guards. Marsh emphasized that the Sky’s first priority is to keep Diggins available.
“The first thing is to keep Skylar on the court,” Marsh said. “We’ve got to keep her healthy, we’ve got to manage her loads from a training camp standpoint just so she feels fresh going into the season. But after that, it’s going to be all hands on deck.”
The Sky expect to lean on shooting guards like Hailey Van Lith, Rachel Banham and Jacy Sheldon to handle ball-handling responsibilities this season. Vandersloot also voiced her hope that the Sky will give a longer look to Tonie Morgan — who the Sky drafted in the third round — as a potential option for a backup point guard.
A trip out west
The Sky will open their preseason game schedule this weekend with a road game in a unique setting — Sioux Falls, South Dakota.
The Phoenix Mercury will host the Sky in the preseason friendly. This will mark the first time a WNBA game has ever been played in the state. The game will tip off at 3 p.m. Saturday at the Sanford Pentagon, which typically hosts the Sioux Falls Skyforce (a Miami Heat affiliate) in the NBA’s G League.
