DeWanna Bonner, Kiki Iriafen, Kamilla Cardoso lift up Bree Hall with messages after heartbreaking Fever exit

In a shocking turn of events, Bree Hall's start to her WNBA career just suffered a major setback.

The Indiana Fever waived her just hours after making her preseason debut, and she will now have to pursue her career somewhere else.

With that in mind, the former South Carolina Gamecocks star shared a picture of her during her debut and thanked the Fever organization:

"thankful for the opportunity. looking forward to what’s next!" Hall captioned the post.

Needless to say, it didn't take long before some of her colleagues rallied to support her. From DeWanna Bonner to Kiki Irafien and Kamilla Cardoso, several WNBA players showed her love and words of encouragement.

WNBA teams can only carry 12 players on their roster. However, given the Fever's complicated salary cap limitation, they will most likely carry just 11 players at first. The Fever also waived veteran forward Jillian Alleyne.

They added veteran stars like Sydney Colson, Brianna Turner, Natasha Howard, DeWanna Bonner and Sophie Cunningham in the offseason, and there will only be so much money available.

They had taken Hall with the 20th pick in the 2025 WNBA draft, right after taking Makayla Timpson at No. 19. She was reunited with fellow Gamecock Aliyah Boston, but the joy was short-lived. Timpson, on the other hand, will stay on the team for the time being.

Hall's only taste of preseason action came in the 108-44 win over Brazil, scoring nine points in 16 minutes. She didn't play in the preseason opener vs. the Washington Mystics.

Dawn Staley once raved about Bree Hall's defense

Even so, it shouldn't be long before Hall lands on her feet with another team. She comes with a strong pedigree after a four-year tenure under Dawn Staley's tutelage at South Carolina, and her defensive prowess makes her a force to be reckoned with:

"Bree’s an elite defender," Staley said after the college basketball season ended. "It’s elite – the things that she does, the people that she has to guard. In my 25 years of coaching, she’s on my all-time defensive team – all the players that I’ve coached – because she’s very consistent with it, and she relishes the challenge."

This is just a minor setback for a major comeback. The Fever have championship aspirations and can't afford to develop young players, but multiple teams will certainly keep tabs on her and look to bring her on board.

About the author

Ernesto Cova is a journalist at Sportskeeda with a PhD in Sports Psychology. His education helped him develop a clearer understanding of the sports world as a whole, including basketball. Ernesto has over eight years of experience in the field, working for Fadeaway World, The Inquisitr, NBA Blast, The Cold Wire and Bolavip, among others.

His favorite team is the Chicago Bulls because of the Michael Jordan era. Jordan is Ernesto's all-time favorite, as he changed the game forever. Ernesto's second favorite was Kobe Bryant because he embodied that same competitive fire and Ernesto watched him play throughout his entire career. Nowadays, Ernesto really likes Stephen Curry, who he believes to be the most influential player of the past 15 years or so.

Ernesto's favorite basketball moment was when Venezuela -- his country -- took down Canada to take home the 2015 FIBA Americas Cup.

When not watching or writing about basketball, Ernesto likes to read and is interested in photography.

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Edited by Victor R. Lopez M.