Teaira McCowan

Teaira McCowan
McCowan with Turkey national team in 2025
No. 15 – Free agent
PositionCenter
LeagueWNBA
Personal information
Born (1996-09-28) September 28, 1996
Bryan, Texas, U.S.
Listed height6 ft 7 in (2.01 m)
Listed weight239 lb (108 kg)
Career information
High schoolBrenham
(Brenham, Texas)
CollegeMississippi State (2015–2019)
WNBA draft2019: 1st round, 3rd overall pick
Drafted byIndiana Fever
Playing career2019–present
Career history
2019–2021Indiana Fever
2019–2020Beijing Ducks
2021–2022OGM Ormanspor
2022–2025Dallas Wings
2022–2023Galatasaray
2023Beijing Ducks
2024Galatasaray
2024–2025Çukurova Basketbol
2025–presentFenerbahçe
2026Minnesota Lynx
Career highlights
Stats at WNBA.com
Stats at Basketball Reference
Medals
Women's basketball
Representing the  United States
FIBA Under-18 Americas Championship
Gold medal – first place2014 United StatesTeam
McCowan with Indiana Fever in 2019

Teaira McCowan (born September 28, 1996; first name pronounced /tiːˈɛərə/ tee-AIR-ə[1]) is Turkish-American professional basketball player who most recently played for the Minnesota Lynx of the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA), and for Fenerbahçe of the EuroLeague Women and Turkish Super League. She played college basketball for the Mississippi State Bulldogs.

College career

Following McCowan's junior season, she was named WBCA All-American, ESPNW First Team All-American and the Associated Press Third Team All-American. McCowan was also the inaugural winner of the Naismith Defensive Player of the Year Award.[2]

On January 10, 2019, McCowan was the projected first overall pick in the 2019 WNBA draft in an ESPN mock draft.[3] However, this particular mock draft included only college seniors and eligible international players. Later that month, ESPN compiled another mock draft, this time including draft-eligible juniors, the most notable of whom was Oregon's Sabrina Ionescu. In this second mock draft, McCowan was projected as third, but with the caveat that "if Ionescu decides to stay and play her senior season at Oregon, the whole first round looks different."[4] This qualification proved relevant as Ionescu announced that she would remain at Oregon for 2019–20.[5]

On January 21, 2019, she was voted as the espnW national player of the week.[6]

Professional career

WNBA

McCowan was drafted by the Indiana Fever with the third pick of the 2019 WNBA draft. In her first game for the Fever, she hit a buzzer-beating layup to deliver an 81–80 victory.[7] Following the 2019 season in which she averaged 10 points, 9 rebounds and 1.3 blocks per game, McCowan was named to the All-Rookie Team. She was second in the league in rebounding and scored a career-high 24 points in three games.[8]

McCowan played for the Indiana Fever for the 2019 through 2021 seasons and, after a March 2022 trade, the Dallas Wings for the 2022 through 2024 seasons.[9][10]

On August 3, 2025, she was waived by the Wings.[11]

On May 28, 2026, McCowan signed a rest-of season contract with the Minnesota Lynx.[12][13] She was waived by the Lynx on June 25, 2026.[14]

Overseas

On 1 August 2022, she signed with Galatasaray of the Turkish Women's Basketball Super League (TKBL).[15]

On 8 January 2024, it was announced that a contract was signed with Galatasaray again.[16]

On November 6, 2024, McCowan signed a short term deal with Çukurova Basketbol.[17]

On October 18, 2025, McCowan signed a season-long deal with the Turkish powerhouse Fenerbahçe.[18]

International career

In November 2023, McCowan acquired Turkish citizenship and subsequently began playing for the Turkey women's national basketball team.[19]

Personal life

McCowan was born in Bryan, Texas and grew up in Brenham, Texas, where she graduated from Brenham High School. She is the daughter of Tracy Nunn and Dayronn McCowan.[20]

Career statistics

Legend
  GP Games played   GS  Games started  MPG  Minutes per game  RPG  Rebounds per game
 APG  Assists per game  SPG  Steals per game  BPG  Blocks per game  PPG  Points per game
 TO  Turnovers per game  FG%  Field-goal percentage  3P%  3-point field-goal percentage  FT%  Free-throw percentage
 Bold  Career best ° League leader

WNBA

Regular season

Stats current through the end of the 2025 season

WNBA regular season statistics[21]
Year Team GP GS MPG FG% 3P% FT% RPG APG SPG BPG TO PPG
2019 Indiana 341622.1.517—.6879.00.20.61.31.310.0
2020 Indiana 221021.0.536.000.7507.30.60.31.02.010.9
2021 Indiana 322326.5.537—.6449.61.10.61.61.711.3
2022 Dallas 331518.9.602—.6007.00.80.30.71.711.0
2023 Dallas 302926.1.551.000.5869.11.50.51.21.511.9
2024 Dallas 393825.3.570.250.7188.11.60.90.92.011.7
2025 Dallas 17012.9.537.500.7594.60.60.30.70.95.6
Career 7 years, 2 teams 20713122.6.553.154.6648.11.00.51.11.610.7

Playoffs

WNBA playoff statistics
Year Team GP GS MPG FG% 3P% FT% RPG APG SPG BPG TO PPG
2022 Dallas 3124.7.480—.5339.31.00.31.73.310.7
2023 Dallas 5530.4.622—.52212.6°1.60.81.41.811.6
Career' 2 years, 1 team 8628.3.565—.56511.41.40.61.52.411.3

College

NCAA statistics[22]
Year Team GP GS MPG FG% 3P% FT% RPG APG SPG BPG TO PPG
2015–16 Mississippi State 35113.7.495—.6675.60.30.51.31.46.6
2016–17 Mississippi State 39619.7.569—.6117.10.50.81.51.18.7
2017–18 Mississippi State 393930.5.601—.63313.90.50.82.12.018.2
2018–19 Mississippi State 363629.9.662.000.75813.50.90.92.41.518.4
Career 1498223.6.597.000.67810.10.50.81.81.513.0

References

  1. ↑ "2018–19 Women's Basketball Roster". Mississippi State Bulldogs. Retrieved March 14, 2019. To see the pronunciation, hover over the "ear" icon next to McCowan's name.
  2. ↑ "Teaira McCowan Wins Inaugural Naismith Women's Defensive Player of the Year Award" (Press release). Atlanta Tipoff Club. March 31, 2018. Retrieved March 4, 2019.
  3. ↑ "WNBA coaches, GMs tab McCowan for top pick in mock draft". ESPN.com. Retrieved 2026-04-23.
  4. ↑ Voepel, Mechelle (January 30, 2019). "WNBA mock draft 2019: Predicting all three rounds". ESPN.com. Retrieved February 6, 2019.
  5. ↑ Ionescu, Sabrina (April 6, 2019). "A Letter to Ducks Nation". The Players' Tribune. Retrieved April 6, 2019.
  6. ↑ Voepel, Mechelle (2019-01-21). "Mississippi State's Teaira McCowan is espnW's player of the week". ESPN.com. Retrieved 2026-04-23.
  7. ↑ "McCowan's layup at buzzer lifts Fever to win over Liberty". AP. Retrieved 2019-05-25.
  8. ↑ "Rookie of the Year Collier Headlines 2019 All-Rookie Team". WNBA.com.
  9. ↑ "Tiaira McCowan Stats". ESPN. PENN Entertainment, Inc. Retrieved 18 December 2024.
  10. ↑ Voepel, Michael (September 28, 2023). "How Teaira McCowan, Kalani Brown can help keep Wings' season alive". ESPN. PENN Entertainment, Inc. Retrieved 18 December 2024.
  11. ↑ "Dallas Wings waive veteran center Teaira McCowan following DiJonai Carrington trade". Dallas News. 2025-08-03. Retrieved 2025-08-05.
  12. ↑ "Minnesota Lynx Sign Teaira McCowan". lynx.wnba.com. Retrieved 2026-05-28.
  13. ↑ "WNBA Player Movement & Transactions | WNBA". www.wnba.com. Retrieved 2026-05-28.
  14. ↑ "Minnesota Lynx Waive Teaira McCowan". lynx.wnba.com. 25 June 2026. Archived from the original on 7 July 2026. Retrieved 1 July 2026.
  15. ↑ "Galatasaray'a hoş geldin Teaira McCowan!" (in Turkish). Galatasaray. August 1, 2022. Retrieved August 1, 2022.
  16. ↑ "Teaira McCowan yeniden Galatasaray Çağdaş Faktoring'de!" (in Turkish). Galatasaray. January 8, 2024. Retrieved January 8, 2024.
  17. ↑ "Mersin inks Teaira McCowan". basketball.eurobasket.com. Retrieved 2024-11-14.
  18. ↑ "Teaira McCowan Fenerbahçe Opet'te!" (in Turkish). Fenerbahçe. October 18, 2025. Retrieved October 20, 2025.
  19. ↑ Pickman, Ben (31 July 2023). "One way WNBA players find an overseas path? Adopting a new citizenship". The New York Times.
  20. ↑ "Teaira McCowan – Women's Basketball". Mississippi State. Retrieved 2021-05-24.
  21. ↑ "Teaira McCowan WNBA Stats". Basketball Reference.
  22. ↑ "NCAA Statistics". web1.ncaa.org. Retrieved 2021-05-23.
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