One of its star players is leaving, but the fledgling Upshot League is still celebrating.
The Indiana Fever on Friday, July 31 announced the signing Michelle Onyiah to a developmental roster spot, making her the first player in the short history of the Upshot League to successfully land a WNBA contract after starring in the developmental league.
Onyiah — a product of Cal where she led the ACC in field goal percentage with a 60.3% clip in the 2024-25 season — had been playing for the Charlotte Crown, one of the four teams in the Upshot League’s inaugural season. The 6-foot-3 forward was averaging 9.6 points, 6.9 rebounds and a league-best 1.1 blocks per game across 21 contests.
“Michelle earned this opportunity through her relentless work ethic,
consistency and commitment to getting better every day,” Charlotte Crown coach Trisha Stafford-Odom said in a statement. “She made a tremendous impact on our team, and we’re excited to see her continue her professional career in the WNBA.”
Before signing with the Crown in the Upshot League, Onyiah played professionally in Belgium and spent time in training camp with the New York Liberty.
It is the goal of the Upshot League to provide players like Onyiah — who often get squeezed out of opportunities in the WNBA because of small roster sizes — an opportunity to keep playing and developing without having to go overseas during the summer. Spearheading the Upshot League is Donna Orender, who previously served as the president of the WNBA from 2005 to 2010. Before its season started, Orender said she viewed the Upshot as a “natural addition to the overall basketball ecosystem.”
Unlike the NBA's G-League, the WNBA doesn’t have its own developmental league. The hope is that the Upshot can provide players with a similar opportunity. This season, the league has teams based in Charlotte and Greensboro, North Carolina; Savannah, Georgia; and Jacksonville, Florida. Two more teams in Nashville, Tennessee and Baltimore, Maryland will be added next year.
“Michelle’s signing is an extraordinary achievement and an exciting moment for the entire Upshot League,” Orender said in a statement. “We are incredibly proud of Michelle. Her achievement reflects her hard work and determination, the exceptional level of talent competing in our league and the opportunities that can emerge when players have a professional platform on which to compete, grow and be seen.”
Onyiah will wear No. 1 for the Fever, who are 18-10 and fifth in the WNBA standings.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Indiana Fever sign Michelle Onyiah, first from Upshot League to play in WNBA
