Stephanie White Shares What Fever Seek in Potential Hardship Player Add Amid Injuries
Despite the WNBA regular season having only started about two weeks ago, the Indiana Fever have been hit hard when it comes to injuries.
This started when Sophie Cunningham had to miss the team's first two games because of an ankle injury she suffered during the Fever's final preseason contest. Then, on May 26, news broke that Caitlin Clark suffered a left quad strain and would be sidelined for the next two weeks.
Then two more injuries arrived during the team's May 29 defeat to the Connecticut Sun, the first being a leg injury to Sydney Colson, and then Sophie Cunningham also got hurt once again. Therefore, the Fever are extremely injury-plagued at the guard position right now.
With these three current injuries, the Fever will likely become eligible to add a player under an emergency hardship contract.
And head coach Stephanie White addressed what her team is looking for when deciding which type of player they would like to sign when speaking with the media on June 1.
"I think best player available at that position who can add value on both sides of the floor," White said when asked how the Fever will decide who to sign, per an X post from Chloe Peterson of IndyStar. "Certainly, we need to have someone who can add value on the defensive end, we've gotta have somebody who can navigate and help us get into offense, handle the ball.
"The goal would be to get everybody back to their natural positions if we can. But at the same time, we can't control everything, so we'll get the best player that we can get," White continued.
She also added that she hopes to have a player signed before the team's June 3 game against the Washington Mystics.
Steph White is hoping to find the “best player available” over someone who would necessarily have some experience in the system.
— Chloe Peterson (@chloepeterson67) June 1, 2025
She also talks about simplifying and getting into a rhythm: https://t.co/UmLZ78bitq pic.twitter.com/a1PTzFWivt
This will be a fascinating story to follow in the coming days.
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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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