Sunday Sit-down with Sophie and Lindsey Cunningham

COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)

ABC 17 Sports Director Nathalie Jones brought on former Mizzou basketball stars Lindsey and Sophie Cunningham in this week's edition of Sunday Sit-down.

The trio chatted about the upcoming fourth-annual Sophie Cunningham Classic, which Lindsey and Sophie believe will be their best one, yet. The 2026 edition of the girls basketball classic will run from January 9th through the 11th at the Southwell Complex on the campus of Columbia College.

You can find a full look at the schedule below.

• FRIDAY
  • 11 a.m. - Blue Valley North (KS) vs. Battle
  • 12:30 p.m. - Doniphan vs. Tipton
  • 2 p.m. - Fulton vs. School of the Osage
  • 3:30 p.m. - West Plains vs. Principia
  • 5 p.m. - Incarnate Word Academy vs. St. Teresa's
  • 6:30 p.m. - Lift for life vs. Faith Family Academy
  • 8 p.m. - Staley vs. Long Island Lutheran (NY)
  • 9:30 p.m. - Olathe South (KS) vs. Rock Bridge
• SATURDAY
  • 10 a.m. - Marshfield vs. Blue Valley North (KS)
  • 11:30 a.m. - Solon (IA) vs. Strafford
  • 1 p.m. - Principia - Faith Family Academy (TX) vs. Staley
  • 2:30 p.m. - Quincy (IL) vs. Park Hill South
  • 4 p.m. - Principia vs. Olathe South (KS)
  • 5:30 p.m. - Long Island Lutheran (NY) vs. Incarnate Word Academy
  • 7 p.m. - Bishop Miege (KS) vs. Borgia
  • 8:30 p.m. - Lee's Summit West vs. Lift for Life
• SUNDAY
  • 10 a.m. - Harrisburg vs. Tolton
  • 11:30 a.m. - Troy vs. Hickman
  • 1 p.m. - Strafford vs. Quincy (IL)
  • 2:30 p.m. - MICDS vs. Centralia
  • 4 p.m. - Liberty North vs. Rock Bridge

"I think that the amount of people who are wanting to be involved, teams from all over the nation, players, coaches reaching out how they can be a part of it...There's nothing like it around the nation. So, I really do think this thing is going to keep continuing to grow and grow. We are just in awe of the amount of people around the local Columbia community who want to be involved in it, who are donating money, donating products, not only, you know, Missouri, but you know, kind of around the nation who are who are really trying to get involved and put these high school athletes on a pedestal where they belong," Sophie said. "You know, they're elite level athletes. They deserve the very best and I think that this year will be the best year, yet. You will see just with the production of the classic, the product that the girls are going to get, everything's going to be super elite."

In addition to the Sophie Cunningham Classic, they also talked about the new era of Mizzou women's basketball under head coach Kellie Harper, as well as the whirlwind of a year the Sophie saw in her debut season as a member of the Indiana Fever.

Watch ABC 17 Sports Director Nathalie Jones' full conversation with the Cunningham sisters on ABC 17 SportsZone at 10:30 on KMIZ.

You can find a full transcript of the interview below.

NATHALIE: Welcome back everyone. It is a special edition of Sunday sit down. We got Lindsey Cunningham Joining me in studio here, then Sophie Cunningham joining us virtually, guys. Thanks for hanging out with us here on Sports zone.

LINDSEY: Yeah, thanks for having us

SOPHIE: Happy to be back

NATHALIE: Some of our favorite guests. Will you guys have a busy week coming up here, the Sophie Cunningham classic back for another year. I mean, gosh, this classic has just grown so much from the first year you started. How has it grown the most to your guys' opinion? Excited to have it back for another year.

LINDSEY: I'll start by just saying we are so thankful for the way that the mid Missouri, Columbia community has allowed this thing to really grow some legs and take off. But with that has has brought in a lot of really cool national sponsorship. I don't know if it has anything to do with Sophie or not, but, you know, we'll take it. But I think it's really cool, the amount of teams that reach out, that want to just be a part of it. I think we've talked about it before, but anywhere between five and 105, and 600 teams reaching out, wanting to be a part of the classic that obviously we've got to narrow it down to just a few. So that's really cool. 

SOPHIE: I think Lindsey just hit it on the head. I think that the amount of people who are wanting to be involved, teams from all over the nation, players, coaches, reaching out how they can be a part of it, there's nothing like it around the nation. So I really do think this thing is going to keep continuing to grow and grow. We are just in awe of the amount of people around the local Columbia community who wants to be involved in it, who are donating money, donating products, not only, you know, Missouri, but you know, kind of around the nation who are who are really trying to get involved and put these high school athletes on a pedestal where they belong. You know, they're elite level athletes. They deserve the very best. And I think that this year will be the best year yet. And you will see, just with the production of the classic, the product that the girls are going to get, everything's going to be super elite. And of course, Lindsey and I and our family will be there the whole time, taking pictures, signing autographs, kids asking questions, us, trying to do our best to mentor them. And so this is something that our family really does look forward to doing every single year.

NATHALIE: Well, I mean, my gosh, you guys have some of the top talent in the country coming here to Columbia. I mean, how awesome is it to kind of have this just be a melting pot of all this great talent across the nation.

LINDSEY: You know, our goal was to get people to the Midwest, and not everybody's hosting these big tournaments in places like Columbia, Missouri. But how cool. And to your point, some of these teams we have coming in from New York and Texas and just our lineup of top ranked players, we're bringing in heck of all players that are going really cool places. A lot of SEC SEC committed players, so chance to see them early before getting check them out at Missouri arena. But we're really excited to have just elite level athletes playing ball, and for three whole days.

SOPHIE: I also think it's kind of cool, because this is what Lindsay and I and our teammates, this is what we were raised on, like we know how the local community can come out and support high school girls basketball. This is a high level it always kind of has been, and so we just want to show people what it's like to play in front of kind of our home crowd. What we got to grow up in the community is awesome, the food places, the restaurants, the vibes around Columbia. We just want people to experience our hometown like how we did. So we're excited for people to come and, you know, for Columbia to show up for them, and for them to show up for Columbia. 

NATHALIE: Well, it's also obviously experienced for the parents to get to see their players. Their players out there and the players as well. But it's also an experience for the community. You know, the community can come out to this event, tell people, you know what they can get when they come out to the Sophie Cunningham classic.

LINDSEY: Absolutely. Well, first off, she's become quite the hot commodity, but Sophie will be there all three days, and we are. We're there from sunup to sundown and a little bit before and after. So a chance to come hang out with Sophie. Obviously, the basketball we're really trying to push that if you're a fan of the sport, it doesn't matter what level, girls, boys, men, women, whatever. If you're a fan of basketball, the basketball being played with Sophie ham classic this year is going to be a lot of fun. So we just encourage people to come out and watch. It's a really fun energy. It's a lot of loud music and fun basketball, and the vibes are just good, as Sophie said. So we'd love to have people come out and check it out. Also, I will add, for the first time ever, somehow there's never been a Missouri Sophie Cunningham jersey. And so we will have that this year we've got, it's on short supply, so come early, come often, but we will have Mizzou Sophie jerseys for sale at the classic this year. And like I said, somehow with with her experience at Mizzou, we never got to that. So this year we'll be launching that at the classic.

NATHALIE:  That will be a hot commodity for sure. Well, Sophie for you specifically, you know, is it kind of crazy to see, I mean, you guys, you and Lindsay, both were just in these shoes. I mean, years ago, kids hoping to go to college and put their talents on display. How crazy is it now to kind of be this person who's helping them be able to get their talents out there?

SOPHIE: Yeah, you know, I do think that, you know, our experience is a little bit different now with, you know, the nil and the transfer portal and all that type of stuff call. College is unique, and Lindsay and I don't have a lot of experience in that, but what we do know is what coaches are looking for. And so I just, I know both of us feel like we want to be mentors. We want to help the next generation, not only, you know, learn from the things that we did well, the things that we could have done better, but also, like, Help, letting us help you, you know. I mean, whatever we can do, that's what we're here for. And so I wish that we would have had people to kind of come back, especially pros, to kind of tell us their experience, you know, kind of kind of just talk about their journeys and learn from them. And so I think for me to kind of come back and just kind of be very hands on, you know, I am there taking pictures. I am they're going to be signing autographs and and doing all that. But really, you know, I just want to talk to the girls. I want to help them in any way that I can. And I think that's what it's all about. You know, I am on a big stage nowadays and still playing as a pro, but I just think there's so much to give to the next generation.

NATHALIE: Well, Sophie, you were back in the Midwest this year. You've had a heck of a year. It's, I mean, it's been fun to watch. What is the last year been like for you? You know, just the whirlwind that it was.

SOPHIE: Yeah, you know, people keep asking me that question, but really, I'm still just me, you know, I've always been that person. Now I was just on a bigger stage, and who knew that sticking up for your teammate is what would cause me to blow up the way I did, but I'm still me, and it's fun for people to kind of get to know where I come from, to hear what I'm about. And so for me, just to be able to come back home, especially, you know, for this next weekend, to inspire, you know, the next group of Midwestern frickin awesome athletes to go do what I'm doing better than me. You know, that's what it's all about. And so I'm just excited to get back there. I'm excited for, you know, the next season in the WNBA, hopefully we have a season. You know, we're still trying to come to terms with our CBA, but, you know, I'm just in a really good place. I'm out here in Phoenix, rehabbing. I'm feeling really good, feeling healthy, about to get on court. And so just good things are happening. So I'm just very blessed and grateful for the all the opportunities.

NATHALIE: Well, for those of us who watch Mizzou women's basketball, we know Sophie sticks up for her teammates. Lindsey, what was it like for you and the family to kind of get Sophie to see the recognition she deserves there?

LINDSEY: Yeah, well, first off, the moment, I guess I literally remember watching it with, I think, 17.4 seconds left, going, Oh no, no, no, no, no. I knew what was going through mine before it ever happened. But hey, it worked out. A lot of cool opportunities have come about, but we're just so proud of Sophie. And like she said, we still get good old Soph when she's home. My daughter still get Aunt Sophie and, you know, but I think it's really cool too, because everybody thinks and Sophie is very blessed. She's got a lot of very cool opportunities, and she gets to do a lot of really neat things, but that life is not easy, and she misses out on a lot of things. And we all know what it's like to just want to go home and be in your own bed for more than two days at a time. And so I would just like to take this time, I guess, to acknowledge that we're so proud of her and, you know, we recognize how hard the life is that she she lives, I guess, but a lot of cool opportunities have come from it, and we're just so proud and love when she gets to come back home.

NATHALIE: Well, she handles it gracefully, guys, obviously, we're in a new era of Mizzou women's basketball. I know Sophie a part of the search with Mizzou Athletics. What do you guys like that that's cooking with Mizzou basketball? 12-3 of the year, not too bad, right?

LINDSEY: Absolutely.

SOPHIE: Yeah, it's really not like I honestly haven't been able to make it to a game. I know lens, you can talk on the couple games that you've made it to, but you know, I know this is their first year, and so you got to give a little bit of grace. They're still trying to get the people in the players that really make Kelly's teams so difficult to play against and make them such an elite level group, but you know, they're 12 and three, you can't complain about that. I think they're going to just keep continuing to get better and better. I know Kelly's a heck of a coach, and she has a couple assistants that actually Lindsey and I played against when we were in college, and they're great people, and so I just think that those girls over there should be very blessed, and hopefully they know what they have in front of them, because they have a great group of coaches who not only care about them on the basketball court, but as people, and that's super important,

LINDSEY: I will say, the all of the things that makes Kelly great, right? The Passion, the competitiveness, the energy, the toughness, I guess, sitting there and watching her staff display that the whole time, for 40 minutes, they're up in their seats. They're coaching live like I just felt like the energy from the bench was incredible, from a coaching standpoint, from the players as well, and then the product on the court is a lot of fun to watch.

NATHALIE: Yeah. Well, Sophie, curious. Obviously, the game has grown so much, and there's growing pains. When you grow what are your thoughts at where the games at right now? Obviously, you know, women's sports is growing so much, but just would love to hear your thoughts.

SOPHIE: Yeah, you know, I'm just so proud of, you know, and thankful for the people who come before us. You know, those are the real trailblazers, and maybe they didn't get the recognition or the platform or the eyes that they deserve, but this is where we're at now, and so everyone's just kind of got to embrace. It. I think when you put women's sports on TV, it doesn't matter what it is. I think, you know, the WNBA has been a great starting point for a lot of other leagues that when you put it on TV, people will watch, people will show up. And yes, it's completely different than the men's. We are not trying to take anything away from the men's. We're just trying to show that our product is good too. And you know, once we get people in the stands, they don't leave, and they're really intrigued and excited for our sport. And so I just think that I'm in women's sports, particularly in the WNBA, at the perfect time. You know, when I came into the league, I kind of saw the harshness of it and kind of the growing pains, and now, you know, I'm reaping a little bit of the benefits of where it's in, where it's headed. And so I think it's awesome, like I mentioned earlier. You know, we the league still hasn't come to an agreement, so I'm hoping that the WNBA is going to be playing this summer. You know, I really, truly think that we can come to an agreement. But if not, maybe I'll be back in helping coach Harper coach for a little bit until the league comes back, and so I'm proud to be a female athlete, and it's a good time to, you know, be a fan of women's sports.

NATHALIE:  Hey, I don't think Coach Harper would complain about that. That's why classics, like the ones we're going to see this coming weekend, are so important. Guys, I appreciate you making the time. You're both very busy, so I appreciate you hanging out with us. 

LINDSEY: Thanks for having us. 

SOPHIE: Thanks for having us Nathalie. 

NATHALIE: Awesome for the rest of you guys, we'll be right back after the break.