Overview
- The Indiana Fever announced on Friday that they signed 6-foot-3 forward Michelle Onyiah to a developmental roster spot, making her the first player from the Upshot League to join a WNBA roster.
- Onyiah joins Bree Hall as one of the Fever’s two developmental players and will be eligible to practice, travel with the team, and be activated for a limited number of games.
- Onyiah starred for the Charlotte Crown in Upshot’s inaugural season, averaging 9.6 points, 6.9 rebounds and 1.1 blocks in 21 games after earlier pro experience in Belgium and a New York Liberty training-camp cut.
- The Fever used a developmental slot to add frontcourt cover while All-Star Aliyah Boston deals with a lower-leg injury and after the team left a standard roster spot open following Justine Pissott’s departure to Las Vegas.
- Upshot launched this summer with four teams to give U.S.-based players a domestic alternative to going overseas and plans expansion to Nashville and Baltimore next year, a structure that Onyiah’s signing now validates as a pathway to the WNBA.