Chicago Sky coach Tyler Marsh carries lessons of adversity into Year 2

On the day in November 2024 that the Chicago Sky announced Tyler Marsh as their new head coach, he received a call from a friend who is a college coach.

“Hey, congratulations,” the friend said, before delivering the first lesson Marsh learned after accepting his first head coaching role at any level. “No one likes you anymore.”

A year removed from the start of his inaugural season with the Sky, Marsh said his friend’s quip held a lot of truth.

“It’s kind of that backup quarterback-type role where, you know, everyone wants you until they don’t,” Marsh said. “That’s just part of the territory.”

On Day 1 of the job, Marsh learned quickly that he wasn’t going to please everyone. Things grew more difficult as the Sky underperformed and faced adversity, placing the organization under intense scrutiny. The final result was a Chicago team that missed the playoffs and finished with its lowest win total (10) since 2006, its first season in existence.

An offseason of upheaval saw the exit of forward Angel Reese, once thought to be the future of the franchise, and the influx of veteran talent aiming to turn around the Sky’s fortunes — all moves that indicate a win-now mentality.

It’s not a stretch to say the Sky are facing the most pressure of any team in the WNBA to win this season. Much of that pressure, ultimately, will fall on Marsh to ensure Chicago (1-0) realizes its potential.

During Sky media day in April, a reporter asked the 38-year-old Marsh about what gives him confidence he’ll see improvement in his second year after the difficulty of 2025.

“I’m not adverse to adversity. I’m well equipped to overcome that. I have a strong circle around me that keeps me lifted. I know that my players trust and believe in me, and that’s enough to keep me going into this second year,” Marsh said. “I know I belong in this position. … I’m excited about the staff we’ve put together. I have the utmost belief in them. I’m extremely excited about our roster and what we’re capable of doing. This is a new year.”

Chicago’s 2025 misfortunes began with the injury bug. Courtney Vandersloot, who returned to the Sky in free agency, tore her ACL in June, ending her season after seven games. Injuries also hit Reese, who missed 14 games, and guard Ariel Atkins, who missed 10.

The team struggled to establish an identity under Marsh. As the injuries hampered Chicago and the team underperformed, criticisms of the organization grew.

Even before the season, the Sky front office had drawn scrutiny for multiple offseason moves, including general manager Jeff Pagliocca’s firing of head coach Teresa Weatherspoon in September 2024 after a single season, and the acquisition of Atkins, which at the time cost the team the No. 3 pick in the 2025 draft and a pick-swap for 2027. That No. 3 pick ultimately became Sonia Citron, who had an All-Star rookie season for the Mystics.

All the while, the presence of Reese, one of the most popular players in the league and the Sky’s top performer last season, made the spotlight on Chicago’s struggles that much brighter. The internal adversity reached a fever pitch when the Sky suspended Reese for comments she made to the Chicago Tribune last September that, in part, demanded improvements from the Sky front office and called on Marsh to coach Sky players harder.

On a personal level, Marsh, who once had been a consistent presence on social media, went dark on X after the Sky’s first game. His X and Instagram accounts are now private.

“I think it’s all inbounds when you keep it basketball. I think when social media starts to cross lines of getting into personal lives and attacking people’s character and things of that nature, I think that’s when things start to get a little bit murky,” he said. “It’s something that’s unfortunate that players have to go through and coaches have to go through, and also you forget how much of a toll that it takes on your families and loved ones as well.”

Chicago ended its first season under Marsh with a 10-34 record, tied for the worst in the WNBA.

“I said to Tyler, ‘You’re getting it all in in Year 1,’” Sky guard Rachel Banham said. “Usually coaches experience this throughout their tenure. He got it all in one year. I was like, ‘You’re going to learn so much from this.’”

Despite the hardships, Marsh said he wouldn’t have had his first season any other way. He said enduring those setbacks has equipped him to handle future challenges.

“I’ve always been taught, and have learned, to be present and embrace the moment of where you’re at. There’s learning lessons through the ups. There’s more learning lessons through the downs,” he said. 

Adaptability is a skill Marsh identifies as a strength, and it is something he has developed from life experience. As the son of a former college coach — Donnie Marsh, who now serves as an assistant on the Sky staff — Marsh said he moved a lot growing up.

“I’ve gone to a different school every year from fifth grade all the way through high school,” Marsh said. “Adapting is kind of what I’m doing, part of who I am.”

During the Sky’s struggles, Marsh said it was natural to have some passing questions about his coaching proficiency. The year prior, he had just come off a championship-winning tenure as an assistant with the Las Vegas Aces. He was lauded for his developmental work with a team on a dynastic run. This, in all aspects, was a 180-degree turn.

Despite whatever schematic approach needed adjustment, Marsh said what was most important was never losing confidence in himself. That’s what propelled him to this opportunity in the first place.

“I think that if you start to second-guess who you are, that’s when the players start losing respect for you,” he said.

This year’s Sky team returns just five players from a year ago as the organization has aimed to shift its identity under Marsh. 

On April 6, in news that reverberated not just through the WNBA but all of professional sports, the Sky announced a trade of Reese to Atlanta for first-round picks in the 2027 and 2028 WNBA drafts.

Five days later, Chicago made a major splash in free agency by signing forward Azurá Stevens, who was coming off a career year with the Los Angeles Sparks, and seven-time All-Star guard Skylar Diggins.

On April 12, Chicago announced it was trading Atkins to Los Angeles in exchange for forward Rickea Jackson and signing free agent DiJonai Carrington to a one-year deal.

Last week, with just days left in training camp, the Sky added veteran guard Natasha Cloud.

“Listening to the direction of the Chicago Sky, talking to Tyler, talking to Jeff, I thought this was going to be a great fit for me,” Diggins said April 15 during her introductory news conference. “I understood the vision. … I’m looking forward to coming here and doing those exact things, be who I am and seeing how I can help get this team back to where we want to be, and that’s contending in the playoffs.”

The team also experienced substantial change to its coaching staff with the exits of Tanisha Wright, who departed for the head coaching position at Penn State, and Courtney Paris, who is now serving as an assistant with the New York Liberty. Marsh added veteran coach Latricia Trammell to his bench, in addition to Kelly Faris and Jhared Simpson.

It’s a lot of new pieces for Marsh to blend on the floor, and quickly, but the group as a whole more closely aligns with his vision for the team.

“I think one of my favorite things about how we’ve constructed this roster is in a lot of ways it’s composed of players, and staff to some degree, of people that have felt counted out or have been counted out,” Marsh said. “We want to use that as motivation moving forward to know that we all got stuff left in the tank and that we’re ready to prove that.”

For those present during the Sky’s preseason training camp, it was clear Marsh’s energy had changed year over year. There’s an added assuredness to Marsh’s process, from what he’s looking for to identifying team needs and how to fulfill them. Banham said Marsh is owning the space and room more.  

“His confidence is really showing,” Banham said. “His voice is really coming through, even more than it was last year, because I think he’s really found his place, for real. He knows exactly what he wants and what he expects from us.”

Banham, one of the returners from last year, said she has enjoyed her time playing under Marsh.

“He’s a really good human, which is really important to me,” the 32-year-old said. “He’s such a good basketball mind. Everyone knows how great he is at development. But I never knew, like, how good he was at X’s and O’s. He’s so smart when it comes to play calls and what he draws up.”

If adaptability is Marsh’s strength, then authenticity would be his superpower. He prides himself on showing up confidently and consistently as the patently even-keeled presence his players and staff have come to know. Those in the organization laud the environment he has created. 

“He’s so relatable. Anybody can talk to him. It doesn’t matter if you are an assistant coach, if you are support staff, or if you’re a player. He’s so welcoming. He likes to listen and talk to everyone. I think that’s what makes a great leader,” assistant coach Rena Wakama said. “I like having a leader that’s open to hearing feedback and criticism. You’ll see some leaders are kind of stuck in their own ways. He’s not like that at all.”

With his second WNBA season as a head coach officially underway, Marsh is driven to help rewrite the reputation of the Sky. He knows there’s only one way that gets accomplished — he has to win.

“We went through some hard stuff last year. Nobody is immune from that; every team goes through their moments of adversity. We went through ours,” Marsh said. “I think we’re more prepared as a staff. We’re more prepared as an organization. We’re more prepared as a team — to handle that in stride and continue to push forward. I’m excited to see what this year brings.”

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