Indiana Fever get their wish with Sophie Cunningham’s return
Indiana Fever are bringing their core players back. According to ESPN’s Alexa Philippou, Sophie Cunningham signed a one-year contract to rejoin the Indiana team.
The signing helps keep another member of last year’s semifinal team with Indiana, and gives the Fever a shooting threat they could not afford to lose heading into a loaded 2026 season.
Sophie Cunningham brings back a great summer for the Fever
In 30 games, Cunningham managed to score 8.6 points per game along with 3.5 rebounds. Moreover, she hit 43% from the three-point line last season until suffering an MCL tear in her right knee.
The shooting is what makes her valuable in a backcourt built around Caitlin Clark. Spacing matters when your franchise player thrives with the ball in her hands, and Cunningham gave Indiana some of its cleanest looks from deep all year.
Breaking: Sophie Cunningham has agreed to a one-year deal to return to the Indiana Fever, sources told ESPN.
Cunningham joins guards Kelsey Mitchell and Lexie Hull in coming back to the Fever. Indiana has also added newcomers Monique Billings & Ty Harris so far this free agency pic.twitter.com/OE6y0Y9fhl
Breaking: Sophie Cunningham has agreed to a one-year deal to return to the Indiana Fever, sources told ESPN.
Cunningham joins guards Kelsey Mitchell and Lexie Hull in coming back to the Fever. Indiana has also added newcomers Monique Billings & Ty Harris so far this free agency pic.twitter.com/OE6y0Y9fhl
— Alexa Philippou (@alexaphilippou) April 12, 2026
Billings should replace Natasha Howard at the power forward position in the starting lineup.
Still, there is reason to question how strong this lineup is for 2026. Despite the fact that the team reached the semifinals after Clark played just 13 games, it should be noted that the conference became stronger.
First of all, Liberty managed to bring back Jonquel Jones. In addition, Connecticut Sun strengthened the roster by getting Brittney Griner.
Therefore, running the team back with just a couple of newcomers can be considered as playing the odds and hoping for healthy players in the next season.
However, if Clark and Cunningham manage to play enough games, then the shooting will be efficient enough to keep Indiana a dangerous opponent. Of course, the latter part may seem like an unrealistic goal since Cunningham has appeared in over 31 games maybe only twice throughout her career.
