The first official element of the WNBA’s rapid-fire offseason has concluded, with the April 3 expansion draft for the Portland Fire and Toronto Tempo in the books. As a result, the Indiana Fever can now turn its attention to the swiftly approaching free agency period and 2026 WNBA draft.
With the Fever vulnerable to losing players in the expansion draft, who did the franchise choose to protect, and which players were selected by the Fire and Tempo?
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In short, the Fever saw two players depart as a result of the expansion draft, with the Toronto Tempo selecting Kristy Wallace and the Portland Fire selecting Chloe Bibby from its unprotected list on Friday afternoon.
To reiterate the rules on protected players from the expansion draft, each of the 13 existing teams could protect only five players. While the protection lists were not made public, the Tempo and Fire’s selections mean the Fever likely protected Caitlin Clark, Aliyah Boston, restricted free agent Lexie Hull, unrestricted free agent with core eligibility Kelsey Mitchell, and Makayla Timpson.
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With that said, they will now enter free agency with rights to five players, including Clark, Boston, and Timpson. Obviously, submitting qualifying offers to Mitchell and Hull will be the franchise’s highest priority before it begins negotiating with pending free agents such as Sophie Cunningham and Aari McDonald on April 9.
With the 2026 WNBA draft occurring on Monday, April 13, and training camp beginning on April 19, the next 16 days will certainly be pivotal throughout the league.
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This article originally appeared on Hawkeyes Wire: Which players did Indiana Fever lose in WNBA expansion draft?
