Indiana Fever HC’s Honest Admission About Waived Player Falls Flat Amid Accusations of In-Game Mismanagement

In the end, even two NCAA championships weren’t enough. After being picked 20th overall (second round) in this year’s WNBA Draft, a gleeful Bree Hall had used four distinct words to describe her emotions—excited, happy, incredible, blessed. But that was weeks ago, and this is the WNBA, where careers can take a nosedive faster than it takes to throw a three-pointer. Exactly 20 days after Hall stood on the podium in a Fever jersey talking to the media, the team’s social media announced a heartbreaking news: “we have waived guard Bree Hall. thank you, Bree ❤️”.

On paper, these are just nine words. But in reality, the implications are a lot deeper, both for the former South Carolina Gamecocks player and Fever coach Stephanie White. To some, Hall is a defensive superstar, whose scoring ability (averaging 5.8 points in 147 games at South Carolina) would be a great addition to the Fever’s roster. Unfortunately, White’s hands were tied, leaving Hall as a potential free agent, alongside Jillian Alleyne and Yvonne Ejim. You see, while the team had 15 players joining camp, the Fever will only be able to take 11 players forward owing to salary cap limitations (as opposed to 12 players allowed). Yet, some insiders have hardly minced any words when discussing the head coach’s decision. Any guesses who?

Talking on The Women’s Hoops Show on May 5, Sheryl Swoopes shared her confusion with how Stephanie handled Fever’s opener against the Mystics. While Fever fans reveled in a solid performance from Sophie Cunningham, Sheryl served a reminder: The preseason isn’t for the stars. “I did have a question…with Indiana…because even though the starters weren’t in…Sophie Cunningham and Lexie Hall [have] been in the league for a while. You actually had players like Bree Hall. Why wasn’t she in that game if you’re still trying to figure out who’s going to make the team, who you’re going to cut? So I was a little confused with what Steph was doing.”

The veteran further continued: “But to me, when I think about preseason, it really isn’t so much for your players that you know are returning, the players that you know are going to make the team. But it’s more about, ‘I’m not sure about this particular player. Let me get her in a real-life game situation and see how she handles it. But I’m also gonna probably play her a few minutes with my starters to see how that looks, how that works’.” To be fair, Hall did play one of the two preseason games. After sitting out a clash vs the Washington Mystics on Saturday, the guard played for the Brazilian National team the next day, scoring nine points and four rebounds in 16 minutes.

The cuts with respect to Bree Hall and Jillian Alleyne were only the first of such waves, as the regular season roster must be finalized before the opening game. While there is still hope for the two to make it onto a roster, Hall might be looking to hurry due to the possibility of a contract termination looming. After being selected by the Indiana Fever in the 2025 WNBA Draft, Bree Hall signed a rookie-scale contract with the franchise. Hall was set to earn a total of $217,640 over the life of the contract, with an average annual salary of $72,547. If she does not get claimed within 48 hours of the Fever waiving her, the contract will get terminated, making her a free agent.

While the possibility of securing a spot would still remain, the paycheck won’t be the same as her rookie contract. Shyanne Sellers’ case is likely to bring hope. Shyanne, who shockingly got waived by Golden State before participating in even a single game, was picked up off the waivers by the Indiana Fever. This not only saved her contract from being terminated, she also got a potential roster spot.

For Jillian Alleyne, however, it will be back to fighting for a shot on the market. Signed to a non-standard training camp contract in March, Jillian knew it would be a long shot to get a chance in the league. Drafted to the WNBA in 2016, Alleyne most recently played the 2024-25 season with Turkey’s Tarsus Belediyesi Mersin, where she averaged 18.6 points, 13.8 rebounds, 2.5 steals, and 1.4 blocks per game. The future might appear grim, but this is only in the short run. With the new Collective Bargaining Agreement expected to bring bigger rosters, the league expects to put the heavy number of cuts in the past by softening salary caps.

But that’s just about a hopeful future. For White, her present is the one she’s currently grieving about…

Top Comment by Brett

Swoopes has no idea what White uses the preseason for. If it were me, building chemistry among the probables...more

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Stephanie White isn’t too happy about the cuts

“It’s always hard, I mean this is the worst part of the job” she said. “You know I think we always wish there were more roster spots so that you know we can have some of those development positions, but but we also know it’s part of it and it sucks.” 

Although Swoopes’ criticism might make complete sense to some, mind you, White knows the Fever better than anyone. From playing for the Fever to being part of the coaching staff of the championship-winning team, White went on to become the head coach in 2015-16 before being re-hired last November.

Especially considering the expectations on this squad as a Top-3 contender for the title this season, Stephanie is under considerable pressure. With the WNBA having only 40 regular-season games, the regular season can often go by in a whiff.

In this case, it becomes paramount to have your rotations sorted out by the time the season begins, and that ought to be what Stephanie and every other contender are focusing on. And while the league will be subjected to some harsh cuts during the month of May, it is important to note this isn’t the end of the road. For now, though, the Fever has wished Hall and Alleyne the best for their future.