Fever predicted to pair Caitlin Clark with 6'6'' star center in WNBA draft

Jeremy Beren

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Fever predicted to pair Caitlin Clark with 6'6'' star center in WNBA draft image

Jerome Miron-Imagn Images

The 2026 WNBA Draft is still several months away -- but with the NCAA women's basketball season underway, fans and analysts are starting to get a clearer picture of how the big board might shake out.

For the Indiana Fever, this draft is important to continue supplementing the core around their star players: former #1 overall picks Aliyah Boston and Caitlin Clark. Despite Clark going down for the season in July, the Fever made a surprise playoff run and reached the fifth and deciding game of the WNBA semifinals. A fully-healthy Indiana team will probably start the 2026 season as a championship favorite.

The Fever are set to select 10th overall in the draft next spring -- and in a deep draft class, Indiana could end up with a steal in the frontcourt.

Madina Okot to the Fever?

A new first-round mock draft on ESPN has predicted that Fever general manager Amber Cox will select South Carolina center Madina Okot at 10th overall next April. But the Fever and other interested WNBA teams will have a fight on their hands to take her.

Though she is a senior at South Carolina, Okot has one year of collegiate eligibility remaining, which the NCAA may grant if the university files a waiver. And Gamecocks head coach Dawn Staley will do everything she can to keep Okot, who transferred from Mississippi State this season after one year in Starkville.

Okot, a native of Mumias, Kenya, came to the United States in time for the 2024/25 season, when she helped Mississippi State reach the second round of the NCAA Tournament. At South Carolina this season, Okot has emerged as the second-ranked Gamecocks' anchor in the middle; through five games, she is averaging 13.2 points, 10.6 rebounds and 2.0 blocks per night.

With Staley confirming that her former star Boston will be on campus in Columbia next week, it might be an early opportunity for Boston -- a three-time All-Star center since she joined the Fever -- to pitch Okot on Indiana and see how WNBA-ready she is.

A positive report could underline Okot's name in red come draft day for Cox and the Fever front office -- that is, if Okot declares for the draft.

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Staff Writer