Angel Reese's Rookie Teammate Set To Miss WNBA Season
The Chicago Sky began their training camp on Saturday, with the team's roster featuring 18 players.
Angel Reese, Kamilla Cardoso and rookie teammate Hailey Van Lith lead the young core featured in the training camp roster, while offseason additions such as Courtney Vandersloot and Ariel Atkins were also included.
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Chicago will have to make some tough decisions soon, though, as every WNBA team can only have a maximum of 12 players when the 2025 season begins.
While many fans debate on who will make the cut, others couldn't help but notice one player missing: rookie Ajsa Sivka.
The Sky selected Sivka with the No. 10 pick in the 2025 WNBA Draft, one selection ahead of Van Lith. However, she wasn't named in the team's training camp roster, leading many fans to ask where she is.
"So where is Ajsa Sivka??? Our Tenth pick!?" a commenter wrote on the Sky's post about their training camp roster. Another disappointed fan said, "So y'all drafted Ajsa first and she might not even play in the wnba I swear this front office makes it hard to be a fan. Spoon Carter now this smfh. NEW FRONT OFFICE PLEASE."
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"Why is asja sevika not on the list?" a third supporter asked.
Chicago Sky forward Ajsa Sivka poses with Commissioner Cathy Engelbert at the 2025 WNBA Draft.Vincent Carchietta-Imagn Images
Ajsa Sivka's absence from the roster list confirms that she will not be playing for the Sky in the 2025 WNBA season. However, it's not a surprising development since it has been reported after she was drafted that it's a possibility.
The 19-year-old Slovenian is expected to feature for her home country in the FIBA Women's Eurobasket in June, which would have complicated her participation in the WNBA.
Chicago drafted her knowing that fact, according to general manager Jeff Pagliocca, as reported by Julia Poe of Chicago Tribune.
For what it's worth, Sivka has every desire to play for the Sky in the WNBA, saying during draft night that she's "just really excited to play with all these great players like Angel Reese."
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In another interview for Slovenian news site Siol.net, Sivka also confirmed that the plan is for her to play in the WNBA next year.
"I'm not quite sure yet, but playing for the national team is my priority right now, so I'll probably go to Chicago next year," she said in Slovenian. "We had meetings with the clubs before the draft and I told them that I probably won't be there this year because I don't want them to count on me for nothing. They also accepted that without any problems."
With that said, Sky fans will have to wait for a little bit for their promising rookie for now.
Related: Fans Are Upset After Chicago Sky's Big Angel Reese, Roster Announcement
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