INDIANAPOLIS — Makayla Timpson was greeting the crowd at the Indiana Fever 2026 WNBA Draft watch party on Sunday when she began to talk about her career to this point. She’s heading into Year 2 and thinks time has flown by. She concluded her thoughts with a line that she could only drop one more time.
“I’m still the baby rook in the locker room,” she said through a laugh in the entry pavilion of Gainbridge Fieldhouse. At that exact moment, she was still the baby of her team. In less than an hour, though, she would graduate from that role as the Fever would draft three new players.
Indiana held picks 10, 25, and 40 — one in each round. They had no obvious needs at a particular position heading into the draft, so any position was on the table outside of perhaps another interior-focused frontcourt player. “10 is an interesting place to pick. You do have to think about fit,” general manager Amber Cox described. “You’re also kind of at the mercy of everybody picking before you.”
After nine selections, a player that Cox believed would go in the top half of the first round was still available: South Carolina guard Raven Johnson. The Indiana Fever called in the pick and added another Gamecock to the roster.
“They have other women (beyond Aliyah Boston) on that team that’s phenomenal women on and off the court,” Johnson said of her new team just after being drafted. “I think… That’s why they’re so good. That’s why they win a lot.”
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Johnson is a defensive pest who played over 150 games at South Carolina under head coach Dawn Staley. She won two national titles, slowly added a three-point shot to her game, and possesses important intangibles at the point guard position. Fever head coach Stephanie White loves that she’s a winner — Johnson lost just 11 games during her five-year collegiate career.
She averaged 9.9 points and 5.1 assists per game in her final NCAA season across 40 games. Now, she heads to the pros via Indiana, where she will be reunited with Boston. They were teammates for two seasons.
“She’s immediately ready on the defensive end of the floor, which is something that we need,” White said.
The Fever went with a guard using their top draft pick, and while they could have picked any number of roles and players, they could use depth at the ball-handling spots. Caitlin Clark and Kelsey Mitchell will soak up a majority of the minutes, but Tyasha Harris was the only other guard on the roster entering draft night. Adding another player into that mix is logical, even if there isn’t a big role available right away — if anything, Indiana needs more depth in the backcourt after injuries impacted the 2025 season for Clark and Mitchell.
Clark played in 13 games before ankle and groin injuries ended her season early. Mitchell suffered rhabdomyolysis. “I think it just happened [due] to over-usage,” Mitchell said at her 2025 exit interview. “I never played that long [into a season].”
If two All-WNBA talents in the backcourt deal with health issues in the same season, you do something about it. The Fever did, and it goes beyond their selection of Johnson. Those ailments were a shrugged-off, yet clear, topic on draft night in Indianapolis.
“We’re not speaking those into existence anymore,” White said of injuries before discussing the backcourt more generally.
“What injuries? We’re putting all that behind us. We’re not thinking about any of that,” Cox joked when asked the same question before providing a more direct answer. “You know, you think about it for sure.”
The Fever picked a guard in the third round, too, selecting Alabama’s Jessica Timmons with their third-round selection. In between, they added a frontcourt player, but one who provides different skills than their already-rostered players. Vanderbilt’s Justine Pissott was added at No. 25, a stretch forward who canned almost 42% of her three-point shots in her final two collegiate seasons. Timmons and Pissott will fight for roster spots, but could be natural candidates for the new developmental roster spots, pending training camp and preseason showings.
Before those three selections were made, the Indiana Fever were also involved in the league’s busy free agency period. After the expansion draft took away two of the team’s free agency options, they had to decide what players to keep and add, around the only players under contract at the start of free agency: Clark, Timpson, and Aliyah Boston.
Some returns were natural and obvious. Lexie Hull was sent into restricted free agency thanks to a qualifying offer, and she’s returning to the team on what sources confirmed to The IX Sports is a multi-year deal. Her shooting and defense pair very well with Boston and Clark.
Mitchell was another clear choice for a return, especially after she was sent a core qualifying offer by the Fever early in free agency. She, too, is staying with Indiana, though her deal is for one year at the supermax, The IX Sports has learned.
Mitchell and Clark have been a terrific pairing together across their two seasons manning the Fever backcourt. Last season, for example, Indiana had a +12.4 net rating when the two shared the court, per pbpstats. Keeping that duo together was a must.
“Our first priority is to sign Kelsey Mitchell back. [She] was first-team all-WNBA last year. Kind of my running mate in the backcourt; she makes it real easy for me,” Clark said. “We’ve got a great squad, a great coach, a great support staff, so it’s super exciting.”
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Damiris Dantas and Sophie Cunningham, two shooters at their position, were also retained. Cunningham shot the ball well for the Fever last season and is a great style fit, while Dantas has been a quality reserve in the frontcourt for the last few seasons. Those two being in the fold means the Indiana Fever will have at least seven players from the 2025 squad back for the coming season, so more than half of the roster will be the same. And free agency isn’t over yet.
In terms of external additions, the Fever have added a trio of players so far. Their first and most talented addition was Monique Billings, who The IX Sports has learned the Fever have signed to a two-year pact. She’s a solid frontcourt player who has a chance to start next to Boston at the four. “Billings… really fits our style and the way that we want to play,” Cox said of the eight-year veteran. Billings played alongside Clark during World Cup Qualifying play with Team USA back in March.
Myisha Hines-Allen is also headed to Indiana. Her physicality will be a boon for the Fever, and her passing from the post excites the front office — White has experience with post facilitators both with Boston and during her time guiding the Connecticut Suns. Boston, Billings, Dantas, Hines-Allen, Timpson, and Pissott is a deep frontcourt filled with many different skillsets. The Fever have depth there and may not have to go small much this season, though they may still have to if they want more shooting on the floor.
The final noteworthy addition for the Fever is Tyasha Harris, an Indiana native who played for White in Connecticut. She’s a pesky defender who can play both on and off the ball, making her an ideal backup behind Mitchell or Clark — and she could easily play with either one. She’ll be a great watch-and-learn piece for Johnson. Importantly, she also adds depth to the guard room, and that’s something the Fever wanted to do after injuries last year.
Megan McConnell and Kayana Traylor joined on training camp contracts. In total, the Indiana Fever have 15 players in their orbit and could bring three more to camp. They could use another wing and/or a sage veteran, but they don’t need to rush into anything now. Most of their rotation feels set.
It was a chaotic week for the franchise and for every team that was scrambling after free agency. However, the Fever are happy with how it has all played out so far. “We’re just excited about the versatility of this roster,” Cox said. “But also the continuity of so many key pieces coming back and having that group with this coaching staff for a second season.”
