Sophie Cunningham returns to Fever alongside Kelsey Mitchell, Lexie Hull

The Indiana Fever have been hard at work keeping their core players together during the 2026 offseason. Indiana brought back Kelsey Mitchell on a supermax contract and inked Lexie Hull to a multi-year extension during WNBA free agency. Now the Fever have agreed to bring back another player who has great chemistry with superstar Caitlin Clark.

Fever guard Sophie Cunningham has agreed to a new one-year deal in Indiana, per ESPN’s Alexa Philippou.

Indiana originally acquired Cunningham from Phoenix as part of last offseason’s massive trade involving Satou Sabally.

Cunningham immediately became an important contributor coming off the bench for Indiana. She averaged 8.6 points, 3.5 rebounds, 1.2 assists, and one steal per game during the regular season.

Philippou explained that it should be no surprise that Cunningham only signed a one-year deal. Clark received a big salary increase that makes Indiana’s salary cap situation pretty tight.

“Not shocking to see Indiana dealing out one-year deals (Kelsey Mitchell too). Remember, Caitlin Clark can get a big salary bump next year under the new EPIC provision (Aliyah Boston is eligible for it this year). Fever would have to do some retooling to fit everyone under the cap,” Philippou added.

There is still a chance that Cunningham will sign a long-term extension with the Fever in the future. For now, both sides can assess the situation during the 2026 season.

The Fever have done more than simply retain their core players during WNBA free agency. Indiana signed guard Tyasha Harris and brought in veteran forward Monique Billings to add depth on the bench.

It will be interesting to see if the Fever make any additional free agency moves before the 2026 WNBA Draft on Monday.

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