Indiana
Top 5 Indiana Fever Potential WNBA Free Agency Targets
January 21 marks the day when WNBA teams and unrestricted free agents can begin to negotiate new contracts. February 1 is when these players can actually sign new deals with new teams.
Therefore, these next few weeks are about to get hectic in the women’s basketball world. And with the Indiana Fever’s impressive success and popularity increase last season, there’s a ton of attention on the offseason moves they’ll make.
But which available players are the best fits for Indiana? Who can propel them to being WNBA title contenders? In our opinion, it’s the five players (listed in order) below.
This one should come as no surprise. The Indiana Fever’s front office has made it clear that re-signing Mitchell (who has been with the team since 2018) is their top priority this offseason.
And for good reason. Mitchell and Caitlin Clark were arguably the WNBA’s best backcourt duo for the second half of the season and they appear to complement each other perfectly. Since Mitchell is an unrestricted free agent, the Fever are almost guaranteed to give her a core designation (barring a separate agreement between the parties). Thus, Mitchell would have to make it abundantly clear that she wants out of Indiana if they were to trade her.
Frankly, we don’t see that happening. We expect Indiana to get Mitchell re-signed early, which will then allow them to pursue one of the next four players on our list.
Dallas Wings star Satou Sabally made it overtly clear last week that she has played her final game with the franchise that drafted her with the No. 2 pick of the 2020 WNBA Draft.
The Fever’s most pressing need is a wing player who has length, is a good defender, and can score in multiple ways. Sabally checks all of those boxes and then some. Out of any available players, there’s arguably no better fit for the Fever (aside from Mitchell) than Sabally. We expect them to pursue her aggressively this offseason and seem to have a good shot at securing her. It would almost certainly have to happen via trade however, as the Wings have cored Sabally.
Everything we said about the Fever’s needs at the wing position in the Satou Sabally section also applies to DeWanna Bonner. Her impending free agency has gone relatively under the radar, but her skill set is a solid fit for the Fever on paper.
The only clear downside is that she’s 37 years old, and likely only has a couple of seasons left. However, she might see Indiana as the perfect place to make one last run at a third WNBA championship. There’s also a connection with Fever coach Stephanie White, who likely could have insight into the desires of the Connecticut Sun’s numerous free agents.
Another underrated wing on the WNBA free agency radar is Dallas Wings standout Natasha Howard. One downside to Howard’s game is that she isn’t a great three-point shooter. But she is a lockdown defender and can score in enough ways to take the scoring load off of Clark and company when the need to do so arises. The Fever lacked on the defensive side of the ball a season ago and Howard could help alleviate that issue.
Plum coming to Indiana might be a longshot, and there’s virtually a zero percent chance the Fever would pursue her if they re-signed Kelsey Mitchell. But if Mitchell ends up elsewhere, they could do much worse than bringing Plum on board.
Plum’s versatile scoring ability would surely be enhanced when she’s receiving passes from Caitlin Clark. Given that she’s one of the league’s biggest superstars, her profile would be heightened even more so playing alongside Clark.
If Plum does indeed want out of the Las Vegas Aces (which would be via sign-and-trade given her core designation), the Fever could very well come calling as a contingency plan.
Some believe that an excellent offseason for the Fever could turn them into 2025 WNBA Championship contenders. But what does an “excellent” offseason look like? We’d argue that it means signing two of these players, with one of them ideally being Kelsey Mitchell and the other being one of the three wings mentioned.
What’s for sure is that the decisions Indiana’s front office makes in the next month or so will be crucial for their future success.
Women of 250 honors women past, present and future, including C.J. Walker
This video spotlights the initiative and includes a look at Madam C.J. Walker’s enduring influence while encouraging viewers to nominate women who have made a difference today.
As dozens of people and music filled Indiana Avenue, Sampson Levingston gestured to the scene around him as evidence of a return to the area’s history as a hub of Black life and music.
“This is what Indiana Avenue is supposed to be. Black people having a good time on a Saturday in the summer,” Levingston said. “That’s our history. That’s our story.”
The fifth annual Legacy Fest, organized by the Madam Walker Legacy Center, honored that story on June 19 and 20. A block party with food trucks, vendors selling one-of-a-kind jeweled hats and patchwork denim, jewelry, and live musical performances capped off the Juneteenth weekend. The day before, Grammy-winning producer Teddy Riley performed in the Walker Theatre.
The block circles the Walker Building, a triangular African Art Deco theater topped with a red sign easily spotted in Indianapolis’ skyline. The 1927 building is the last building still operating in its original state on a street once filled with Black-owned businesses but now dominated by fences and parking lots.
After being forced by a former downtown Indianapolis theater to pay a “Black tax,” Walker promised to build a theater without discrimination. The building was home to Walker Manufacturing Company and a 1500-seat theater, the only theater without race-based discrimination in the city at the time. The theater still regularly puts on shows and holds the Madam Walker Legacy Center non-profit responsible for and supported by the Legacy Fest.
“There’s a lot of BS going on in the world and the country. You can get sad about it and pout,” Levingston said. “Madam Walker addressed the issue.”
Levingston runs Walk & Talk, historic walking tours allowing participants to literally step into Indianapolis’ Black history. On June 20 he led a group away from the music and crowd of Legacy fest and around the block, stopping at historic centers of the community such as Lockefield Gardens and the former Second Christian Church. On the tour, Levingston spoke about the impact of redlining and zoning restrictions on reducing the neighborhood’s density and businesses. In the Green Book, a travel guide listing businesses safe for Black Americans, most Indianapolis stores listed are on Indiana Avenue. Now the block is mostly residential. A closed convivence store is vacant and the Second Christian Church is a single-family home.
“Imagine if they won’t let people borrow for decades and decades how much wealth that drips out of a community,” Levingston said. “That’s why when you walk around you just see parking lots.”
Julia A. Royston, a Legacy Fest block party vendor, has been publishing books for 18 years. Many of the books she publishes are centered on increasing representation and putting out voices other than traditional publishing houses.
“No matter what season of the world we’re in, there’s still an opportunity for us to tell our story our way,” Royston said.
Lucy Tobier is the politics reporting intern for the Indianapolis Star. She can be reached at lucy.tobier@indystar.com or on X at @TobierLucy
Bloomington South’s Ellie Barada discusses state title win in 800m
Bloomington South senior Ellie Barada secured her second consecutive state title in the 800 meters at the IHSAA girls state track and field meet.
The USATF U20 Championships took place on June 18-19, while Nike Outdoor Nationals ran June 18-22 in Eugene, Oregon.
Some of the top high school track and field athletes, including recent graduates, fared excellent when the lights were the brightest.
Here are the top results from Eugene last week.
Ellie Barada
Barada, a Bloomington South graduate, qualified for U20 Worlds with a second-place finish (2:02.72) in the women’s 800 meter run. She won gold in the mile (4:34.25) at Nike Outdoor Nationals. The North Carolina recruit also ran anchor leg for the winning 4000-meter state distance medley relay team, which combined for a time of 11:36.99.
Noah Bontrager
Bontrager, a Westview graduate and Notre Dame recruit, won the U20 men’s 3000-meter run (8:32.53).
Collin Bumgardner
Bumgardner, an Indiana State recruit and Danville state champion, placed 12th in the boys 200 finals (21.49) and 16th (10.71) in the 100 finals at Nike Outdoor Nationals.
Ellie Cooley
Cooley represented Carmel with a sixth-place finish (129-08) in the girls discus Emerging Elite event at Nike Outdoor Nationals.
Rylan Hainje
Hainje placed first in the prelims of the 110 hurdles (13.44) before he placed third (13.36) in the finals of Nike Outdoor. The Franklin Central grad and Marian recruit suffered a false start in the 110 hurdles of the U20 prelims.
Konrad Hayden
Hayden placed 11th in the boys high jump at Nike Outdoor Nationals. The Fishers graduate recorded a leap of 6 feet, 8.75 inches.
Kallen Hoeft
Hoeft was a member of the mixed 4×400 relay team that finished as runner-up at Nike Outdoor Nationals. The Hamilton Southeastern quartet of Hoeft, Anissa Lammie, Jaxson Wanza and Chloe Senefeld ran a time of 3:30.01.
Lexi Kollbaum
Kollbaum was a member of the winning state distance medley relay team. The Bloomington South junior placed 36th in the 800 and 40th in the mile at Nike Outdoor.
Anissa Lammie
Lammie placed sixth (54.54) in the 400-meter dash at Nike Outdoor Nationals. She was also a part of the mixed 4×400 team that placed second with a time of 3:30.01. The Hamilton Southeastern junior ran the 800 leg for the winning state distance medley relay team.
Kaitlyn Oshimura
Oshimura, a Carmel graduate, placed fourth in the 1 Mile Emerging Elite race with a time of 4:55.64. She also placed 39th in the 800-meter run at Nike Outdoor Nationals.
Jordan Randall
Randall, a two-time high school state champion for Warsaw, placed fourth in the high jump at both U20 (7-01.75) in the men’s event and Nike Outdoor Nationals (7-00.50) in the boys event.
Chloe Senefeld
Senefeld ran the 400 leg for the winning state distance medley relay team in the state category at Nike Outdoor Nationals. The Indiana quartet of Senefeld, Barada, Kollbaum and Lammie took home gold with a time of 11:36.99. She was also a member of the second-place mixed 4×400 team. The Iowa recruit was a national runner-up (59.27) in the 400-meter hurdles. She placed sixth (58.54) in same event at U20.
Kira Smith
Smith was a runner-up in the girls high jump at Nike Outdoor Nationals. She recorded a jump of 5-feet, 10.75 inches.
Jaxson Wanza
Wanza helped Southeastern earn a runner-up finish in the mixed 4×400 relay at Nike Outdoor Nationals.
Marc Ray is a high school sports reporter at the IndyStar. He can be reached at marc.ray@indystar.com , and on X, formerly Twitter, at @themarcszn.
Watch live newscasts, stream breaking coverage, and catch up on the top stories shaping Louisville, Southern Indiana, and communities across the region.
Subscribe for:
• Louisville breaking news + live updates
• Kentucky and Southern Indiana weather forecasts and severe weather alerts
• Investigations and accountability reporting
• Community stories across Kentuckiana
• Major events, sports, and local explainers
WHAS11 — Louisville news and weather, live and on demand.
🔗 More: https://www.whas11.com
-
Lifestyle12 minutes agoWorking hard as ever, Wendell Pierce aims for an annual trifecta: TV, film and theater
-
Education19 minutes agoThe Patriot Housewife Whose Plays Helped Push America Toward Revolution
-
Technology22 minutes agoThe best robot vacuum deals available during Prime Day
-
World27 minutes agoTurkey detains over 200 suspects, including alleged ISIS militants, in sweeping raid ahead of NATO summit
-
Politics34 minutes agoTrump foe wins crucial Dem primary as 2028 presidential speculation swirls
-
Sports42 minutes agoWizards select AJ Dybantsa first overall in 2026 NBA Draft
-
Business52 minutes ago
SpaceX stock returns to Earth after record IPO
-
Entertainment57 minutes agoThis is why the Madonna biopic starring Julia Garner isn’t happening after all
