Kelsey Mitchell

Kelsey Mitchell is an American basketball player, and as of October 2025, she is playing for the Indiana Fever in the Women’s National Basketball Association. Mitchell was named to the WNBA All-Rookie Team along with Ariel Atkins, Diamond Danae-Aziza DeShields, and A’Ja Wilson. She was the only rookie who participated in the WNBA Three-Point Contest in 2018.

The Ohio State University Buckeyes were Mitchell's collegiate basketball team. Mitchell had 873 points at the end of his freshman year in 2014–15, which was the second-highest total by a freshman in NCAA Division I history.

Kelsey Mitchell’s Early Life

Kelsey Mitchell went to Princeton High School in Sharonville, Ohio. She was named the Ohio Ms. Basketball and Division I Player of the Year by the Associated Press and the Princeton High School Female Athlete of the Year in 2014. She was a member of the All-Ohio Black AAU team. Mitchell was the four-year honoree of the Greater Miami Conference All-Academic Award. She was the top point guard in the country and a five-star recruit by ESPNW, Blue Star, Full Court, and Prospects Nation. She was named the McDonald's All-American in 2014, an all-star high school basketball game played among boys and girls.

Later, she went to Ohio State University for her college basketball in 2014. She was named the National Freshman of the Year by USBWA and ESPNW and the Unanimous B1G Freshman of the Year in 2015. Mitchell was named to the Big Ten All-Tournament Team in 2015, 2016, and 2018. Additionally, she was a second-team All-American in 2015, 2017, and 2018, and became the first-team All-American in 2016. She finished her senior season with 24.3 points, 3.2 rebounds, and 4.2 assists per game. She scored a total of 3,402 points in her collegiate career, which made her the third-most points in NCAA Division I history.

Kelsey Mitchell’s Personal Life

Kelsey Mitchell was born on November 12, 1995, in Cincinnati, Ohio, U.S. She is 5 feet 8 inches tall and weighs 155 lbs (70 kg) according to her WNBA profile. According to her Athletes Unlimited Pro Basketball League profile, she loves watching movies and reading fictional novels, and if she were not a basketball player, she would have become an athletic director. She earned a master's degree in sports administration from the University of Cincinnati in 2020.

She was born and raised in Ohio. Mitchell was awarded the Dawn Staley Award, which is recognized as the nation’s best guard in Women’s Division I college basketball in 2018. As a child, she also participated in soccer, track and field, and karate, according to her Athletes Unlimited Pro Basketball League profile.

Kelsey Mitchell’s Family Background

Kelsey Mitchell was born to Cheryl Mitchell and Mark Mitchell. Her father died at the age of 56 in 2024. He played football at Eastern Kentucky and later became an assistant coach at Ohio State University. He also coached the Wilberforce University men's basketball team. Her mother, Cheryl Palmer, later took the title Mitchell, was a basketball player who was transferred from Mississippi Valley State to Eastern Kentucky. She grabbed 260 rebounds during the 1988-89 season, which still ranks seventh all-time in Eastern Kentucky University’s single-season record book. Later, she became a social worker.

Mitchell has three siblings, two twin elder brothers, Kevin and Cameron, and her twin sister, Chelsea Mitchell. Her brothers, Cameron, was a budding football star, and Kevin was a standout soccer player, but gave up when his father joined Taft High School as the school did not have a soccer team. Kelsey played soccer at first, but joined basketball after eighth grade. Her twin sister, Chelsea Mitchell, played basketball at Ohio State, along with her, and their father was their assistant coach.

Kelsey Mitchell’s Social Media

Kelsey Mitchell is seen to be active on her social media platforms. Her Instagram handle is @kelz_hoop, with more than 118,000 followers, and as of October 2, 2025, she has a total of 221 posts. Her X (formerly known as Twitter) account is @Kelz_Hoop with more than 21,000 followers, and her Facebook account is Kelsey Mitchell with 22,000 followers as of October 2025.

Kelsey Mitchell Brand Endorsements

Kelsey Mitchell is seen giving a speech and encouraging children at DICK'S Sporting Goods on her Instagram account. She was seen promoting Kountry Skims, Nike Basketball, DIRECTV, True Religion, Vale Lives Forever, Queen City Jewelry, and many more brands on her Instagram handle. She also has a deal with Kountry Kitchen Soul Food Place.

Kelsey Mitchell’s Achievements

Kelsey Mitchell received the Dawn Staley Leadership Award in 2023 because of her leadership qualities on and off the court. She was the Big Ten Tournament Most Outstanding Player in 2018. She was inducted into the Princeton High School Athletic Hall of Fame in 2020. She is a WNBA All-Star three times, in 2023, 2024, and 2025. Additionally, she was named the Big Ten Freshman of the Year in 2015 and the Big Ten Co-Player of the Year in 2015 and 2018. She was named All-American by WBCA Coaches from 2016 to 2018 and by USBWA from 2015 to 2018.

Internationally, Mitchell represented the USA Women’s Basketball Team and took part in the 2011 USA Under-16 National Team trials as her first international experience. She later became a member of the 2017 USA Women’s Under-23 National Team. She was also listed as one of 16 finalists for the 2018 USA World Cup Team. Mitchell won a gold medal at the 2023 USA 3x3 Women's AmeriCup Team in San Juan, Puerto Rico. Additionally, she played for the USA women’s team in the 2022 USA World Cup Qualifying Team and the 2017 USA Women’s Under-23 National Team.

Kelsey Mitchell’s Contract

On April 10, 2018, Kelsey Mitchell was drafted by the Indiana Fever as their second pick. She agreed to a four-year contract with the team worth $232,178 with an average annual salary of $58,045 on May 1, 2019. Mitchell signed a three-year contract extension with the Fever worth $618,000, with an average annual salary of $206,000. She had a base salary worth $212,000 in 2024. She will be a free agent in 2026, and she earned $269,244 in the 2025 season. According to Spotrac, her career earnings are $1,122,442 in the WNBA.

Mitchell played overseas basketball for the Al Ahly Women's Basketball Team, an Egyptian team, the Elitzur Ramla, an Israeli team, and the Spar Citylift Girona, a Spanish team. Additionally, she played for the Athletes Unlimited Pro Basketball League, an American professional league, from 2022 to 2024 and Shanxi Flame from 2024 to 2025.

Kelsey Mitchell’s Career Statistics

According to her WNBA profile, Kelsey Mitchell scored 38 points and made the most 3-point field goals, becoming the first player in the 2019 WNBA regular season. In the 2020 regular season, she became the second-fastest player in franchise history to reach 1,000 career points in her 74th game with the Fever. She became the sixth leading scorer in the 2020 season and the eighth leading scorer in the 2021 season in the WNBA. She missed five matches in the 2022 WNBA season because of her left foot injury. In 2022, Mitchell averaged career-highs with 18.4 points, 4.2 assists, and 1.9 rebounds, and played 32.6 minutes per contest in 31 games.

In her international career, Mitchell averaged 3.8 points per game and recorded six key assists in the 2023 FIBA 3x3 AmeriCup in San Juan, Puerto Rico. In 2017, she averaged 11.0 points, 3.0 rebounds, and 4.0 assists per game and helped the USA claim the inaugural Under 24 Four Nations Tournament title, defeating Australia, Canada, and Japan in Tokyo. Her total career stats, as of October 2, 2025, in the WNBA are mentioned below:

Kelsey Mitchell’s Diet

There is no information available about her diet in the public domain. In a YouTube video of the Indiana Fever, she played ‘This or That’ and said that she likes peppermint mocha and waffles, and she loves home-cooked meals and sweet food. In another video, she said that she likes yams and mac and cheese.