The Indiana Fever are fresh off an unprecedented run to the WNBA playoff semifinals. There they lost a hard fought five game series to the eventual WNBA champion Las Vegas Aces. Surprisingly, the Fever who were without Caitlin Clark for all but 13 games this past season, Sophie Cunningham and others gave the A’ja Wilson-led Aces all they could handle losing a decisive Game 5 in “Sin City,” (107-98) in overtime. Making it even more impressive was the fact that the Aces manhandled and swept (4-0) a fully healthy Phoenix Mercury squad in the WNBA Finals.
Kelsey Mitchell Earns Top Spot On Indiana Fever According To Coach Stephanie White
With the aforementioned Clark and Cunningham out, star guard Kelsey Mitchell did what she does and that’s get buckets. Mitchell, the former Ohio State Buckeyes legend carried the Fever all season, but she took it to another in the playoffs. That play has her head coach Stephanie White singing her praises and changing her tune as to how her team plans to proceed coming into next season.
White Makes It Crystal Clear
Speaking with the media earlier this month, White was pretty blunt about the team’s focus heading into free agency.
“I’m going to sound like a broken record from last year. The priority will be Kelsey Mitchell and making sure she remains in a Fever jersey,” Cox said. She later added, “[Mitchell] will continue to be a focal point as we enter free agency.”
“I mean, [Mitchell] was the number one priority [in free agency] a year ago, and she’s the number one priority this year,” White said, per a YouTube video from IndyStar. “She has been so important. And I said this last year: Kelsey deserves to go through this stage of her Indiana Fever career. She has been through the worst of the worst… and she has showed up like a pro every day.”
“We want to continue to build around her, she’s absolutely the number one priority.”
The Fever are taking the same approach they took last season when Mitchell was also a free agent, and eventually settled on a one-year deal.
Mitchell Is Fever’s Best Player
Ever since the aforementioned Clark was drafted No.1 overall in the 2024 WNBA Draft, Fever brass have tried to make her the No.1 option on the team. But, that was was before White’s arrival and Mitchell’s ascension with Clark injured.
Now, it looks like Mitchell and the 2023 No.1 overall pick Aliyah Boston will be the top two featured players on the Fever offensively with Clark having to get in where she fits in. And from the looks of it that may not be a bad thing when you consider Clark will be coming off an injury-plagued sophomore season.
Mitchell Is The Whole Package
Known as a three-level scorer, Mitchell combines elite three-point shooting, a smooth midrange game with an innate ability to finish efficiently around the rim.
Blessed with a quick first step, speed in transition and the ability to finish with either hand makes Mitchell a tough cover. What really sets her apart is how she creates space and getting open off of screens.
In 2025, Mitchell averaged a career-high 20.2 points, 3.4 assists 2.1 rebounds and 1.1 steals per game on shooting splits of 46/40/79.
For her efforts, Mitchell was named First-team All-WNBA for the first time in her career.
