Kelsey Mitchell has quickly become one of the WNBA’s most prolific scorers over the last two seasons, averaging 22.15 points, but the Indiana Fever star is set to watch the 2026 FIBA Women’s World Cup from the sidelines after being snubbed. Now, for one analyst, that omission is particularly hard to understand, prompting her to question the call.
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“The one that was hardest for me to understand was Kelsey Mitchell. I wasn’t expecting it because you look at the names who have been part of USA basketball since Sue Bird took over, and she’s just not there,” said analyst Sabreena Merchant on the No Offseason podcast on August 7.
Mitchell was the engine behind Indiana’s deep playoff run in 2025 after Caitlin Clark was injured. She started all eight games that she played in the 2025 postseason and averaged 22.3 points, shooting an efficient 42.9% from beyond the arc. This season, she’s leading the team in minutes and scoring, averaging over 24.1 points per game on an uber-efficient 50.4% from the field and 43.9% from three.
Her efforts have been recognized league-wide this year, being named an All-Star as well as her first Eastern Conference Player of the Month honor for July, and she is a reigning All-WNBA first-team player. That’s what makes her snub even more surprising, and Merchant went on to speak about this.
“[Mitchell] has been an absolute firecracker for the past two seasons…Quite a good time to be Kelsey Mitchell, and yet for some reason, has just never been a part of this USA pool. I went back through like camps that have happened since 2022 for USA basketball, and I’ve just never seen her name there. I can’t figure out if it’s something that she didn’t want to do or something that USA basketball hasn’t included her in, which, if you haven’t included her, what are we doing here?”
Mitchell, though not selected for the 2026 FIBA World Cup team that features teammates Clark and Aliyah Boston, has previously represented the US on a global stage. She was on the 2022 USA World Cup Qualifying team and the 2023 FIBA 3×3 AmeriCup team that won gold.
Ultimately, for the guard room, Team USA went with Clark, Paige Bueckers, Kelsey Plum, Chelsea Gray, Kahleah Copper, Rhyne Howard, and Jackie Young. Despite Mitchell’s scoring talent and existing chemistry with Clark and Boston, Team USA has decided to opt for size and defensive versatility on the perimeter with Young and Howard, while still having clear scoring options through the elite frontcourt, including A’ja Wilson, Napheesa Collier, and Breanna Stewart.
Adding to that, her role overlaps as a scoring-focused guard with Plum, who has much more experience with Team USA, and the choice on their end is clear. Still, with the Fever Star playing at an All-WNBA level, her omission is difficult to explain at best and a blunder at worst.