As picks went by with other names called, former Indiana women’s basketball guard Shay Ciezki waited through all 45 picks to not be selected during Monday night’s WNBA Draft. However, Ciezki will continue her basketball career after signing with the Phoenix Mercury, according to an X post from The Daily Hoosier.
The 5-foot-7 Ciezki finished her senior season in Bloomington averaging 22.8 points, 3.8 rebounds and 3.1 assists per game. Ciezki shot 52.6% from the field, 44.6% behind the 3-point arc and 90.8% from the free throw line.
She was one of two players this season to join the 50-40-90 club — along with Nebraska sophomore guard Britt Prince — and became the second player in NCAA women’s history to shoot those percentages and average over 20 points per game.
The historic season earned Ciezki an honorable mention on the 2025-26 U.S. Basketball Writers Association Women’s All-America Teams. The Buffalo, New York, native was selected to the All-Big Ten First Team by the media and the All-Big Ten Second Team by the league’s coaches. Ciezki also compiled two Big Ten Player of the Week awards during the season.
Ciezki joined Indiana after playing her first two collegiate seasons at Penn State. During the 2022-23 season, Ciezki started 29 games for the Lady Lions, averaging 11.8 points per game. She then played 35 games during her sophomore year, averaging 11.5 points per contest.
Throughout her first season in Bloomington, Ciezki played and started in all 33 games for the Hoosiers, averaging a then-career-high 34 minutes per game. She averaged 11.8 points per game and improved her field goal percentage to 46.3%.
Entering the 2025-26 season, Indiana saw nine players leave the team in the offseason via the transfer portal or graduation. One such player was Yarden Garzon, who transferred to Maryland. Garzon also did not hear her name called Monday night after averaging 12.5 points, 4 rebounds and 3 assists per game during her lone season in College Park, Maryland.
As the focal point for Indiana’s offense this season, Ciezki’s usage percentage — an estimate of the percentage of team plays a player was involved in — jumped to 30.9% after an 18.9% mark her junior year.
Now, Ciezki begins the next chapter of her basketball journey. The Mercury finished the 2025 WNBA season 27-17, gaining the No. 4 seed during the league’s playoffs. Phoenix then advanced past the New York Liberty in the first round and the No. 1-seeded Minnesota Lynx in the semi-finals. However, the Las Vegas Aces swept the Mercury in the WNBA Finals.
After finishing the 2025-26 campaign with an 18-14 overall and a 6-12 record in Big Ten play, Indiana now looks to the transfer portal and its incoming freshmen class to help fill any gaps left by outgoing players.
The Hoosiers lost freshman guard Nevaeh Caffey after she committed to the University of Missouri on Sunday. Sophomore forward Faith Wiseman, sophomore guards Phoenix Stotijn and Chloe Spreen plus junior forwards Edessa Noyan and Jade Ondineme also entered the portal.
Indiana has picked up two players from the transfer portal: forwards Alisa Williams and Jessica Petrie. Williams will have one year of eligibility remaining after playing in all 32 games for Iowa State University last season. Petrie committed to the Hoosiers on Monday after starting 23 games for Nebraska last season, averaging 11.3 points per game. The NCAA transfer portal will remain open until April 20.
The Hoosiers will also bring in ESPN’s No. 8 recruiting class with four new players. The class includes No. 25 wing Addison Nyemchek, No. 29 guard Gigi Battle, No. 66 guard Ashlinn James and four-star center Zoe Jackson.
Follow reporters Savannah Slone (@savrivers06 and srslone@iu.edu) and Max Schneider (maxschn@iu.edu) and columnist Sean McAvoy (@sean_mc07 and semcavoy@iu.edu) for updates throughout the Indiana women’s basketball offseason.
