Indiana Fever Rising: Core Designation and New Practice Facility
The Indiana Fever are making big moves this offseason. This includes hiring new Fever head coach Stephanie White, and more recently, coring unrestricted free agent Kelsey Mitchell. The Fever also announced the development of a new state-of-the-art training facility for the Fever, which plans to open in 2027. These recent decisions are sure to set up the Fever for success next season and attract new teammates via free agency and trades.
Using a core designation on Kelsey Mitchell, who is an unrestricted free agent this offseason, was a no-brainer for the Indiana Fever. This automatically gives Mitchell a one-year fully guaranteed contract at the league’s maximum salary; however, she still has the freedom to explore options with other teams. Guard Kelsey Mitchell had the spotlight on her last year as a near-perfect piece alongside point-guard Caitlin Clark and forward Aliyah Boston. Mitchell is a stellar shooter and provides great off-ball movement and scoring that fits extremely well with Clark’s passing prowess. She tied Clark in scoring amongst the Fever with 19.2 points per game in the 2024 season. Now, it’s up to the Fever and Mitchell herself to keep her at the rising Indiana WNBA franchise.
Pacers Sports and Entertainment also announced yesterday its $78 million investment into the 108,000-square-foot Indiana Fever Performance Center. The Fever will continue playing games at Gainbridge Fieldhouse, which they share with the Indiana Pacers, but will have their own facilities for practice and player development. The building will contain amenities such as a childcare space, hair and nail studio, yoga and pilates studio, and content-creating space, to name a few. It will also contain two basketball courts. Alongside the Fever’s updated facilities stands the Fever’s updated coaching staff. The Fever fired head coach Christie Sides and hired Stephanie White, who recently coached the Connecticut Sun. White herself played in the WNBA with the Fever from 2000 to 2004 and was an assistant coach for the team from 2011 to 2016; she boasts a plethora of coaching experience on both collegiate and professional levels. In 2023, she also won WNBA Coach of the Year. Coach Stephanie White’s accolades speak for themselves, and her wealth of experience will surely help the young Fever team take their game to the next level.
In what areas should the Indiana Fever continue to grow? The Fever need to set their sights on acquiring elite forwards with great defensive instincts to play alongside Aliyah Boston. They also need to land more guards that could serve as second-string to their current lineup, which currently lacks depth and doesn’t provide Clark or Mitchell much rest during games. The Fever also need good perimeter defenders, which is a role that Lexie Hull currently fills, but she can’t be the only one. Overall, the Indiana Fever have a good foundation established but needs those additional gaps to be filled to become a championship-caliber team. It will definitely be interesting to see the moves they make during this offseason and what the team will look like come next season.
