WNBA Search Firm Vetting Candidates to Succeed Cathy Engelbert
WNBA Commissioner Cathy Engelbert, who plans to retire at year's end, confirmed that a search firm is actively vetting candidates to find her successor.

Dothan, AL, October 17, 2026 —
WNBA Commissioner Cathy Engelbert said a search firm is actively vetting candidates to identify her successor as she plans to retire at year’s end.
The confirmation indicates that the process to find the league’s next commissioner is underway. The firm’s name, the number of candidates being considered and the criteria for the role were not provided in the available information.
Engelbert’s retirement is planned for the end of the year, but a specific departure date was not given. The information also did not identify a preferred timeline for selecting or announcing a successor, or say whether any candidates have advanced beyond the vetting stage.
No candidate names were provided. The circumstances around Engelbert’s decision to retire, and whether she will remain involved in the transition, were also not specified. No additional details about the search process were included.
For now, the stated details are limited to Engelbert’s planned departure and the search firm’s active review of potential successors. The confirmation does not identify who will take over the commissioner’s position or when that person might be named. Further information about the firm, the candidates and the selection process was not available in the trend summary.
Story summarized from the original created by DOUG FEINBERG, Associated Press on www.wdhn.com, see more information here.
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