The dream of claiming a championship in the latest WNBA season slipped away for the Indiana Fever before the finals, as the team’s run ended sooner than hoped. Caitlin Clark, Kelsey Mitchell, and their teammates may be looking for redemption starting in 2026.
The former Hawkeyes player continues making an impact even during the offseason, thanks to the influence she holds over her teammates in Indiana. Mitchell, one of the Fever’s standout players, perfectly highlighted why Clark is one of the best players in the league today.
“The biggest part that I respected about Caitlin is that she never was bigger than the program,” she on the recent edition of “Bird’s Eye View with Sue Bird,”. “I don’t know if that makes sense, but it wasn’t like she was trying to take over.
“It’s like she wasn’t trying to be bigger than everybody within our locker room, she wasn’t trying to be bigger than anyone else. I think the way that her style of play, it kind of ended up complementing me and complementing AB (Aliyah Boston).”
Kelsey Mitchell #0 of the Indiana Fever.
She also added: “The one thing I love about Caitlin, too, is that we all love basketball the same way. We all have our different styles, ways of playing it, but the passion for it with Caitlin when she didn’t play compared to when she did play remained the same.”
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Secure the Big Three
The Indiana Fever front office is heading into the 2026 free agency period with a clear, non-negotiable mission: re-signing veteran star guard Kelsey Mitchell. With franchise cornerstones Caitlin Clark and Aliyah Boston already locked into guaranteed contracts, retaining the high-scoring Mitchell—who has been an instrumental leader and offensive engine for the team—is the single biggest priority for General Manager Amber Cox.
The Fever views Mitchell’s return as essential to forming a definitive “Big Three” core capable of truly competing for a WNBA championship, leveraging Mitchell’s proven scoring ability to maximize the playmaking of Clark and the interior dominance of Boston. Securing Mitchell will allow Indiana to solidify their foundation and shift their focus to filling out the remaining roster spots around their three superstars.
Building on last season
Following their impressive 2025 campaign that saw the Indiana Fever notch a franchise-best 28-12 regular season record, the focus has immediately shifted to title contention for 2026.
Anchored by the budding superstar duo of Caitlin Clark and Aliyah Boston, the Fever took a massive step forward, culminating in a thrilling run that ultimately fell short in the WNBA Conference Finals, losing a hard-fought five-game series to the eventual champions, the Las Vegas Aces.
With key free agents to secure and cap flexibility to address remaining roster needs, the Fever organization is determined to use their deep playoff experience as a springboard to claim the franchise’