Teaira McCowan

Teaira McCowan — Biography

Teaira McCowan is an American-born basketball player who also holds Turkish citizenship since 2023 and plays for the Turkish women's national team. She stood out in college for her defense, was picked third in the 2019 WNBA draft and has played for Fenerbahçe Opet since October 2025.

Born in Bryan, Texas, she grew up in Brenham and graduated from Brenham High School. At Mississippi State she won SEC Player of the Year and the WBCA Defensive Player of the Year award, was named an All-American after her junior season and became the first winner of the Naismith Defensive Player of the Year award. Taken third by the Indiana Fever in 2019, she won her first game for them with a buzzer-beating layup, 81-80; she finished the season averaging 10 points and 9 rebounds, ranked second in the league in rebounding and made the All-Rookie Team. She stayed with the Fever through 2021, moved to the Dallas Wings in a March 2022 trade and played there until 2024, and in 2026 signed with the Minnesota Lynx for the rest of the season.

In Europe she signed with Galatasaray in August 2022, returned to Galatasaray in January 2024 and moved to ÇBK Mersin in November 2024. She joined Fenerbahçe Opet in October 2025, won the Women's Presidential Cup with the club and was in the squad that reached the final in spring 2026.