Mercury poach forward Maddy Westbeld from Sky
<p>The <a class="Link" href="https://chicago.suntimes.com/chicago-sky" target="_blank" >Sky</a> got poached again.</p><p>The Mercury signed Sky development player Maddy Westbeld to a rest-of-season contract Tuesday, the second time this season another team has plucked one of Chicago’s development players.</p><p>Unlike the Lynx’s <a class="Link" href="https://chicago.suntimes.com/chicago-sky/2026/08/01/ahead-of-trade-deadline-skys-tyler-marsh-focused-on-team-he-has-minus-chloe-bibby" >signing of Chloe Bibby</a>, though, this one won't affect the Sky’s rotation.</p><p>Westbeld appeared in only three of her allotted 12 games this season and last played June 20 against the Wings. Injuries prevented her from carving out a role.</p><p>She entered training camp with a foot injury that initially kept her sidelined, then injured her thumb around the All-Star break and had been working her way back.</p><p>“We drafted her injured, and she came in and worked her tail off,” coach Tyler Marsh said.
Reported by 1 outlet — Chicago Sun-Times. See all sources ↓
<p>The <a class="Link" href="https://chicago.suntimes.com/chicago-sky" target="_blank" >Sky</a> got poached again.</p><p>The Mercury signed Sky development player Maddy Westbeld to a rest-of-season contract Tuesday, the second time this season another team has plucked one of Chicago’s development players.</p><p>Unlike the Lynx’s <a class="Link" href="https://chicago.suntimes.com/chicago-sky/2026/08/01/ahead-of-trade-deadline-skys-tyler-marsh-focused-on-team-he-has-minus-chloe-bibby" >signing of Chloe Bibby</a>, though, this one won't affect the Sky’s rotation.</p><p>Westbeld appeared in only three of her allotted 12 games this season and last played June 20 against the Wings. Injuries prevented her from carving out a role.</p><p>She entered training camp with a foot injury that initially kept her sidelined, then injured her thumb around the All-Star break and had been working her way back.</p><p>“We drafted her injured, and she came in and worked her tail off,” coach Tyler Marsh said. “She played through injury most of last year, took some time to recover over this past offseason, and then showed some spurts this year at times when she was healthy.”</p><p>Westbeld became a meaningful part of the locker room since being drafted in 2025. Marsh routinely described her as an all-time great teammate, and the two also bonded over their faith.</p><p>“She just approached it with a level of maturity that most rookies don’t,” Marsh said.
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- What's the story?
- <p>The <a class="Link" href="https://chicago.suntimes.com/chicago-sky" target="_blank" >Sky</a> got poached again.</p><p>The Mercury signed Sky development player Maddy Westbeld to a rest-of-season contract Tuesday, the second time this season another team has plucked one of Chicago’s development players.</p><p>Unlike the Lynx’s <a class="Link" href="https://chicago.suntimes.com/chicago-sky/2026/08/01/ahead-of-trade-deadline-skys-tyler-marsh-focused-on-team-he-has-minus-chloe-bibby" >signing of Chloe Bibby</a>, though, this one won't affect the Sky’s rotation.</p><p>Westbeld appeared in only three of her allotted 12 games this season and last played June 20 against the Wings. Injuries prevented her from carving out a role.</p><p>She entered training camp with a foot injury that initially kept her sidelined, then injured her thumb around the All-Star break and had been working her way back.</p><p>“We drafted her injured, and she came in and worked her tail off,” coach Tyler Marsh said.
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- 1 outlet, average source rating 6.0/10.
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Mercury poach forward Maddy Westbeld from Sky
Sources1TypeCoverageChicago Sun-Times