It was an eventful 2025 for Chicago’s professional and college sports teams, on the field and off. Here’s what we saw — and what to watch for in 2026.
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Chicago Bears
A year ago, the Bears were spiraling, losing 10 consecutive games and firing coach Matt Eberflus. Now, under first-year coach Ben Johnson, they have won 11 games for the first time in seven years, have clinched their first playoff berth in five years and are one of the best stories of the 2025 NFL season.
A lot has happened between then and now.
Most notably, team owner and matriarch Virginia Halas McCaskey died in February at age 102. McCaskey, the daughter of Bears founder George Halas, had been present for many of the NFL’s seminal moments during her childhood in the 1920s and 1930s. She later became the team’s principal owner after her father’s death in 1983.
However the Bears fare as the 2025 season wraps up, this will be the first time in more than a century that McCaskey won’t be there to witness it all.
Team Chairman George McCaskey, Virginia’s son and George Halas’ grandson, said in the spring that the family has no intention of selling the team after his mother’s death.
There’s no easy segue from that to the football field, but the on-field news has been largely good for the Bears in 2025. They hired Johnson in January, and he quickly has turned the team into a contender in the NFC North.
After an 0-2 start, the Bears have won 11 of their next 13 games to wrap up at least a wild-card berth and need one more win to clinch the division title. Johnson’s offensive prowess, combined with a reworked offensive line, has the Bears rolling.
Here’s a look back at the biggest Bears stories of 2025:
- Bears end the 2024 season with a win over Green Bay, snapping a 10-game losing streak
- Bears hire Ben Johnson as head coach in January 2025
- Chicago Bears owner Virginia Halas McCaskey dies at 102
- Bears rework offensive line with 3 new veteran starters
- Kevin Warren, Bears focus their stadium pursuit on Arlington Heights
- Bears draft rookies Colston Loveland, Luther Burden, Ozzy Trapilo, among others
- Bears open the 2025 season on Sept. 8, ushering in the Ben Johnson era
- Surprise win over the Eagles on Black Friday, Ben Johnson pulls off his shirt
- Kevin Warren changes his tune and says Indiana is an option for the Bears stadium
As for the year ahead, the Bears will be playing in the postseason for the first time since 2020. They have blown all expectations out of the water. Regardless of whether they find success in the playoffs, the hype heading into 2026 will be strong.
The biggest question becomes this: How can the Bears build off their 2025 success? They need to make sure this isn’t a repeat of the Matt Nagy-era Bears, who won the NFC North in the coach’s first season but never found consistent success after that.
The continued development of quarterback Caleb Williams will remain a big part of the narrative. With a year in Johnson’s offensive system under his belt, could Williams be even better next season?
— Sean Hammond
Chicago Blackhawks
There have been some cold times on the ice since the Blackhawks last won the Stanley Cup in 2015. The team has seen some franchise legends go and new players sport the logo that has been around for 100 years now.
The Hawks finished 25-46-11 in 2024-25 — the second-worst record in the NHL — setting themselves up for another top-three draft pick. They used their No. 3 pick on forward Anton Frondell as part of their 8-player draft class.
Are the 2025-26 Hawks better? They hired coach Jeff Blashill this offseason to usher the next stages of the rebuild.
After an 0-2-1 start, the Hawks soared to a 10-5-4 record, the fastest they hit 10 wins (19 games) since the 2016-17 season, when they did it in 14 games.
Connor Bedard was off to the best start of his young career — 44 points on 19 goals and 25 assists in 31 games — and his name was mentioned in Hart Trophy and Team Canada conversations. Those talks are on pause, however, until early January at the earliest. Bedard, 20, suffered an upper-body injury in a 3-2 loss to the Blues on Dec. 12 and was placed on IR.
Then in mid-December, center Frank Nazar took a puck to the face in a loss to the Ottawa Senators and exited the game. Nazar, 21, will be out about four weeks, Blashill said.
— Kalen Lumpkins
Chicago Bulls
The Bulls began 2025 with an ending — the departure of longtime star Zach LaVine, who was traded at the deadline in February after years of speculation. LaVine ultimately spent eight seasons in Chicago, where he averaged 24.2 points while earning two All-Star selections. Despite his prolific output, LaVine played in only four playoff games in his tenure with the Bulls before he was traded to the Sacramento Kings in a three-team deal for full rights to the Bulls’ 2026 first-round pick and a trio of new players: Zach Collins, Kevin Huerter and Tre Jones.
Securing that 2026 first-rounder allowed the Bulls to forge full steam ahead for another attempt at a postseason bid. But after a 39-43 season, the Bulls crashed out of the play-in tournament with a demoralizing blowout loss to the Miami Heat — marking their third consecutive season of missing the playoffs.
In June, the pick secured in the LaVine trade was utilized to draft 18-year-old Noa Essengue of France with the No. 12 pick. At the time, the Bulls front office emphasized that Essengue would be a long-term project with the goal of eventually molding the rookie into a defensive-minded wing who could complement Matas Buzelis. But Essengue’s development was even slower than expected. He played only six minutes before undergoing season-ending shoulder surgery to repair a weakness in his shoulder that had resulted in multiple dislocations.
Outside of the draft, the Bulls made few moves over the summer — re-signing Josh Giddey to a four-year deal and swapping Lonzo Ball for Isaac Okoro. With these minimal changes to the roster, the Bulls entered the 2025-26 season with the simple goal of improving their young core of Giddey, Buzelis and Coby White to prepare for an inflection point in the 2026 offseason once the roster is cleared of its expiring contracts.
A 6-1 start buoyed hopes for the Bulls, but those expectations quickly crashed back to earth as they suffered a seven-game losing streak that highlighted the team’s lack of defensive rigor and stalled-out offense. The team is currently outside of playoff position.
Nostalgia once again dominated the extracurricular focuses for the Bulls. In January, the team celebrated Derrick Rose Night to highlight the former MVP’s retirement from the NBA at the end of 2024. The Bulls will retire Rose’s jersey in a ceremony in January 2026 at the United Center. The team in November also inducted six new members — Bill Cartwright, Horace Grant, John Paxson, Johnny Bach, Neil Funk and Norm Van Lier — into its Ring of Honor.
The Bulls and the Blackhawks also secured crucial approval for the 1901 Project, a $7 billion proposal for an expansion of the infrastructure surrounding the United Center. The project aims to build an entertainment district in the blocks around the arena, which are currently dominated by parking lots. The proposal includes housing, commercial space, a new performance center and a hotel. Phase 1 of the project is expected to be completed as early as 2028.
— Julia Poe
Chicago Cubs
The Cubs entered 2025 with one goal: Get back to the postseason.
Their quest was tested early after opening the season in Japan for the Tokyo Series then losing left-hander Justin Steele for the season following left elbow surgery after four starts. The Cubs, though, got rolling, led by a deep lineup that helped them go 15 games over .500 in April and May.
By the All-Star break, the Cubs had one of the best run-scoring offenses in the majors fueled by Seiya Suzuki, Pete Crow-Armstrong and Kyle Tucker, the latter two earning starts in the Midsummer Classic. Tucker, acquired from Houston in the offseason, was the difference maker the organization envisioned with his patient approach and power from the left side.
The Cubs navigated further injuries to their rotation, losing Shota Imanaga and Jameson Taillon for weeks, in part by a bullpen that evolved into a weapon by the end of the season. The 92-win Cubs secured the top wild-card spot to host the San Diego Padres for their first postseason appearance since 2020. They had not won a playoff series since 2017.
That changed when the Cubs took the best-of-3 series by winning Game 3 at Wrigley Field to advance to the National League Division Series against the Milwaukee Brewers. Disastrous starts by Matthew Boyd and Imanaga quickly put the Cubs on the brink of elimination. Raucous Wrigley crowds helped the Cubs survive two elimination games to force a decisive Game 5 in Milwaukee, where they ultimately fell short against their division rival.
Crow-Armstrong’s breakout performance put him in rare company in franchise history, becoming only the second to record a 30-steal, 30-homer season, joining Sammy Sosa. Although his offensive production dropped off in the second half, Crow-Armstrong’s elite defense earned him a Gold Glove award, one of three Cubs to receive the hardware along with second baseman Nico Hoerner (second career) and left fielder Ian Happ (fourth straight).
The Cubs are positioned to build upon their strong season and are currently positioned to rely largely on the same offensive group, besides Tucker, who is still looking to sign somewhere in free agency. Rebuilding the bullpen has been an offseason priority. But beyond those investments, the organization hasn’t handed out a contract this offseason that goes past two years. No matter what other upgrades the Cubs make in the lead-up to spring training, fans expect them to return to the playoffs in 2026.
— Meghan Montemurro
Chicago Fire
A new coach. A return to the MLS playoffs. Oh, and concrete plans for a new downtown stadium.
The Chicago Fire in 2025 put together their best season in eight years — and made headlines off the field.
The groundwork started in October 2024, when they hired Gregg Berhalter as the 10th coach in franchise history and put him in charge of their soccer operations just three months after he was fired as coach of the U.S. men’s national team.
“I really see this opportunity as a sleeping giant,” Berhalter, now 53, said at his introductory news conference. “We want to be a dominant team in Major League Soccer. It will take some time, but we will get there.”
Behind leading scorer Hugo Cuypers (17 goals) and playmaker Philip Zinckernagel (15 goals, 15 assists), the Fire went 15-11-8 in 2025 and finished eighth in the Eastern Conference, earning their first playoff berth since 2017.
They beat Orlando City 3-1 in the wild-card game for their first postseason victory since 2009 before bowing out against the top-seeded Philadelphia Union in two games in a best-of-three first-round series.
“The message after the game was that we made progress,” Berhalter said after the Game 2 loss. “I think this year was a step.”
In more ways than one. Fire owner Joe Mansueto in June announced plans for a privately financed $650 million soccer stadium at The 78, a 62-acre site along the Chicago River at Roosevelt Road in the South Loop. The proposed 22,000-seat, open-air venue won approval from the Chicago City Council on Sept. 25, and Mansueto wants it finished in time for the 2028 season.
“It’s transformative for the club, and I think for the city as well,” Mansueto said.
— Chris Boghossian
Chicago Sky
Another year of transition for the Sky resulted in heartbreak and controversy as the team failed to make the playoffs for a second consecutive season. The Sky ushered in a new era under first-year coach Tyler Marsh, who previously served as an assistant coach for the Las Vegas Aces, Indiana Pacers and Toronto Raptors. Marsh suffered a slow start in a league-worst 10-34 season.
The season began with a nostalgic return. Point guard Courtney Vandersloot re-signed with her longtime team after two years in New York, where she won her second championship with the Liberty after leading the Sky to their first title in 2021. Vandersloot was intended to serve as a veteran centerpiece to aid in the development of young stars Angel Reese and Kamilla Cardoso, but that vision was cut short when the guard suffered a torn ACL in a June 7 game against the Indiana Fever.
The Sky made three draft selections, adding TCU’s Hailey Van Lith and Notre Dame’s Maddy Westbeld to the roster while also making a long-term decision by drafting Slovenian teenager Ajša Sivka, who did not report to Chicago in 2025 in part due to international commitments for the EuroBasket tournament. Van Lith and Westbeld both played limited minutes.
Reese continued her domination of the boards on both sides of the court, leading the league with 12.6 rebounds per game. She was the Sky’s lone selection to the All-Star Game after spending the first half of the season transitioning to a “point forward” position that challenged her to play farther from the basket with the ball in her hands.
However, Reese played only 30 games for the Sky because of a back injury that lingered for the latter half of the season. Her year ended in frustration after a series of comments made to the Tribune resulted in ownership suspending the star for a half-game. Reese did not play in the Sky’s final three games because of her back injury and opted out of media exit interviews.
Off the court, the Sky continued to work toward the franchise’s primary goal of the past two years — completing a training facility in Bedford Park, which is expected to open within the first month of the 2026 season. Construction on the training facility was delayed because of several changes to the original plans, which included expanding the building’s footprint.
The WNBA enters the new year facing uncharted uncertainty after the players’ union authorized a strike vote amid contentious negotiations for a new collective bargaining agreement. Players and executives alike expect that CBA negotiations could delay the start of the 2026 season if a work stoppage is called for by either party. Once a deal is struck, teams will face a mad dash to assemble their rosters with 80% of the team currently waiting in free agency to sign deals under new minimum and maximum restrictions, which could see average salaries rise above $500,000.
— Julia Poe
Chicago Stars
The Stars will want to forget about their on-field results from this past year.
Without star forward Mallory Swanson — whose pregnancy and birth of her daughter with husband and Cubs shortstop Dansby kept her out for the season — the Stars struggled to get rolling en route to just three wins, the fewest in the National Women’s Soccer League. Their 20 points tied them for last to accompany a league-worst minus-22 goal differential.
The Stars fired head coach Lorne Donaldson following a 1-5 start after taking over the role in 2024. The club played better later in the season under interim coach Ella Masar, but ultimately fell short of producing a consistently good result on the pitch.
They get a fresh look in 2026 under new head coach Martin Sjögren and Swanson back in the fold — and a new playing location in Northwestern’s Martin Stadium. The Stars are also bringing back Olympic goaltender Alyssa Naeher.
— Meghan Montemurro
Chicago White Sox
The White Sox made a 19-game improvement one year after suffering a modern-day MLB record 121 losses. Still, that wasn’t enough to avoid a third consecutive 100-loss season as they finished 60-102.
The season featured a parade of young players receiving valuable big-league experience during Will Venable’s first season as manager.
Shortstop Colson Montgomery went from hitting the reset button with individual work at the team’s Arizona facility to hitting 21 home runs after being called up to the majors on July 4.
Infielder Chase Meidroth, catchers Kyle Teel and Edgar Quero and reliever Grant Taylor were among those also to make the jump from the minors to becoming impactful major-leaguers.
Teel and Meidroth were acquired as part of the offseason trade that sent pitcher Garrett Crochet to the Boston Red Sox in December 2024. Among the trades of note during the season, the Sox dealt 2019 first-round pick first baseman Andrew Vaughn to the Milwaukee Brewers in June after he was optioned to the minor leagues in late May. The club held on to center fielder Luis Robert Jr., who drew interest leading up to the trade deadline.
Off the field, the team received buzz when news spread that the new pope is a Sox fan. They later unveiled a mural in his honor at Rate Field.
And the Sox put in place the plan for the next chapter in the organization, announcing in June that Chairman Jerry Reinsdorf and Justin Ishbia had reached a long-term investment agreement that establishes a framework for Ishbia to obtain a future controlling interest in the team. Reinsdorf has the option to sell his controlling interest to Ishbia from 2029-33. After the 2034 season, Ishbia would have the option to acquire the controlling interest.
Back on the field, the Sox saw Rule 5 pick pitcher Shane Smith emerge as an All-Star.
The Sox had periods during the second half in which everything clicked — winning nine of 11 from Aug. 31-Sept. 11 — and stretches of growing pains — the 1-11 record that followed from Sept. 12-25.
General manager Chris Getz said a key to a more competitive 2026 for the team will be the continued development of the young core. The Sox received a boost at the winter meetings in late December when they won the lottery to secure the No. 1 pick in the 2026 draft, which will take place in July in Philadelphia. And they made a splash in late December by signing Japanese slugger Munetaka Murakami.
— LaMond Pope
College sports
Illinois football didn’t quite live up to early expectations, which had the Illini ranked No. 12 in the Associated Press preseason poll. But behind a veteran group that included quarterback Luke Altmyer and outside linebacker Gabe Jacas, the Illini finished the regular season 8-4 to tie a program record with 18 wins over the last two seasons. If Illinois can top Tennessee in the Music City Bowl on Dec. 30, it would be the first time in program history that the team has had nine or more wins in consecutive years.
Illinois basketball lost to Kentucky in the second round of the NCAA Tournament and sent Kasparas Jakučionis and Will Riley off to become first-round NBA draft picks. The Illini retooled to create the Balkan Five — five players with Balkan heritage — who, with Champaign native Kylan Boswell, played to a 2-3 record over ranked teams early this season.
The Illini women’s basketball team also made it to the second round of the NCAA Tournament behind a senior-led group that included all-time rebounding leader Kendall Bostic. Coach Shauna Green, who led a second NCAA Tournament appearance in three seasons in Champaign, is trying to follow that up with a young team.
Northwestern football rode a solid defense to a 6-6 record and an appearance in the GameAbove Sports Bowl against Central Michigan on Dec. 26, its second bowl appearance in three seasons under coach David Braun. The Wildcats played their second home season at the lakefront Martin Stadium and Wrigley Field as they await the opening of the new $862 million Ryan Field.
Nick Martinelli was the Big Ten scoring leader last season for the Wildcats basketball team, but injuries, including to leader Brooks Barnhizer, marred the quest for a third straight NCAA Tournament appearance. Martinelli and transfer Arrinten Page lead a new-look group this season.
Northwestern women’s sports had a banner year, with women’s golf winning its first national championship in May, field hockey winning its second straight title in November and women’s lacrosse making it to the national title game for the third straight year. Wildcats women’s basketball coach Joe McKeown announced he will retire after the 2025-26 season.
In May, Northwestern reached settlements with football players who alleged hazing under former coach Pat Fitzgerald. The university then reached a settlement in Fitzgerald’s wrongful termination suit in August, saying it found no evidence that Fitzgerald directed or condoned hazing or had it reported to him by players. Three months later, Michigan State hired Fitzgerald to be its new coach.
Notre Dame football finished its 2024 season as the national runner-up after losing to Ohio State in the College Football Playoff championship game. The ending to the 2025 season drew a lot of attention too. The Irish started the season 0-2, losing to ranked Miami and Texas A&M by a total of four points, but won the next 10 games. That wasn’t enough to get into the CFP, and the Irish decided as a team to opt out of the bowl game that likely would have been played without some of their stars. Running back Jeremiyah Love finished a program-record-breaking season in third place in Heisman Trophy voting.
Notre Dame women’s basketball reached No. 1 in the AP rankings in February behind star guards Hannah Hidalgo and Olivia Miles, but the Irish lost in the Sweet 16 for the fourth straight season. Miles shocked the basketball world by transferring to TCU, but Hidalgo, a two-time All-American, returned for this season. In a Nov. 12 game against Akron, she set the NCAA Division I record with 16 steals and also set a Notre Dame record with 44 points.
Loyola men’s basketball lost its biggest fan in October. Sister Jean Dolores Schmidt, the chaplain who rose to national fame during the Ramblers’ NCAA Tournament runs, died at age 106.
DePaul men’s basketball, under new coach Chris Holtmann, broke a 39-game regular-season Big East losing streak with a win over Georgetown in January. The women’s basketball team turned a page when coach Doug Bruno retired from coaching after 39 seasons, handing the reins to his longtime assistant, Jill Pizzotti.
Northern Illinois announced that it would leave the Mid-American Conference after 39 seasons over two stints and join the Mountain West in football and the Horizon League in almost all of its other sports.
North Central College football won the Division III national championship, the program’s third national title in five seasons. The Cardinals will attempt to defend their title Jan. 4 against Wisconsin-River Falls.
Most Division I schools across the country began implementing revenue sharing with athletes in the wake of the House vs. NCAA settlement, with the majority of the $20.5 million per year going to football and men’s basketball players.
Looking ahead to 2026, will Notre Dame football come back hungry to avenge its CFP snub? Does Illinois basketball have what it takes to compete against the Big Ten’s best this season? Can Notre Dame women’s basketball get over the Sweet 16 hump? Can Northwestern rack up more women’s national championships in the spring season? There will be plenty to watch.
— Colleen Kane