Ohio State Professional Athletes

The Record Is Hers

Kelsey Mitchell didn't just have a big game Friday night. She rewrote WNBA history.

The Ohio State alumna erupted for 33 points on 12-of-17 shooting — including seven three-pointers — to lead the Indiana Fever past the Toronto Tempo, 103-85, and in the process surpassed A'ja Wilson's record for the most points scored in a single WNBA season. Mitchell's night pushed her season total to 1,034 points, a number that now stands alone at the top of the all-time single-season ledger.

She needed only 21 points to break the record and nearly got there in the first half alone, pouring in 16 before halftime. The Fever celebrated with a locker-room party afterward — a fitting send-off for a performance that had been building all season. Mitchell also finished with a plus-minus of +18, meaning Indiana wasn't just along for the ride; the win was dominant from wire to wire.

For Mitchell, the moment carried personal weight beyond the scoreboard. The Sporting News reported that she has played much of this career-best season with a touching tribute to her late father — a detail that gives her record-breaking run an emotional dimension that statistics alone can't capture.

Teammate Caitlin Clark was quick to react to Mitchell's achievement, and the Fever's backcourt continues to be the most talked-about duo in the league. Head coach Stephanie White has publicly lobbied for both Clark and Mitchell as legitimate MVP candidates, a stance that generated significant debate across WNBA media circles. Mitchell's own definition of MVP, as reported by Sports Illustrated, sounded a lot like a description of her teammate — a dynamic that speaks to the chemistry fueling Indiana's late-season push.

With the playoffs on the horizon, Mitchell delivered a "gut check" message to the team, signaling that the record was a milestone, not a destination.

Around the Buckeyes

Mitchell wasn't the only Ohio State product on the floor Friday.

Cotie McMahon turned in a quietly impressive outing for the Washington Mystics in their 110-80 blowout of the Chicago Sky, posting 11 points, 4 assists, 4 rebounds, and a steal — good for a +29 plus-minus, the best mark among OSU alumni on the night.

Taylor Thierry and the Seattle Storm had a rough go of it, falling 114-77 to the Las Vegas Aces. Thierry finished with 4 points and 4 rebounds in the lopsided loss, reflected in a -21 plus-minus.

Chance Gray's stat line was unavailable from the Los Angeles Sparks' 97-77 loss to the Dallas Wings.

Kelsey Mitchell is doing something no Ohio State alumna has ever done in the WNBA quite like this — and the basketball world is paying attention.

The Indiana Fever guard claimed the Eastern Conference Player of the Month award for August, her second consecutive monthly honor after winning the same award for July. Back-to-back recognition of that kind is a statement, not a coincidence. Mitchell has emerged as arguably the WNBA's most dangerous pure scorer this season, and her numbers have turned the league's MVP race into a genuine two-candidate debate alongside teammate Caitlin Clark.

Mitchell and Clark: The Most Feared Backcourt in the League

Head coach Stephanie White has drawn comparisons between her starting backcourt and Diana Taurasi and Cappie Pondexter — high praise that the duo has done nothing to deflect. Mitchell and Clark combined for 68 points in a dominant 111–91 victory over the Connecticut Sun, a performance that drew effusive praise from ESPN's Dick Vitale and put the Fever front and center in the championship conversation.

Indiana currently sits at 26–14, good for the fourth seed, and is four wins away from shattering a WNBA attendance record that has stood since 2010. Both Mitchell and Clark have been formally put forward as MVP candidates by the franchise, though league analysts note that if Clark wins the award, the Fever could face serious cap complications under the new collective bargaining agreement — one that has pushed supermax salaries as high as $1.4 million.

The World Cup Snub That Stunned the WNBA

Not everything has gone Mitchell's way off the court. USA Basketball left the Ohio State product off its 2026 FIBA Women's World Cup roster, a decision that triggered immediate and widespread backlash. Analysts and fans alike called the omission baffling given Mitchell's elite scoring output and her role as the engine of Indiana's offense. The snub only seemed to sharpen the narrative around her: one of the WNBA's best players, still not getting her full due on the national stage.

Clark, by contrast, is competing at the World Cup during the league's break — meaning Mitchell stepped away from the team having just closed the best two-month stretch of her career, with no international stage to follow it up on.

The Rest of the Buckeye Roster

Elsewhere among Ohio State alumni, Cotie McMahon is drawing notice in Washington, where she's been identified as a key piece of the Mystics' supporting cast heading into the playoffs. A Yahoo Sports breakdown of Washington's postseason prospects specifically called out McMahon as crucial to the team's upset potential.

On the West Coast, Chance Gray logged 6 points, 1 assist, and 1 steal in the Sparks' 90–74 loss to the Storm on August 30. Taylor Thierry picked up 4 rebounds and a plus-15 rating in the same game for Seattle — a bright spot in a quiet week for the Storm.

The headline, though, belongs to Mitchell. A Buckeye winning back-to-back conference player of the month awards while drawing MVP chatter and fueling a potential record-breaking franchise season is the kind of story Ohio State fans should bookmark. History is being made in Indianapolis.

Mitchell Is in Rarified Air

Kelsey Mitchell is doing something that has never been done in WNBA history — and Ohio State fans should be paying very close attention.

The Indiana Fever guard dropped 30 points on the Chicago Sky on August 23rd, then came back five days later and scorched the Connecticut Sun for 34 points (adding 4 assists, 3 rebounds, and a +14 plus-minus) in a dominant 111-91 Fever victory. That performance extended what CBS Sports has called one of the greatest scoring seasons in WNBA history, with Mitchell having now recorded 23 games with 20 or more points in a single season — a mark that drew a one-word reaction from teammate Aliyah Boston: pure awe.

The sustained efficiency and volume are what separate Mitchell's 2026 campaign from mere hot streaks. This isn't a player catching fire for a week; it's a methodical dismantling of the record books over the course of a full season.

A Historic Duo

Mitchell isn't doing it alone — she's doing it alongside Caitlin Clark in what Fever head coach Stephanie White has compared to some of basketball's most celebrated backcourt pairings. Against the Sky on August 23rd, the two combined for 67 points, accomplishing something no WNBA duo has ever done three times in a single season. Then against the Sun on August 28th, Clark and Mitchell recorded their fourth combined 30-point game together — surpassing the previous WNBA record of two such games in a season, held by former MVP A'ja Wilson and Jackie Young.

Clark is averaging 22.1 points and 8.3 assists. Mitchell is the league's premier volume scorer. The Fever have clinched a playoff spot, and their backcourt is the engine.

The MVP Conversation Nobody Can Resolve

The problem with having two all-time scorers on the same team? The award voters only hand out one MVP. Fever teammates are split — or rather, unwilling to split. Guard Ty Harris floated the idea of a shared Co-MVP trophy. Aliyah Boston said both cases are "clear as day." Lexie Hull has praised both candidates without picking a side.

Outside Indiana, the debate is louder. NBC Sports analyst Natalie Esquire argued the attention on Clark and Mitchell overlooks the Minnesota Lynx's dominance. A former Fever guard backed A'ja Wilson, citing what she called "greatness fatigue" around the Fever's stars. Meanwhile, WNBA oddsmakers have two players ranked ahead of both Clark and Mitchell — a ranking Aliyah Boston openly dismissed.

Mitchell's case is straightforward: historically rare scoring volume, elite efficiency, and a +28 plus-minus in a 23-point blowout of Chicago. Whether voters reward the record-breaker or the team narrative will define the award cycle.

The Rest of the Buckeyes

Elsewhere around the league, Cotie McMahon (Mystics) had her best week of the period on August 23rd, logging 13 points and 4 assists in Washington's narrow win over the Fire. Chance Gray (Sparks) contributed 5 points and a +5 plus-minus in L.A.'s win over the Sun on August 23rd. Taylor Thierry (Storm) logged assists in both of her appearances but Seattle dropped both games.

Mitchell, though, is the story — not just for Ohio State, but for the entire league.