As the WNBA playoffs move deeper into the postseason, the league is also approaching the end of an era. The 2026 season will be Cathy Engelbert’s last as commissioner after she announced last month that she would step down at the end of the calendar year. Now, with the search for her successor officially underway, the NBA is turning to an agency with a particularly familiar connection to one of the WNBA’s biggest stars – Caitlin Clark.

According to Sports Business Journal, Excel Search & Advisory has been handed the responsibility to lead the search for the next WNBA commissioner. Of course, NBA commissioner Adam Silver is the final authority on the matter, but the agency’s connection to the Indiana Fever guard has already caught the attention of those following the league closely.

That connection dates back to October 2023, when Caitlin Clark signed with Excel Sports Management while she was still starring at Iowa. Excel took on responsibility for her marketing and endorsement portfolio as her profile continued to rise well before she entered the WNBA.

The firm now involved in the commissioner search is Excel Search & Advisory, the company’s executive-search division. In other words, Clark is represented by Excel Sports Management, while the NBA has retained the related Excel Search & Advisory business to help identify Cathy Engelbert’s successor. The two operations are connected, but they do not serve the same function.

Christine Brennan, author of Clark’s biography ‘ON HER GAME: Caitlin Clark and the Revolution in Women’s Sports‘, confirmed the news on X.

“This is big news for the WNBA. I can confirm that the NBA has hired the executive search arm of Caitlin Clark’s agency to find the next WNBA commissioner. Perhaps the ridiculous minimization of Clark’s impact, led by Cathy Engelbert, is coming to an end.”

The company’s relationship with the WNBA is not a recent phenomenon. Their existing client list already includes Indiana Fever star Caitlin Clark and Minnesota Lynx veteran Napheesa Collier, while the company has also been involved in jersey patch deals with the Atlanta Dream, Los Angeles Sparks, and Dallas Wings.

So with Engelbert expected to leave the commissioner’s office by the end of December, the process could now move quickly. Many expect the NBA to finalize the search before Engelbert term is up.

But the decision on who will take her seat will not simply rest with Silver. Both the WNBA and NBA Boards of Governors are expected to have input in the process. The larger question is what direction the league wants to take after Engelbert, whose tenure coincided with a period of significant growth in viewership, commercial interest and overall attention around the WNBA, particularly following Caitlin Clark’s arrival. At the same time, Engelbert has faced criticism from some players and fans over the league’s handling of player concerns and its biggest stars.

One of the biggest criticisms of Engelbert’s tenure has been that she has sometimes appeared to downplay the impact Caitlin Clark has had on the league. Many have noticed Engelbert frequently redirecting questions about Clark and the WNBA’s growth toward the league’s other stars. In a 2025 interview, Engelbert stressed that a league is not run by one player, while explaining that the WNBA also needed to promote its other stars.

So, as the search for the next commissioner begins, fans and several prominent figures have already pointed toward the need for someone who will approach Clark’s impact differently. It is also worth noting that this jumpstart to the commissioner search comes just as her own 2026 campaign has come to an end.

The Indiana Fever’s championship hopes were once again cut short by the Las Vegas Aces, as Indiana fell 2-1 in their first-round series. After equalizing the score during Game 2, the Fever were unable to hold off the Aces in Game 3, and fell 94-83 to the defending champions. It was a familiar ending for the Fever, who saw their postseason run put to a stop by the same team that eliminated them in the semifinals last season.

Caitlin Clark and the Fever came agonizingly close to extending their season. The 24-year-old kept Indiana alive just a few days ago with a playoff career-high 27 points and 15 assists in Game 2. With that performance, she even became the first player in WNBA history to have the most points and assists combined in a playoff game.

But with this latest update, the attention shifts back to the league itself. The WNBA is preparing for a new era, with Excel Search & Advisory now leading the search for Cathy Engelbert’s successor. For a league that has grown alongside Caitlin Clark’s rise, the identity of its next commissioner could make this transition all the more significant.