Florida State Professional Athletes

Florida State's footprint in the WNBA had a clear focal point this week: Makayla Timpson, who turned heads across the league with a standout sophomore campaign for the Indiana Fever.

Timpson Earns Her Flowers — From All Corners

The praise has been loud and it's coming from everywhere. Caitlin Clark and Sophie Cunningham made a point to publicly celebrate the FSU product after her second season with Indiana, with both teammates making clear how much Timpson's growth meant to the Fever locker room. That kind of vocal endorsement from Clark — arguably the most visible player in the WNBA right now — is no small thing for a young big working to carve out her place in the league.

It didn't stop there. Aliyah Boston and Kelsey Mitchell added their own tributes, underscoring just how universally respected Timpson has become within the Fever organization. When four of your teammates are independently sounding off about your development, the message is hard to miss: Timpson is no longer a project. She's a piece.

The leap from Year 1 to Year 2 is the most important jump a WNBA player can make, and Timpson appears to have made it convincingly.

A Nod to a Fellow 'Nole

In the middle of her own breakout moment, Timpson took time to reach out publicly to another Florida State alumna with ties to the Fever: Natasha Howard, now with the Minnesota Lynx. The social media exchange — Timpson sending a message to her former Indiana teammate — was a small but telling moment, a reminder that FSU's WNBA network runs deeper than any single roster.

Howard's career has taken her across the league, but her connection to Timpson clearly didn't end when their time together in Indiana did.

The Bigger Picture for FSU

Four Seminoles are active in the WNBA right now — Timpson in Indiana, Howard in Minnesota, Ta'Niya Latson with Las Vegas, and Maria Conde with Seattle — but it's Timpson who commanded the narrative this week. Her breakout offers FSU fans a genuine headliner to follow as the league's offseason conversation heats up.

For a program that has steadily developed WNBA talent, having Timpson emerge as a credible contributor — and one praised in those terms by Clark, Boston, Mitchell, and Cunningham — is a meaningful proof of concept. The 'Noles have another one.

Florida State Alumni in the WNBA | Sept. 27 – Oct. 3, 2026

The biggest story for FSU alumni in the WNBA this week belongs to Natasha Howard, who earned a rare public callout from her own head coach — in the best possible way — during one of the most stunning playoff upsets the league has seen in years.

Howard Earns Coach's Praise in Historic Upset

The Minnesota Lynx entered the WNBA playoffs as a decided underdog against the top-seeded New York Liberty, the consensus best team in the league. What followed was a first-round sweep — Minnesota's way — that sent shockwaves across the sport. In the aftermath, Lynx head coach Cheryl Reeves didn't mince words: she singled out Howard and Olivia Miles as the team's best players throughout the series, a notable distinction given that All-Star center Napheesa Collier is widely regarded as Minnesota's franchise cornerstone.

It's the kind of recognition that speaks to Howard's value beyond the box score. The FSU product logged 8 points, 2 assists, and 2 rebounds in Game 1 on Sept. 27 as the Lynx fell 91-75 — but Minnesota ultimately closed out the Liberty in Game 2 on Sept. 30, with Howard adding 2 points, 5 rebounds, and 2 blocks in an 87-71 defeat of New York. Howard's consistent defensive presence was central to how Reeves deployed her rotation against New York's formidable offense.

For an FSU program that has produced multiple WNBA contributors, Howard's postseason moment stands as the marquee alumni achievement of the week — and arguably one of the program's proudest WNBA highlights in recent memory.

Timpson Battles Through a Tough Aces Series

On the other side of the bracket, fellow Seminole Makayla Timpson found herself in playoff action with the Indiana Fever against the Las Vegas Aces — though the results were considerably more painful.

Timpson appeared in all three games of Indiana's first-round series. She had her best offensive outing in Game 2 on Sept. 29, scoring 6 points with 4 rebounds in a Fever win (99-89) that briefly kept Indiana's hopes alive. But bookending that bright spot were difficult performances: a 2-point, 7-rebound effort in a 17-point Game 1 loss, and a 4-point, 3-rebound showing in a decisive Game 3 defeat, 94-83, on Oct. 2. Her plus/minus figures — particularly a -26 in Game 1 — reflected the wider struggles of a Fever team unable to sustain momentum against Las Vegas.

Still, Timpson's ability to contribute rebounding across all three games demonstrates the kind of physical presence that should keep her in the WNBA conversation heading into the offseason.

The Rest of the Seminoles

Maria Conde (Tempo) and Ta'Niya Latson (Aces) did not record notable statistical activity during the period covered.

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The week's takeaway for FSU: Howard's postseason recognition is the headline, a reminder that the Seminoles have quietly built a meaningful footprint in professional women's basketball. Reeves' public endorsement of Howard over one of the game's biggest stars isn't just a feel-good moment — it's a legitimate statement about what Howard brings to a playoff roster.

Natasha Howard Saves Her Best for Last

Florida State's Natasha Howard delivered one of her finest performances of the regular season when it mattered most, posting 21 points, 8 rebounds, and 3 blocks in the Minnesota Lynx's commanding 86-66 win over the Indiana Fever on Thursday — a result that officially stamped the Lynx as the WNBA's top seed heading into the playoffs. Her +29 plus-minus was the exclamation point on a dominant night.

The win was no small feat in context. Minnesota had just suffered a blowout loss to Indiana on the road two days earlier, a game in which Howard was a pedestrian 6 points and -19. The bounce-back said something about both the Lynx's depth and Howard's personal resolve. With star point guard Olivia Miles sidelined for a second straight game with a left calf injury, Howard stepped into a larger role alongside Kayla McBride, who torched Indiana for 22 points on 6-of-10 shooting from three.

Howard's week as a whole reflected her value to Minnesota's playoff push. In Sunday's 101-89 win over Connecticut on Sept. 20, she stuffed the stat sheet again: 18 points, 11 rebounds, a steal, and a block, finishing +14. Over the week's three games, Howard averaged 15 points and 8 rebounds while bookending the stretch with double-digit scoring in two of three outings.

Timpson and Conde Round Out the Week

On the losing end of Friday's blowout was fellow FSU alumna Makayla Timpson, who logged 2 points and 1 rebound for the Fever in a -13 outing. It was a rough close to a tough week for Timpson, though she showed flashes earlier in the period — most notably a 13-point, 7-rebound effort with 3 steals in Indiana's Sept. 20 loss to Washington. She also put up 8 points and 7 rebounds on Wednesday against Minnesota before the Fever's regular season unraveled in the rematch.

Timpson's Fever enter the playoffs in sixth place, a direct consequence of Friday's loss to Minnesota. That postseason positioning sets up a challenging path through the bracket for Indiana — and likely means Timpson and Howard could meet again under playoff pressure.

Maria Conde, playing for Toronto, had a quiet week across three appearances. Her most notable outing came Wednesday in a loss to Chicago, where she contributed 5 points, 3 rebounds, and a steal. She did not register a stat line in Thursday's game against Connecticut. The Tempo, not in postseason contention, wrapped their regular season without much fanfare.

The Bigger Picture

The headline from FSU's WNBA week is unambiguous: Howard is playing the best basketball of her regular season as the Lynx enter the playoffs with home-court advantage locked up. For 'Nole fans tracking alumni fortunes, she's the one to watch when the postseason tips off — and Friday's performance was a convincing audition for a featured role.