Caitlin Clark began her WNBA career alongside Kelsey Mitchell with the Indiana Fever, and she's made it clear she wants to continue that way. However, things aren't always as cut-and-dry as you'd hope, and Mitchell's impending WNBA free agency is filled with question marks about the possibility of a return to the Fever.
Mitchell, 30, is a four-time WNBA All-Star, earning the nod in each of the past four seasons and being named All-WNBA First Team in 2025. She also set a new WNBA record with 27 consecutive games scoring 20 or more points this season, surpassing A'ja Wilson's mark. To put it bluntly, Mitchell will be a popular name when free agency rolls around.
Even so, Clark is prepared to recruit Mitchell to re-sign with the Fever and praised
her teammate while discussing the topic, as Richard Deitsch of Sports Media Podcast revealed.
"She knows how much I love her," Clark said of Mitchell. "….And there's nobody I'd want to spend the backcourt more with…We're going to recruit her as much as we can. She's just a good soul."
Clark's recruitment should at least help the Fever remain in the mix to re-sign Mitchell, but it's anyone's guess how things will play out. Mitchell previously spoke about the need to "be selfish" in free agency, calling these decisions "hard," as ESPN's Kareem Copeland highlighted.
Mitchell has spent her entire nine-year WNBA career with the Fever, averaging 18.4 points and 2.9 assists per game. She's averaged 17.8 points per game or more in every season since 2020, her third in the WNBA. It'll now be a waiting game to see how free agency transpires and what Mitchell's future looks like. Unfortunately, negotiations with players won't begin until February 4, 2027, so Fever fans and Clark alike may have to wait a bit for anything concrete about the All-Star guard.
This article originally appeared on For The Win: Caitlin Clark makes feelings on Kelsey Mitchell free agency very clear
