Phoenix Mercury will play in first-ever WNBA South Dakota game in 2026 preseason

The Phoenix Mercury will be a part of the WNBA’s first game to be held in the state of South Dakota as part of the team’s 2026 preseason schedule.

On April 25, the Mercury will travel to Sioux Falls, South Dakota to play the Chicago Sky. The contest will be held in the Sanford Pentagon, home of the NBA G League’s Sioux Falls Skyforce, whom head coach Nate Tibbetts was the head coach of from 2007-09.

Tibbetts is a native of the city, played four seasons for the South Dakota men’s basketball team and started out his coaching career as an assistant for the University of Sioux Falls.

Four days later, the team wraps up its preseason by returning home to Mortgage Matchup Center for a contest against the Japan Women’s Basketball National Team. This will be the third time the Mercury faces Japan in an exhibition game and the first since 2013.

The April 25 game in Sioux Falls will start at 1 p.m. MST while the April 29 game will tipoff at 7 p.m. MST. Both contests can be viewed on Arizona’s Family 3TV, but only on April 29 will the game also be available on Arizona’s Family Sports.

Tickets for the April 29 game are available now on the team’s official website while tickets for the April 25 game will go on sale on Ticketmaster at 8 a.m. MST on Wednesday.

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