The Indiana Fever added 2016 WNBA Draft pick Jillian Alleyne to a training camp contract with the team in March. The 6'3" center-forward just spent the 2024-25 season in Turkey with the Tarsus Belediyesi Mersin, where she averaged 18.6 points, 13.8 rebounds, 2.5 steals and 1.4 blocks per game — and now she's set to return to the league if she can battle through the Fever's training camp.
Getting signed to the Fever for the 2025 season is Alleyne's ultimate goal, and she will need to fight her way there like every other player the Fever signs to a training camp contract (as well as alongside recently drafted rookies Makayla Timpson and Bree Hall). To help make that dream a reality, Alleyne told FanSided she opted to arrive in Indianapolis early, soon after her contract was signed.
"I wanted to get started right away, and I felt it was imperative to get there early," she explained. "Because I want to learn the playbook, build chemistry with my teammates, get adjusted, work out with the coaches, and meet and start building good relationships with everyone, including my coaches and staff."
Alleyne added that arriving in Indianapolis early has helped her understand "what the coaches are expecting from me." She also said she's "a little sponge" and "my focus will be being the best player I know" when training camp officially begins.
What is a WNBA training camp contract? Inside one way athletes can make it to a team
Alleyne signed her training camp contract during free agency, a time period that is chock-full of acronyms and terms that might be unfamiliar to some fans. Unlike a regular season contract, a training camp contract is a non-standard contract that is only signed in the preseason (anytime between February 1 and the first day of the regular season). Any team can sign a player to a one-year, non-guaranteed minimum salary contract and it won't be added to the salary cap until the season begins — so for the short term, such contracts are a win-win for the player and for the team.
But unfortunately, training camp contracts don't guarantee a spot on a team's roster, something Alleyne was aware of when she signed it, but it does give athletes the opportunity to make the most of the time they have and potentially battle their way to a long-term spot on the team. If an athlete doesn't get signed after training camp, they can also use the contract to negotiate for higher pay and better services overseas.
If Alleyne and other players signed to training camp contracts do make a roster, the contract they signed becomes the terms of agreement. Few are aware that rookie also sign training camp contracts until the regular season begins — for teams, the contracts give them the opportunity to see what a player can do.