While the WNBA experienced unequivocal growth under Cathy Engelbert, with her announcing her retirement at the end of the year, preparations are underway to find an appropriate successor. The league underwent a truly transformative yet turbulent growth phase with Engelbert at the helm, but finding a replacement will not be an easy task. A recent ESPN report suggests the league may be considering a diverse pool of candidates for the role of WNBA Commissioner.

“A source familiar told ESPN the league is approaching the process of hiring Cathy Engelbert’s replacement with an open mind — recognizing that the WNBA is now at a point where a leader without a traditional background in the corporate world might offer advantages,” wrote ESPN’s Alexa Philippou on X on September 8.

Three-time WNBA champion Swin Cash, WNBPA president Nneka Ogwumike, and NBA COO Mark Tatum have emerged as potential candidates to succeed Cathy Engelbert as WNBA commissioner, per an ESPN report by Philippou and M.A. Voepel. Other prospective candidates include Keia Clarke, Bethany Donaphin, Tanya Hvizdak, and Jess Smith. The official search process is slated to begin later this month.

Ever since Engelbert became the commissioner in 2019, the WNBA as a league has seen multiple challenges, quite unlike anything that has been seen before. This includes her initial years, when the league had to navigate around the COVID restrictions, and the current transgender debate dividing the league. 

But no matter how much criticism Engelbert receives, there is no denying the fact that she was at the helm when the WNBA and the players negotiated two landmark Collective Bargaining Agreements (CBAs), which saw a remarkable increase in franchise values and took the WNBA’s appeal to a global level.

However, it’s not all rosy. Her tenure faced criticism over player safety, online abuse, salary equity, and transgender eligibility policy.

Engelbert stands as the sixth leader in league history and the second-longest-tenured, trailing only Val Ackerman. She also made history as the very first to carry the title of WNBA Commissioner, as all of her predecessors held the rank of president.

“I had only intended to do this job for three-and-a-half years,” Engelbert said in a phone call with The IX Sports earlier in the week.

“I did. It’ll be seven-and-a-half by the end of the year, and obviously, I turned 62 in November. [It] was always my goal to retire at 62, and I just feel like we’re in a really good place from a variety of perspectives on the league. Obviously, it’s been an incredible seven and a half years. It’s been a great privilege.”

Just as Engelbert did, the new commissioner will report directly to NBA commissioner Adam Silver, who is expected to oversee the hiring process. Engelbert revealed to the Associated Press and The IX Sports that she has prepared for this transition for years, having already handed Silver a vetted slate of internal and outside candidates.

The Board of Governors is also expected to play a key role in the process. When Engelbert was hired in 2019, the players’ union successfully requested to sit down with the league’s finalist candidates, a precedent that could come into play again.

While nothing has been confirmed yet, there are speculations that Swin Cash, a former UConn standout, might be in the fray. Cash has had a long association with the WNBA, having played in the league for 14 years. Her playing career is studded with achievements, winning three league titles, which ultimately culminated in her Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame induction in 2022.

While the four-time WNBA All-Star may have stepped off the court, she has not walked away from the sport. She has since worked with leading franchises in the basketball ecosystem, being named the director of franchise development for the New York Liberty in the WNBA in 2017. She was also hired as the vice president of basketball operations and team development for the New Orleans Pelicans in the NBA in 2019, eventually being let go in 2025.

Cash has also had stints as a broadcast analyst and is one of only 11 women to win an Olympic gold medal (2004 & 2011), an NCAA Championship (2000 & 2002), a FIBA World Cup (2010), and a WNBA Championship (2003, 2006 & 2010). Cash brings with her significant experience, both as a player and an executive.

Another name doing the rounds is that of current WNBPA president Nneka Ogwumike. Ogwumike, for the last ten years, has enjoyed the privilege of being the players’ voice for the WNBA.

For Ogwumike, stepping into the commissioner role would be an opposite and complicated pivot. Barely removed from contentious bargaining sessions where she served as the players’ fiercest shield, Ogwumike would cross the aisle to answer directly to ownership, tasked with managing the very locker rooms she previously rallied.

But to her credit, Ogwumike brings with her 14 years of experience as a player, ten of which include rubbing shoulders with WNBA and NBA executives, giving her a significant edge in league dealings. The veteran power forward will be sunsetting her active WNBA career at the end of this season, which would free her up for a position such as the WNBA Commissioner.

Also in the conversation is Keia Clarke, who brings over a decade of team-level leadership. A former Canisius standout, Clarke worked as the Account Executive for the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame and NBA/WNBA league offices before heading to the New York Liberty in 2011. Promoted to CEO in 2020, the 45-year-old manages the franchise’s entire business portfolio and has engineered the Liberty’s dramatic commercial surge in recent years.

Armed with elite executive credentials, including postgraduate business degrees from NYU and Harvard, Clarke boasts an intimate, comprehensive grasp of team and league economics.

Another one in the fray could be Mark Tatum. Tatum, who bridged the gap as interim president between Lisa Borders and Cathy Engelbert, would represent a surprising choice on multiple fronts.

Throughout its nearly three decades of play, the WNBA has only ever known female leadership. Installing Tatum—the NBA’s longtime deputy commissioner and chief operating officer would instantly be a step away from this trend. Such an appointment might revive persistent skepticism over how much autonomy the women’s league actually wields.

Only time will tell who emerges as the pick from all these candidates, if anyone is selected from this potential list. No matter who is picked, there will be several issues to tackle immediately after taking up office.

Challenges For The New Commissioner

The new commissioner will have plenty on their plate, right at the outset. The current transgender debate will need to be addressed. Although policy changes cannot be unilaterally made from the league commissioner’s office, the onus will be on the new commissioner at the helm to start unravelling the divide that the transgender inclusion debate has caused in the league.

Under Engelbert, the relationship between the commissioner’s desk and the player community seemed a tad strained. Her successor will be required to restore the relationship, as the primary beneficiaries of the commissioner’s desk must remain the faces of the league – the players.

Externally, the role demands managing intense media scrutiny, something Engelbert has struggled with during her time at the helm. Bridging the gap between legacy supporters and an influx of first-time viewers will be essential to the league’s success in such dynamic times. Leadership will have to remain decisive rather than evasive.

With the WNBA having evolved radically since Engelbert took charge in 2019, the incoming commissioner must manage the unprecedented expansion into uncharted territory. The identity of that upcoming leader remains one of the sports world’s most compelling storylines as Cathy Engelbert prepares to leave office.