All of the Athletes Featured in the 2026 SI Swimsuit Issue

Napheesa Collier

Collier is all about making history, both on the court and behind the scenes. A five-time WNBA All-Star and two-time Olympic gold medalist, the basketball player joined the Minnesota Lynx after being selected as the sixth pick in the 2019 WNBA draft. In 2023, Collier cofounded Unrivaled, a 3-on-3 women’s basketball league, with fellow WNBA star Breanna Stewart, allowing the players to stay in the U.S. to play and earn during the WNBA offseason. She’s also a vice president on the WNBPA executive committee, where she helped to cement a historic collective bargaining agreement deal earlier this year.

Traveling with SI Swimsuit to the sun-drenched shores of South Seas Resort on Captiva Island in Fort Myers, Fla., Collier posed for her debut feature with the magazine, shot by photographer Katherine Goguen.

Click here to view Napheesa Collier’s full gallery.

Sophie Cunningham

A WNBA star, Cunningham joined SI Swimsuit for the first time in 2026 as a featured athlete, posing for photographer Katherine Goguen at South Seas Resort on Captiva Island, Fla., located off the coast of Fort Myers.

During her impressive collegiate career, Cunningham became the University of Missouri’s all-time leading scorer with 2,187 points. She went on to be selected by the Phoenix Mercury as the 13th pick in the 2019 WNBA draft before being traded to the Indiana Fever in 2025. Working around her playing schedule, she will serve as a studio analyst and contributor to USA Network’s WNBA broadcasts throughout the season.

Click here to view Sophie Cunningham’s full gallery.

Melissa Jefferson-Wooden

Earning gold and bronze medals at the 2024 Paris Olympics and breaking the record to become the first American woman to sweep the 100-meter and 200-meter races at the world championships, Jefferson-Wooden is a five-time world champion sprinter. And even when she’s not making history on the track, competition is still top of mind, as she spends her free time streaming on Twitch playing Call of Duty and other games.

While Jefferson-Wooden is definitely not a “rookie” in her sport, she joined SI Swimsuit for the first time as a featured athlete this year. At South Seas Resort on Captiva Island, Fla., just off the coast of Fort Myers, the Olympian joined the magazine and photographer Katherine Goguen for the 2026 issue.

Click here to view Melissa Jefferson-Wooden’s full gallery.

Olivia Dunne

After landing last year’s cover, Dunne has returned to SI Swimsuit for the fourth year in a row. She was photographed by James Macari in Loreto, Baja California Sur, Mexico, for the 2026 issue. Her previous brand shoots have taken place in Puerto Rico, Portugal and Bermuda.

Since retiring from competitive gymnastics, the 23-year-old former LSU national champion has gone on to further build her brand through content creation while exploring a career in acting. Later this year, Dunne will make her scripted television debut on Fox’s Baywatch reboot alongside fellow SI Swimsuit model Brooks Nader.

Click here to view Olivia Dunne’s full gallery.

Ilona Maher

Maher, a rugby sevens athlete and two-time Olympian, returns to SI Swimsuit for her third year in a row with the publication of the 2026 issue. She was photographed by James Macari in Loreto, Baja California Sur, Mexico, for the occasion. The 29-year-old made her debut in September 2024 when she landed the cover of our digital issue, and posed for last year’s print issue in Bermuda.

Maher is a Team USA rugby sevens bronze medalist, Dancing With the Stars runner-up, content creator and podcast cohost who has been named to the TIME100 Creators List, Sports Illustrated’s 100 Most Influential Athletes and the Forbes 30 Under 30.

Click here to view Ilona Maher’s full gallery.

Tunde Oyeneyin

After being declared the winner of the 2025 Swim Search, Oyeneyin earned her spot as the very first rookie announced in the 2026 SI Swimsuit Issue class. The Peloton instructor, New York Times best-selling author and motivational speaker was photographed by Ben Watts in Montauk, N.Y., for this year’s magazine.

In addition to her expertise in the fitness industry, the 40-year-old Nike athlete is breaking into the acting industry. After making her scripted series debut on Season 2 of Hulu’s Life & Beth, she joined Tyler Perry’s drama, Sistas, as a series regular earlier this year.

Click here to view Tunde Oyeneyin’s full gallery.

Ali Truwit

Returning for her second consecutive year with the magazine, Truwit posed for the 2026 SI Swimsuit Issue in front of Ben Watts’s lens in Montauk, N.Y. The 25-year-old swimmer won silver medals in the 400-meter freestyle and 100-meter backstroke events at the 2024 Paralympic Games in Paris. Ever since she lost her foot and part of her leg in a shark attack just days after graduating from Yale University, Truwit has used her platform to champion disability awareness.

Her nonprofit organization, strongerthanyouthink.org, helps to empower young girls and women with limb loss while advocating for access to prosthetics.

Click here to view Ali Truwit’s full gallery.

Katie Austin

A love for health and wellness runs in Austin’s family, as the model and influencer is the daughter of fitness icon Denise Austin. She’s also the founder of the Katie Austin App, which offers subscribers access to hundreds of workout classes, recipes and lifestyle tips in their vast and growing library.

Austin first arrived at SI Swimsuit as a co-winner of the 2021 Swim Search open casting call alongside fellow model and friend Christen Goff. The pair went on to share co-Rookie of the Year honors for their respective debut shoots (Austin posed for the brand for the first time in Montenegro). Since then, she’s returned for a feature in each issue, most recently joining SI Swimsuit and photographer Katherine Goguen in the Fort Myers region of Florida.

Click here to view Katie Austin’s full gallery.