Taylor Ayn Mikesell (born September 30, 1999) is an American

basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular Basketball court, court, compete with the primary objective of #Shooting, shooting a basketball (ball), basketball (appr ...

player. She was drafted by the

Indiana Fever The Indiana Fever are an American professional basketball team based in Indianapolis, playing in the Eastern Conference in the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA). The team was founded before the 2000 season began. The team is owned ...

in the

2023 WNBA Draft The 2023 WNBA (Women's National Basketball Association) Draft, the WNBA's draft for the 2023 WNBA season and 28th draft in WNBA history, was held following the 2022–23 NCAA Division I women's basketball season. The 2023 draft took place at Spr ...

and played during the 2023 season for the

Atlanta Dream The Atlanta Dream are an American professional basketball team based in Atlanta, playing in the Eastern Conference in the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA). The team was founded for the 2008 WNBA season. The team is owned by real ...

. She played her college basketball at

Ohio State Buckeyes The Ohio State Buckeyes are the intercollegiate athletic teams that represent Ohio State University, located in Columbus, Ohio. The athletic programs are named after the colloquial term for people from the state of Ohio and after the state tree ...

of the

Big Ten Conference The Big Ten Conference (stylized B1G, formerly the Western Conference and the Big Nine Conference) is the oldest Division I collegiate athletic conference in the United States. Founded as the Intercollegiate Conference of Faculty Representati ...

. She previously played for the

Maryland Terrapins The Maryland Terrapins, commonly referred to as the Terps, consist of 19 men's and women's varsity intercollegiate athletic teams that represent the University of Maryland, College Park in National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Divis ...

and the

Oregon Ducks The Oregon Ducks are the intercollegiate athletic teams that represent the University of Oregon, located in Eugene. The Ducks compete at the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division I level as a member of the Pac-12 Conferenc ...

High school career

Mikesell played for Jackson High School in

Massillon, Ohio Massillon is a city in Stark County, Ohio, Stark County in the U.S. state of Ohio, approximately west of Canton, Ohio, Canton, south of Akron, and south of Cleveland. The population was 32,146 at the 2020 United States Census, 2020 census. Mass ...

. As a senior, she scored 60 points, shooting 14-of-17 from three-point range, against Austintown Fitch High School. During the game, Mikesell became the all-time leading scorer in

Stark County, Ohio Stark County is a county located in the U.S. state of Ohio. As of the 2020 census, the population was 374,853. Its county seat is Canton. The county was created in 1808 and organized the next year. It is named for John Stark, an officer in th ...

and set the state record for three-pointers in a game. She averaged 30.7 points, 6.5 rebounds and 3.7 steals per game, leading her team to the Division I state quarterfinals. Mikesell was named Ohio High School Basketball Coaches Association Division I Player of the Year. Rated a five-star

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, she committed to playing

college basketball In United States colleges, top-tier basketball is governed by collegiate athletic bodies including National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA), the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA), the United States Collegiate Athleti ...

for

Maryland Maryland ( ) is a state in the Mid-Atlantic region of the United States. It shares borders with Virginia, West Virginia, and the District of Columbia to its south and west; Pennsylvania to its north; and Delaware and the Atlantic Ocean to ...

over offers from Florida State and Stanford.

College career

As a freshman at Maryland, Mikesell averaged 13.4 points and 3.5 rebounds per game, and was named Big Ten Freshman of the Year. She earned first-team All-Big Ten recognition from the media and was a second-team selection by the media. Mikesell broke the school single-season record for three-pointers by a women's or men's player. As a sophomore, she averaged 11.2 points per game and earned All-Big Ten honorable mention, before transferring to

Oregon Oregon () is a U.S. state, state in the Pacific Northwest region of the Western United States. The Columbia River delineates much of Oregon's northern boundary with Washington (state), Washington, while the Snake River delineates much of it ...

, where she averaged 9.3 points as a junior. For her senior season, Mikesell transferred to

Ohio State The Ohio State University, commonly called Ohio State or OSU, is a public land-grant research university in Columbus, Ohio. A member of the University System of Ohio, it has been ranked by major institutional rankings among the best public ...

. On January 20, 2022, she scored a career-high 33 points and shot 11-of-13 from the field in a 95–89 win over Maryland. Mikesell averaged 18.6 points per game as a senior, earning first-team All-Big Ten honors. She led the Big Ten and ranked second in the

NCAA Division I NCAA Division I (D-I) is the highest level of College athletics, intercollegiate athletics sanctioned by the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) in the United States, which accepts players globally. D-I schools include the major ...

in three-point percentage (47.5). She opted to return for a fifth season of eligibility.

Professional career

Indiana Fever

Mikesell was selected in the second round, and 13th overall, in the

by the

. Mikesell competed in training camp, but was ultimately waived by the Fever and did not make the roster.

Atlanta Dream

Mikesell signed a contract with the

on June 5, 2023. She appeared in six games for the Dream, scoring 9 points against the

Dallas Wings The Dallas Wings are an American basketball team based in Arlington, Texas. The Wings play in the Western Conference in the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA). The team is owned by a group which is led by chairman Bill Cameron. Greg ...

on June 20, 2023. She was waived on July 3, 2023.

Los Angeles Sparks

On February 2, 2024 Mikesell was signed to a training camp contract with the

Los Angeles Sparks The Los Angeles Sparks (LA Sparks) are an American professional basketball team based in Los Angeles. The Sparks compete in the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA) as a member club of the league's Western Conference. The team was foun ...

Former Ohio State women's basketball star Taylor Mikesell signs WNBA contract with Sparks

WNBA career statistics

WNBA regular season

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Atlanta Atlanta ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Georgia. It is the seat of Fulton County, the most populous county in Georgia, but its territory falls in both Fulton and DeKalb counties. With a population of 498,715 ...

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National team career

Mikesell played for the United States at the

2016 FIBA Under-17 World Championship for Women The 2016 FIBA Under-17 World Championship for Women (Spanish:Campeonato Mundial FIBA Sub-17 Femenino 2016) was an international basketball competition that was held in Zaragoza, Spain from 22 June 22 to 2 July 2016. It was the fourth edition of the ...

in Spain. She averaged five points per game and helped her team win a bronze medal. Mikesell was selected to represent the United States at the

2019 Pan American Games The 2019 Pan American Games ( es, Juegos Panamericanos de 2019, links=no), officially the XVIII Pan American Games and commonly known as the Lima 2019 Pan-Am Games or Lima 2019 ( qu, Limaq 2019), were a multi-sport event governed by the Panam Spo ...

in Peru. She averaged five points per game as her team won the silver medal.

References

External links

Maryland Terrapins bioOhio State Buckeyes bioOregon Ducks bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:Mikesell, Taylor 1999 births Living people American women's basketball players Atlanta Dream players Basketball players from Ohio Guards (basketball) Indiana Fever draft picks Maryland Terrapins women's basketball players Ohio State Buckeyes women's basketball players Oregon Ducks women's basketball players Sportspeople from Massillon, Ohio Basketball players at the 2019 Pan American Games Medalists at the 2019 Pan American Games Pan American Games silver medalists for the United States in basketball United States women's national basketball team players