Former Ohio State guard Taylor Mikesell’s dreams became reality on Monday evening when she was taken with the No. 13 overall pick by the Indiana Fever in the 2023 WNBA Draft
“It’s going to be incredible,” Mikesell said on ESPN’s broadcast after being drafted. “I’m just excited to get to work, be around a ton of incredibly talented players and go ahead and try and be a good addition to the team.”
Mikesell joins a struggling Fever squad that has missed the playoffs in each of the last six seasons and has not finished with a winning record since 2015. The Fever also drafted South Carolina’s Aliyah Boston with the No. 1 overall pick as well as Indiana’s Grace Berger (No. 7) and LSU’s LaDazhia Williams in the second round.
While the Fever have struggled as a whole, they do have a star in guard Kelsey Mitchell, another former Buckeye who is entering her sixth season with the team. Mitchell hit a career-high last season in points per game (18.4) and three-point shooting (40.9 percent) and will be a leader for the new draftees.
“Very excited to play with her and just to get to pick her brain a little bit about the league and just her journey through the W,” Mikesell said. “I got to talk to her a little bit earlier today, and she gave me some advice and told me just to enjoy the moment and just keep being me.”
Mitchell had previously said she would welcome the addition of any former Buckeyes to the Fever’s roster through the draft, and the hope is now that Mikesell will crack the Fever’s opening-day roster to make it two former Ohio State players taking the court.
“Man, that would be great,” Mitchell said in January. “I’m a Buckeye for life, so I’m an advocate for any athlete that comes from Ohio State University. I’m an advocate to see one of our own be in that draft.”
Mitchell will provide some Buckeye companionship, but Mikesell – a native of Massillon, Ohio – won’t have to go far from home to play at the professional level, as the Fever are by far the closest WNBA team to her hometown.
“My hometown and home has meant a lot to me,” she said. “Just being close to home with Ohio State has meant so much to have my family in my backyard. I’m excited to be that close to home and have my family ties.”