INDIANAPOLIS – Following the selection of Kysre Gondrezick with the No. 4 overall pick in the 2021 WNBA Draft, the Indiana Fever added six more draft picks on Thursday night, which is the most players selected in a single draft (7) in franchise history.
The Fever completed a trade with the Seattle Storm for the No. 11 pick, guard Aaliyah Wilson from Texas A&M, in exchange for forward Kennedy Burke. Wilson averaged 8.6 points, 4.2 rebounds, 1.9 assists, 1.2 steals and 24.3 minutes per contest while starting 46 of 93 career games played at Texas A&M and Arkansas.
The 5-foot-11 guard from Mukogee, Oklahoma transferred from Arkansas after her freshman season in 2016-17 to College Station. Wilson started the first nine games of her redshirt sophomore season with the Aggies, but suffered an ACL injury sidelining her for the rest of the year.
With the 19th pick, the Fever selected Unique Thompson from Auburn. The 6-foot-3 forward from Theodore, Alabama started all 109 games played for the Tigers from 2017-21 and averaged 14.1 points, 10.6 rebounds, 1.3 blocks and 31.4 minutes per game. Thompson passed DeWanna Bonner to become Auburn’s all-time leading rebounder in program history with 1,156.
The Fever rounded out the third round with the 24th pick taking forward Trinity Baptiste. The Tampa, Florida native played her final collegiate season at Arizona after playing two years at Virginia Tech from 2018-20. Prior to playing for the Hokies, Baptiste played one season at Northwest Florida State College at the Junior College level. In her three years of Division I playing experience, Baptiste averaged 9.6 points, 6.7 rebounds, 1.2 assists and 25.6 minutes per contest while starting 53 of 91 games played. Baptiste was the leading rebounder for the Arizona Wildcats this season helping her team advance to the national championship game.
With the 26th pick, the Fever selected forward Chelsey Perry from UT Martin. Perry concluded her college career as the program’s all-time leader with 228 career blocks, third all-time in scoring with 1,963 points, fourth in career field goals made with 733, fourth with 768 career rebounds and also tied for fifth with Pat Summitt for career free throws made with 368. She was a two-time Player of the Year in the Ohio Valley Conference. Perry is the first player in UT Martin history to be taken in the WNBA Draft while ranking as the highest selection in OVC history.
The Fever selected 5-foot-10 guard Florencia Chagas from Argentina with the 31st pick. In 25 games with Empoli (Italy) this season, Chagas has averaged 9.4 points, 3.1 rebounds, 1.6 assists and 23.6 minutes per game.
To conclude this year’s draft at No. 33, the Fever selected Maya Caldwell from Georgia. The 5-foot-11 guard was named to the SEC All-Tournament Team in 2021 and graduated ahead of her senior season with a degree in communication studies. Caldwell averaged 8.3 points, 3.6 rebounds, 1.9 assists and 23.8 minutes per game as a senior this season.