Ohio State's Taylor Mikesell drafted 13th overall by Indiana Fever in second round of 2023 WNBA Draft
Former Ohio State G Taylor Mikesell was drafted No. 13 overall by the Indiana Fever in the second round of 2023 WNBA Draft Monday night.
Mikesell was the first pick of the second round and will join No. 1 overall pick Aliyah Boston and No. 7 overall pick Grace Berger in Indiana. Last season, she led the Ohio State Buckeyes with 17.2 points per game (ninth in B1G) and three-point shooting (3.6 per game is second in the conference). She also tallied 82 assists on the year.
She now becomes the 14th Buckeye to ever be selected into the WNBA, and the first in five seasons.
Over her career, she amassed over 2,000 career points — more than 1,000 of which have come as a Buckeye. Before making a name for herself in Columbus, she played two seasons in Maryland before transferring to Oregon. She spent her senior season and fifth year at Ohio State.
In five seasons journeying around college basketball, Mikesell appeared in 158 games where she logged 154 starts. The 5-foot-11 super senior guard averaged 14.3 points on 43.4 percent shooting overall, 42 percent from three-point range and 88.3 percent from the free throw line. The Indiana Fever hopes that those stats transition swiftly into the WNBA.
Mikesell was the catalyst in lifting Ohio State to a 25-7 overall record during the 2021-22 season, leading the Buckeyes to the top seed in the Big Ten Tournament after leading them to a 14-4 conference record. The Buckeyes made it to the semifinals of the Big Ten Tournament before losing to Indiana — and her new teammate Grace Berger.
Her 116 three-pointers in 2022 rank sixth-most in a single season in program history. That brought her Buckeye career total to 230, good for fourth in program history. After being drafted, Mikesell explained that gave her a sharpshooter’s mentality.
“Whether it goes in or not, keep shooting,” Mikesell told Holly Rowe on the ESPN broadcast after getting drafted. “I’ve had a lot of great trainers and great people around me that have helped me with mechanics and help me get it down right so that it’s technically sound. So, just keep shooting.”
Mikesell said she’s excited to get to work with the rest of the Fever and learn from the rest of the veterans on the roster.