Will Kelsey Mitchell return to Indiana Fever as WNBA free agent?

A new collective bargaining agreement could change the terms for which the Indiana Fever could bring Kelsey Mitchell back.Mitchell was drafted by the Fever and her eighth season was her best, becoming a WNBA MVP finalist.Mitchell called Indiana her second home. Here’s what she values as she heads into free agency.

INDIANAPOLIS — Fever star Kelsey Mitchell is keeping her options open for the 2026 season.

That is if there is a 2026 season, she joked.

The players’ union could be headed toward a lockout, depending on how negotiations go between the WNBPA and the league for a new collective bargaining agreement. The CBA expires Oct. 31, and multiple players have expressed the two sides are far apart in negotiations. 

“I hope we got a league,” Mitchell said with a laugh when asked about free agency. “I hope that when it’s all said and done, we can have a season, period, for all the girls of every person that has aspirations to be in the league and being a W, I think for one, that’s the start. Being on the same page for that, kind of just making sure you have a league to start, no matter what happens. Having a league is kind of big for us.”

But when the dust settles on a new CBA, whenever that may be, Mitchell is going to take her time on deciding what’s best for her in 2026, thinking about her family at every step.

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Mitchell lost her father, Mark, unexpectedly in March 2024, and that’s changed how she thinks about her career. Her family, and what’s best for them, is a priority for her at every step.

“Losing a parent is a big shift,” Mitchell said. “I take in consideration how my mom feels now, I take in consideration how my siblings and, you know, my immediate family, my dad’s mom is still alive, my grandmother, and so that’s big for me. Family is big for me. So I think talking to them and figuring out what’s best for us and for what I need internally is always going to be important.”

Mitchell has spent her entire eight-year WNBA career with the Fever, and it’s just two hours from her hometown in Cincinnati. She has seen the lows and the highs of the Fever, going from a seven-year streak of missing the playoffs to two straight postseason berths with a WNBA semifinals berth.

Mitchell took on a heavier load this season, especially with Caitlin Clark only available for 13 games. And she delivered with an MVP finalist-caliber season and franchise-record 20.2 points per game. 

She was an unrestricted free agent for the first time ahead of the 2025 season, but Indiana sent her a core qualifying offer — a one-year supermax deal worth around $250,000 in exchange for exclusive negotiating rights. She signed the offer as is, making her an unrestricted free agent again this offseason.

Players have two years of core service, as dictated by the CBA, so the Fever could core Mitchell again. That could also change in the new CBA — the last CBA negotiations in 2020 dropped the core service requirement from three years to two.

In a time of a lot of change, Mitchell has to think of herself. But she also recognizes her strong ties to Indianapolis.

“Eight years is gonna be a lot to talk about, because I have so much love and so much aspiration for this place,” Mitchell said. “And I think when the time is right, the conversations will be had. Indy is like my second family, and everything I’ve been through the last eight years. I don’t think there’s any other place that was greater for me, the growth and all that. So I think the right conversations will be had, and when it’s time, I guess we’ll all know.”

Chloe Peterson is the Indiana Fever beat reporter for IndyStar. Reach her at capeterson@gannett.com or follow her on X at @chloepeterson67. Get IndyStar’s Indiana Fever and Caitlin Clark coverage sent directly to your inbox with our Caitlin Clark Fever newsletter. Subscribe to IndyStar’s YouTube channel for Fever Insiders Live.