Kentucky signs Ajša Sivka: No. 10 pick in 2025 WNBA Draft heads to school after sitting out Sky's season

Ajša Sivka, the No. 10 overall pick in the 2025 WNBA Draft to the Chicago Sky, has decided to postpone her professional career once again in order to play college basketball. After sitting out the 2025 WNBA season, Sivka has now committed to the University of Kentucky, the school said Wednesday in a stunning announcement. 

"I am delighted to welcome Ajša to our program," Kentucky coach Kenny Brooks said in a statement. "Her combination of size and skill will fit into our system seamlessly. Ajša is a tremendous shooter, scorer, and playmaker from the wing position and she will add experience to our team. BBN let's welcome Ajša to our family!"

Sky coach Tyler Marsh said Wednesday that the organization was supportive of Sivka's decision to play college basketball. 

"As we got closer into the draft process, we were in regular communication with her, her family and representatives, in terms of what she wanted this year to look like," Marsh said. "She wanted to experience college, have the college experience from a basketball standpoint, and a lifestyle standpoint. So we've been in regular communication with her agent and with her family. And we all felt like this was the best decision for her."

Who is Sivka?

The 20-year-old, 6-foot-4 Sivka made her professional debut in Italy in 2022 as a teenager, and has since played in France and Spain. Her most recent campaign with Joventut Badalona in the Liga Femenina Endesa -- the top women's professional league in Spain -- was somewhat disappointing: in 29 games, she averaged 8.4 points, 3.6 rebounds and one assist on 40.2/33.8/65 shooting splits. 

Sivka does have a decorated history with Slovenia on the international level, however. She was named the MVP of the 2023 FIBA Women's U18 European Championships after leading Slovenia to the gold medal, and played for the senior national team at the 2023 EuroBasket Women, where she was the youngest player in the tournament. 

How can Sivka help Kentucky?

The Wildcats made the Sweet 16 last season for the first time in a decade, but lost significant talent this offseason, including four of their top six scorers and their lead playmaker. Tonie Morgan, Teonni Key, Amelia Hassett and Jordan Obi, who were all selected in the 2026 WNBA Draft, combined for 1,514 of their 2,695 points (56.2%) last season, while Morgan also registered 286 of their 608 assists (47%). 

Josie Gilvin also graduated, while fellow reserves Kaelyn Carroll, a former McDonald's All-American, Lexi Blue and Elsa Vadfors all entered the portal, which left Brooks a lot of work to do to revamp the roster around Clara Strack and Asia Boone. 

Brooks did a significant amount of that work early, bringing in the No. 6-ranked recruiting class in the country, per 247 Sports. Maddyn Greenway (No. 8 overall recruit), Savvy Swords (No. 16 overall) and Emily McDonald (No. 38) were all McDonald's All-Americans. 

In the portal, Brooks added Diana Collins (Alabama) and Me'Arah O'Neal (Florida) -- two full-time SEC starters last season who will be able to step in and contribute right away -- as well as Ayanna Patterson (UConn). Both O'Neal, daughter of NBA legend Shaquille O'Neal, and Patterson were former McDonald's All-Americans. Sivka is the latest big-name addition. 

Even in a down year last season in Spain, Sivka still shot 33.8% on 4.8 3-point attempts per game, and she's not a standstill, catch-and-shoot specialist. She can shoot off the move and doesn't mind pulling up off the dribble either. Her ability to space the floor at her size will be extremely valuable, and she should fare better on the collegiate level against her peers. The Wildcats shot 25.1 3s per game last season, which ranked 35th in Division I, and Sivka should help them maintain that high 3-point rate. 

Additionally, Sivka has some real playmaking craft for a forward. The biggest questions for Sivka will be how she handles SEC athleticism and physicality. But again, she'll be competing against her peers now, rather than seasoned veterans in Spain. 

What does this mean for the Sky?

The Sky picked Sivka with the awareness that she might be a draft-and-stash player. And even though she expressed some initial interest in playing in 2025, she ended up sitting out last season. She wanted to finish high school, and the team wanted to see her improve some aspects of her game. 

Chicago was high on her long-term potential, though, and there seemed to be an expectation that she would come stateside in 2026. 

"Imagine that girl two, three, four years from now -- how special she might be," Sky general manager Jeff Pagliocca said after the 2025 Draft. "We think she's great. We think there's not a lot of her. Players at that size that can shoot the ball, you always want them around. In our league, shooting defines a lot of success. So yeah, that's a player we want to keep here forever."

But when the Sky announced their 2026 training camp roster, Sivka's name was not on the list. And when Pagliocca was asked about her status at the team's media day late last month, he had little to say: "We've been in touch with Sivka and her representation, no update there yet."

Now, it's unclear when Sivka will join the Sky. The team will retain her draft rights, the WNBA confirmed to CBS Sports, but the league did not offer any clarity on her eligibility to enter the league. 

International prospects must turn 20 years old in the year the draft is held to be eligible to turn pro. Domestic prospects, on the other hand, must have graduated from a four-year college within three months of the draft, be four years removed from high school graduation or turn 22 years old in the year of the draft.

Sivka was eligible for the 2025 Draft as an international prospect, but now that she's playing at Kentucky, she would be classified as a domestic prospect. But, of course, she has already been drafted and the Sky have her rights in perpetuity.

It seems she would likely now have to wait until she is 22 to play in the WNBA, but, again, this is a unique case and the league did not make a definitive statement on the matter when reached by CBS Sports. 

Sivka's decision to play in the NCAA is yet another wild twist in the Sky's chaotic offseason, which saw them go all in to try and make the playoffs, and comes just days after the team waived Hailey Van Lith, who was selected at No. 11 in the 2025 WNBA Draft -- one pick after Sivka. 

Here's a look at the Sky's first-round picks under Pagliocca, who took over as GM after the 2023 season:

Reese is the only player of that bunch who has made an All-Star team, and the Sky dumped her to the Atlanta Dream earlier this summer for two first-round picks in 2027 and 2028, which will likely be in the teens. It's also worth noting that they traded the No. 3 pick (Sonia Citron) in 2025 and would have had the No. 2 pick in this year's draft, but had to send it to the Minnesota Lynx to complete a 2024 trade in which they moved up to No. 7 to select Reese.