Former Ohio State guard Taylor Mikesell was waived by the Indiana Fever on Wednesday ahead of the team’s season opener on Friday.
Mikesell was selected by the Fever with the No. 13 overall pick (first in the second round) of the 2023 WNBA Draft. She reportedly had a strong preseason camp with the team, but after playing in 14 minutes in the Fever’s first preseason game, Mikesell did not play in their preseason finale on Saturday.
Mikesell is one of several players cut in recent weeks by the Fever, including Destanni Henderson and LaDazhia Williams, to get down to the WNBA’s mandated 12-person rosters.
She was drafted to the Fever after two standout seasons at Ohio State, finishing her career with the Buckeyes with 1,215 points. She has the fourth-most three-point field goals in team history with 230 and her 44.2 percent three-point shooting is second all-time behind Cheryl Perozek (45.8 percent). She also tied a single-game program record earlier this season for the most makes from three without a miss, going 6 of 6 from deep in a win over Minnesota on Feb. 8.
Small rosters in the WNBA, at least relative to their NBA counterparts, have led to several surprising cuts in recent weeks. The Fever had previously cut Emily Engstler, last year’s No. 4 overall pick, and the Dallas Wings have already cut Abby Meyers, who the team selected with the No. 11 pick in this year’s draft.
With only 12 teams and 12 roster spots per squad, there are a number of talented players not among the 144 that will be on rosters to begin the season, so Mikesell will hope to catch on with another squad as the season progresses.
