March 25, 2026, 4:47 a.m. ET
- The Indiana Fever will look to construct their 2026 roster round core gamers Aliyah Boston and Caitlin Clark.
- The Fever are in a powerful place for the upcoming enlargement draft, seemingly capable of shield their key gamers.
INDIANAPOLIS — Fresh off a visit to the WNBA playoff semifinals, the Indiana Fever might want to reload for 2026 — and rapidly.
The WNBA and gamers’ union introduced they agreed to a new collective bargaining agreement on March 18, setting into movement a monthlong frenzy of an offseason. All groups (together with the Fever) must transfer quick to construct a crew via free company, the enlargement draft and the rookie entry draft.
The Fever solely have three gamers under contract for a possible 2026 season: Aliyah Boston, Caitlin Clark, and Makalya Timpson. Indiana could have quite a bit to do in free company, very like each crew within the league, nevertheless it has a large benefit with two of its three core gamers already under contract.
Indiana can also be in a good position when it comes to the expansion draft for the Toronto Tempo and Portland Fire. While it is unknown what number of gamers present groups will have the ability to shield, the Fever will seemingly have the ability to shield its three gamers under contract, in addition to two others, akin to Kelsey Mitchell or Lexie Hull, that they may goal in a type of free company.
So, how will the Fever construct round its core as coach Stephanie White goes into yr two on the helm?
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Retaining outgoing free brokers
Mitchell will likely be “priority No. 1” in free company for Indiana for the second straight season.
Indiana signed Mitchell on a core contract for the 2025 season, giving her an automated supermax wage of round $250,000. Under the outdated CBA, gamers are eligible to be cored, which is a supermax contract in trade for unique negotiating rights, for 2 seasons.
In the new CBA, the 2 sides made a tweak to the core designation: solely gamers with under six years of service will have the ability to be cored. That rule, nonetheless, will begin with the 2027 season, which means the Fever will be able to core Mitchell in 2026. That will give Mitchell an automated $1.4 million supermax and permit Indiana to retain her rights for one more yr.
Sophie Cunningham, who’s an unrestricted free agent in 2026, was an instantaneous slot in Indiana when she was traded from Phoenix in 2025. Cunningham averaged 8.6 factors and three.5 rebounds because the beginning wing for the Fever whereas additionally filling a job because the crew’s “enforcer,” however her first yr in Indiana was hampered by an ankle damage at first of the season, then an MCL tear in August. Cunningham, who’s from Missouri, nonetheless incessantly referred to the 2025 season as the best of her career.
Lexie Hull, who simply completed her rookie contract after Indiana drafted her at No. 6 in 2022, has expressed interest in returning to Fever. In her 4 years, Hull’s function went from somebody who was buried on the finish of the bench, to a pivotal rotational participant, to a beginning wing with a powerful 3-point clip.
Hull is somebody who gives essential depth in the course of the lineup, as she will be able to play the two, 3 and the 4 when wanted. She can also be a powerful defender — one thing Indiana has been pushing to enhance. Hull is a restricted free agent in 2026, which means the Fever have the best of first refusal.
Indiana will even want a backup level guard behind Clark, and Aari McDonald match that function for the Fever within the minimal minutes the 2 had been each wholesome in 2025.
McDonald performs in the identical comparable, but unusual, type as Clark, pushing the tempo for fast transitions. Their comparable kinds of play would make it so there’s little adjustment when Clark checks out, which might give Indiana’s star some essential respiration room.
McDonald, nonetheless, has had some recent injury issues. She broke her proper foot in Indiana’s recreation towards Phoenix on Aug. 7, 2025, then suffered one other proper leg damage in her first recreation in Unrivaled in January. McDonald tweeted Feb. 9 that her return, albeit not in time for Unrivaled, will likely be “very soon.”
Finding others that match
Assuming Indiana can retain its key gamers in free company, the Fever would seemingly want an influence ahead to fill out their beginning lineup. Ideally, Indiana can be searching for a rim-runner 4 that might additionally hit 3-pointers at a excessive sufficient price to be a menace past the arc.
White’s groups have traditionally been robust defensively, as effectively. Her Connecticut groups in 2023 and 2024 ranked second and first within the league in defensive ranking, respectively, whereas her 2025 Indiana crew was seventh.
Gabby Williams, who performed for the Seattle Storm under the core designation in 2025, can be a fantastic match for the kind of participant Indiana is searching for. Williams is a fast ahead who can run the court docket, averaging 11.6 factors per recreation, and a vigorous defender — she was first crew All-Defense and third in Defensive Player of the Year voting in 2025. The query, after all, can be if Indiana may afford each Mitchell and Williams. They’re each prone to command near-max contracts in 2026.
Another choice lies in Azura Stevens, a 6-foot-6 energy ahead/heart. She has performed in Dallas, Chicago and Los Angeles over an eight-year WNBA profession, which may give Indiana one other veteran voice. Stevens is used to taking part in in two-big lineups, too, as she averaged 12.8 factors and eight.0 rebounds whereas taking part in subsequent to Dearica Hamby in Los Angeles. Stevens additionally shot 4.4 3-pointers a recreation at a 38% clip in 2025.
The Fever may additionally go a well-known route in Temi Fagbenle, who was picked up by Golden State after they left her unprotected within the 2025 enlargement draft. Fagbenle, an unrestricted free agent, was the proper complement to Clark in 2024 as an enormous who was capable of get down the ground rapidly and catch Clark’s long-range passes.
To take the following step, Indiana wants to search out gamers who will complement Clark’s fast type of play. A proficient stretch 4, together with retaining their key free brokers and constructing depth behind the beginning lineup, will enable the Fever to take that step.
Chloe Peterson is the Indiana Fever beat reporter for IndyStar. Reach her at capeterson@gannett.com or observe her on X at @chloepeterson67. Get IndyStar’s Indiana Fever and Caitlin Clark protection despatched on to your inbox with our Caitlin Clark Fever publication.
