rewrite this content and keep HTML tags (remove this from content : rewrite this content and keep HTML tags)
There’s quite a bit of uncertainty surrounding the WNBA heading into 2026.
We have no clear indication if the league and player’s association will be able to avoid a lockout and finalize a new collective bargaining agreement. And even if you’re optimistic on the two sides ratifying a deal, we still have to wait and see details on in-season player housing, salary, a potential 2026 regular season start date and much more.
But a few things are pretty clear in regards to the Liberty.
EXPECT MORE COACHING HIRES UNDER DEMARCO
The organization officially introduced new head coach Chris DeMarco in December after a two-month search following Sandy Brondello’s firing.
The team, though, still has holes to fill.
Brondello’s husband, Olaf Lange, focused on defensive strategy and departed with his wife. Data-driven offensive mind Sonia Raman left her role as an assistant and became the first person of Indian descent to be head coach after agreeing to the role with the Seattle Storm.
Assistant Zach O’Brien also left New York and moved out west for an assistant coaching role with the Los Angeles Sparks.
Those are three big voids to fill, and those hires should shape the direction under a new DeMarco era in New York.
“We’re trying to identify the right people,” DeMarco said after his introductory press conference in December. “They’re going to fit our culture and fit what we’re looking for. So it’s going to be a slower process. Again, I start full time Jan. 1. But yeah, definitely have some names in mind, and I’ve had people on staff I’ve worked with in the past that I really like and that they can really contribute.”
EXPECT NO BIG MOVES IN DRAFT
Liberty fans likely don’t need to glue their eyeballs to televisions during the 2026 WNBA Draft — if it even happens.
The team currently owns just a third-round pick (41st overall) going into a potential spring draft.
A pick at that stage of the draft likely will be for a player who will be stashed overseas and will have an opportunity to participate in training camp years down the line.
Last year, the Liberty’s lone pick — third-round selection Adja Kane — spent her season overseas.
GM KOLB EXPECTS TRIO TO RETURN
Nyara Sabally and Leonie Fiebich are the only Liberty players under contract for the 2026 season. Every other player that participated in the 2025 WNBA season is either an unrestricted free agent or a reserved free agent.
Under the previous CBA, a reserve player is anyone with three years of service or fewer who is subject to their franchise’s exclusive negotiating rights if the team extends them a reserved qualifying offer.
Essentially, almost the entire roster could return or spurn the Liberty in free agency.
But, Liberty GM Jonathan Kolb expects these three unrestricted free agents to re-sign: Jonquel Jones, Breanna Stewart and Sabrina Ionescu.
The GM made that known in September days after the team’s early postseason exit.
“I have the utmost confidence that they want to be back with us,” Kolb said on Sept. 25.
Stewart made it clear she plans on running it back just minutes after the Mercury eliminated her team in Game 3 of the first-round playoff series. Ionescu, who sat next to Stewart at the postgame podium, locked eyes with Stewart and nodded in agreement.
Jones, who wasn’t one of the two designated players present at the Game 3 postgame podium, hasn’t made any public indication of leaving New York in free agency.
