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Mackenzie Holmes is officially a part of the Seattle Storm. The franchise announced Thursday that it had signed the Indiana women’s basketball leading scorer to a rookie-scale contract.
After an illustrious career at IU that included becoming the franchise’s first first-team All-American, the Storm drafted Holmes with the No. 26 pick in the 2024 WNBA Draft. But she sat out the entire WNBA season last year after undergoing a procedure on her knee.
She could have re-entered the draft in 2025, as she did not play any professional basketball for a full season after she was first drafted, but that is uncommon for players to do. Her rookie scale contract with the Storm is for three years and a fourth-year team option. As a third-round pick, Holmes will earn $66,079 in her first season in 2025.
Holmes had dealt with knee issues throughout her high school and collegiate career, and she had small procedures throughout her time at IU in order to get through the seasons. But the issue kept recurring, so she opted to have a major knee surgery to fully fix the issue.
The procedure kept her out of the 2024 WNBA season, but it should make it so her knee will not be a major issue in her basketball career going forward. She ended up staying in Bloomington as a graduate manager for the 2024-25 college season, working with the posts and helping with team operations.
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