Do not look now, but there are only 6 games remaining on the Indiana Fever’s 2025 regular season calendar. And with a 20-18 record(6th seed) heading into the home stretch, the Fev Show will undoubtedly be a postseason participant for a second consecutive campaign. For a franchise that had been deprived on playoff participation since 2016 prior to last season’s breakthrough, some could be satisfied with this team simply earning another trip to the postseason. However, sky high expectations leading up to the start of the current campaign have put a damper on what has been another quietly successful season for Stephanie White and her team.
This roster has been all caps RAVAGED by the injury report ALL.YEAR. LONG. Caitlin Clark has played in just 13 games. Sophie Cunningham, Aari McDonald and Sydney Colson are each out for the rest of the season. With newcomers sprinkled into the rotation sporadically throughout the year, it has been impossible for this team to establish any sense of steady cohesion together. So long story short, it could truly be a lot worse.
But no matter how optimistic you are about the 2025 Indiana Fever roster, all signs indicate that the Fev Show fanbase should be gearing up for what is in store for the 2026 Indiana Fever roster. Give the core group a full summer together to not only recover from their underlying setbacks but also train together in the gym AND continue bonding together off the court.
The nucleus of this group is strong, but could Amber Cox and her cohorts decide to mix things up? That much is unlikely, but they do have some work to do in cleaning up this team’s composition around the edges. When the dust settles from the impending 2026 WNBA offseason (still a ways away but will be here in no time), here is what the ideal Indiana Fever roster will resemble heading into next season.
STARTERS
PG: Caitlin Clark
SG: Kelsey Mitchell
SF: Lexie Hull
PF: Natasha Howard
C: Aliyah Boston
BENCH
PG: Aari McDonald
SG: Sophie Cunningham
SF: Kia Nurse
PF: Makayla Timpson
C: Stefanie Dolson
G: Tyasha Harris
F: Yarden Garzon
With a pair of new expansion teams joining the W next year, the Fever will need to select 6 players to protect from the possibility of being claimed by either Portland or Toronto. Pinpointing which group to secure should be no problem for the front office: Clark, Mitchell, Hull, Howard, Boston and Cunningham (who solidified her long-term spot with this squad after her infamous scrap with Jacy Sheldon earlier in the SZN). Clark, Mitchell and Boston are the long-term cornerstones of this franchise. Howard’s veteran presence has been far more impactful at the starting 4 spot than NaLyssa Smith ever was, and her size makes her interchangeable between the 4 + 5 spots. Hull and Cunningham are virtually the same player, and that is a player who wreaks havoc on the defensive end from the point-of-attack while splashing catch and shoot jumpers from the outside.
Odyssey Sims (fresh off dropping 22 points x 6 assists on Seattle yesterday) assuredly has a case for retainment, and Indiana would certainly be happy to have her back piloting the bench unit in 2026. However, the team’s initial southpaw point guard reinforcement is 6 years younger than her veteran doppelgänger. She is also a more serviceable pest on the defensive side, and could cement herself as Clark’s backup for years to come. Makayla Timpson has shown flashes of brilliance as a rookie, and the Florida State product aint going nowhere no time soon. You can see the defensive demon within her just waiting to be unleashed, and having Brianna Turner on the bench next to her/at practice beside her all year long has worked wonders in fortifying her defensive dominance.
That leaves four spots to fill, and the logic behind who fills each void is simple. Starting with April’s 2026 WNBA draft, the Fever should be selecting somewhere within the 8-10 range. While they will have an abundance of options to consider, they should have their sights set on Maryland’s Yarden Garzon. The buzz surrounding her name during her time in Bloomington was faint, but her skillset makes noise. She has the size x versatility to play anywhere from 2-4, and could feasibly take on certain matchups at the 5 if Stephanie White wanted to get weird and experiment with small-ball units. Nonetheless, she is the type of player who can fit herself into any system. And she shoots the absolutely lights out (42.6% from deep on 5.3 attempts/game across 3 seasons at IU).
BRING YARDY HOME!
Both Kia Nurse and Stefanie Dolson bring veteran leadership to the locker room while providing their own respective contributions on the court. Nurse is a 3&D wing who can be trusted to bring defensive energy and not force anything offensively. Dolson has evolved into a dangerous outside shooting threat from the center position, and could be a potential upgrade from Damiris Dantas off the pine. And then there is Tyasha Harris, a 5’10” combo guard + career 38.5% shooter from deep who would inject an ancillary source of injury insurance in the backcourt.
What do you think, ¿would this potential 2026 Indiana Fever roster have what it takes to win a chip?
