Expect new faces on the Indiana Fever roster next season

State of play: Because the current collective bargaining agreement expires at the end of the 2025 season, many players took one-year contracts and extensions in order to capitalize on a new (and, they hope, more lucrative) CBA.

• That means there are going to be more free agents than usual in 2026.
• Plus: An expansion draft for new Portland and Toronto teams will complicate the roster-building even further.

How it works: WNBA teams can have a minimum of 11 and a maximum of 12 players on their rosters.

The intrigue: The Fever used 18 players throughout the season and entered the WNBA semifinals down six players to injury — including star Caitlin Clark.

Zoom in: Clark is one of just three Fever players under contract for next season. Aaliyah Boston and Makayla Timpson are the others — all three on their rookie contracts.

• Lexie Hull, whom the Fever relied on heavily down the stretch, is a restricted free agent, giving the Fever the right of first refusal.
• "I built a life here, and I love this franchise," Hull said during her exit interview Thursday. "I love the people and the fans, so we'll see what comes."

What they're saying: The Fever hope to keep many of the current players, chief operating officer and general manager Amber Cox said during exit interviews Thursday, but there's one in particular she's focused on.

• "The priority will be Kelsey Mitchell and making sure she remains in a Fever jersey," Cox said.
• If the new CBA retains the core player designation, the Fever could continue to use that on Mitchell, giving them exclusive rights to negotiate with her for a one-year supermax contract, meaning the highest possible salary.

The other side: Mitchell called Indy her "second family" and said she has "so much love and so much aspiration for this place."

• Yes, but: Mitchell stopped short of saying she wanted to return next season. She said she's focusing on the needs of her family in the wake of her father's unexpected death last year.

• "Family is big for me," she said during her exit interview. "And so I think talking to them and figuring out what's best for us … is always going to be important."

Between the lines: That leaves uncertainty for other key players, including starter Natasha Howard and difference-maker Odyssey Sims, who was first brought in on a hardship waiver in August and then signed for the rest of the season, and injured players including Aari McDonald and Sophie Cunningham.

• Cunningham, who suffered an MCL injury, said she "can't not look at other opportunities" but hopes to stay with the Fever.
• "I have loved being here, and I don't think that's news to anybody," she said during her exit interview. "I've been in the league for seven years, and I've never been a part of a team like this. … When you've been through this type of season together, when you're invested in each other's lives outside of basketball, of course, you want to come back."

The bottom line: Fever fans got a crash course this season in embracing new faces, and they'll likely be doing more of it next year.