Indiana Fever Make First Moves in WNBA Free Agency
With the 2026 WNBA Expansion Draft now in the rearview mirror, the focus becomes on free agency. And this is going to be particularly interesting for Indiana Fever fans to follow, given that several of the team's longest-tenured players could have been playing for new teams if the front office didn't feel like it made sense to bring them back.
Superstar guard Kelsey Mitchell has spent her entire WNBA career in Indiana after being the No. 2 pick in the 2018 WNBA Draft and has cemented herself as one of the league's top stars. The Fever had the opportunity to extend a "core" qualifying offer to Mitchell this winter, which would mean that she would remain with the team through at least the 2026 season.
Everybody associated with the Fever has been very clear about how important Mitchell is to their team's success, and offering Mitchell this core qualifying offer seemed like one of the most obvious decisions the team could make. It only felt like a matter of time before news of this offer was extended.
The next decision Indiana's front office had to make was regarding Lexie Hull, whom the team took with the No. 6 pick in the 2022 WNBA Draft. Hull was poised to become a restricted free agent this offseason, giving the Fever the right to match any offer she receives.
Fever Make Initial Decisions on Kelsey Mitchell and Lexie Hull
It appears that things are moving in the right direction for bringing both Mitchell and Hull back. Indiana sports reporter Tony East revealed this with an X post on April 7 that read, "Just in: The Fever have extended a core qualifying offer to star guard Kelsey Mitchell and a restricted qualifying offer to forward Lexie Hull."
Just in: The Fever have extended a core qualifying offer to star guard Kelsey Mitchell and a restricted qualifying offer to forward Lexie Hull.
— Tony East (@TonyREast) April 7, 2026
He followed this up by noting that while he isn't certain about this new CBA, the belief is that the core qualifying offer to Mitchell is a one-year supermax contract, which could theoretically be negotiated to something else from both sides.
Hull's restricted qualifying offer means that while she can still negotiate with other teams in free agency, the Fever can match any offer another team gives her, which would then force her to return to Indiana.
In other words, this news essentially guarantees Hull and Mitchell will be back with the Fever in 2026, which should be great news for everybody involved with the franchise.
Grant Young covers Women’s Basketball, the Indiana Fever and the New York Mets for Sports Illustrated’s ‘On SI’ sites. He holds an MFA degree in creative writing from the University of San Francisco (USF), where he also graduated with a Bachelor’s Degree in Marketing and played on USF’s Division I baseball team for five years. However, he now prefers Angel Reese to Angels in the Outfield.
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