What happened: Cathy Engelbert will step down at the end of the 2026 calendar year after more than four decades in business. She said growing personal attacks affected her family and that she wants more time with her 90-year-old mother and other relatives.
Why it matters: Her successor will oversee expansion to 18 teams by 2030 and long-term media-rights agreements with built-in growth. The next commissioner also inherits full-season charter travel and a 50-game schedule beginning in 2027.
By the numbers: WNBA staffing grew from 12 when Engelbert arrived in 2019 to nearly 100, an increase of more than eightfold. The league's planned footprint is rising from 12 teams to 18 by 2030, while its main media-rights engine increased roughly eight to nine times during her tenure.
What to watch: Engelbert has submitted internal and external succession candidates to WNBA owners and Adam Silver, who will select her successor. The timing of that appointment is the next marker.