INDIANAPOLIS – The Indiana Fever selected 5-9 scoring guard Tiffany Mitchell with the ninth pick in the 2015 WNBA Draft presented by State Farm. Indiana chose Maryland point guard Brene Moseley in the second round (21st overall) and Belgian point guard Julie Allemand in the third round (33rd overall).
A shooting guard who helped South Carolina rise to national prominence in recent years, Mitchell was a two-time SEC Player of the Year and a three-time All-American while playing for former WNBA star Dawn Staley. In the eyes of Fever President and General Manager Kelly Krauskopf, she’s pro ready.
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“Everything about Tiffany Mitchell is pro-ready,” said Krauskopf. “She’s got a lot of attributes I have been looking for. She was very high on her list in terms of her work ethic and the way she approaches the game.”
“For a team that went to Game 5 of the WNBA Finals,” added Krauskopf of the Fever, “for us to add a player like Tiffany Mitchell, I’m thrilled.”
Mitchell and the Gamecocks appeared destined for a return trip to the Final Four last month, but an upset loss to Syracuse in the NCAA Sweet Sixteen ended a 33-2 season. Mitchell averaged 14.9 points and 2.6 assists per game as a senior, shooting 41 percent overall and 33 percent from 3-point range. As a junior, she averaged 14.4 points and 2.8 assists while shooting 50 percent overall and 42 percent beyond the arc.
A native of Charlotte, N.C., who once hung Staley’s Charlotte Sting jersey on her wall, Mitchell was named the most outstanding collegiate guard in the country as a junior, earning the award that bears Staley’s name. She is the first South Carolina player ever to be drafted by the Fever.
Moseley helped Maryland to a 31-4 record, winning the Big Ten Conference Tournament at Bankers Life Fieldhouse, before the Terrapins fell in an NCAA second-round upset to Washington. The 5-8 guard averaged 11.6 points and 5.9 assists off the bench. She was named the Big Ten’s Sixth Player of the Year. Moseley hopes to join a Fever roster that already includes Maryland alums Marissa Coleman and Lynetta Kizer.
Said Krauskopf, “Maryland had a very deep team. She’s a good distributor. She gets into the paint and pushes the tempo. We thought she was the best player for us at that point of the draft.”
Allemand, just 19 years old, plays professionally in Belgium and is on the Belgian National Team. The Fever will retain her rights.
WNBA training camps begin Sunday, April 24.