Final spring, there have been 5 head coaches of their first seasons of main a program that made the NCAA Match.
Jan Jensen obtained Iowa the second spherical after taking the reins from Lisa Bluder. Following Karl Smesko’s departure for the WNBA’s Atlanta Dream, Chelsea Lyles stored Florida Gulf Coast dancing. Likewise, Gavin Petersen obtained Utah into March Insanity after taking on in November for Lynne Roberts. Kayla Karius took Inexperienced Bay dancing in her first season, and Kim Caldwell powered a new-look Tennessee all the way in which to the Candy 16.
Lately in school sports activities, it’s a bit simpler for a coach to place their very own impression and mark on a roster and rebuild a workforce of their picture. Because of the switch portal, gamers that match a coach’s fashion may be discovered rapidly.
Forward of the 2025-26 season, a handful of coaches have set themselves as much as have success of their first marketing campaign. One which stands out is Lee Cummard at BYU, who brings again Large 12 Rookie of the Yr Delaney Gibb and likewise will get 3-point sharpshooter Kailey Woolston again on the roster after a yr off for an LDS mission journey.
Larry Vickers combed the switch portal to construct what appears to be a high quality first-year roster at Auburn, and expectations will probably be excessive for coaches like Winston Gandy and Raina Harmon, who take over the reins of mid-major powers at Grand Canyon and FGCU, respectively.
However amongst all the top coaches getting into the 2025-26 season in a brand new job, Arizona State’s Molly Miller might need probably the most spectacular roster.
Miller’s bonafides as a head coach are properly established. In 5 seasons at Grand Canyon, she had a 117-38 report, profitable 75.5 % of her video games. Earlier than that, she received 91 % of her video games over six seasons at Division II Drury and took the Panthers to the Last 4 in 2019.
It was this success that made Miller arguably probably the most sought-after teaching candidate available on the market final spring, as she drew heavy curiosity from a number of Energy 4 applications, together with a handful within the SEC.
Now, Miller makes the leap into the Energy 4 at Arizona State, which received 10 video games final season. Miller overhauled this roster, bringing again only one starter and three different returners from final yr’s workforce. The returning starter is Jyah LoVett, a guard with a profession 36.7 taking pictures share from 3-point land.
The additions to the roster embrace Deborah Davenport, who was a starter in all 34 video games for a Northwest Florida State School workforce that received its second straight JUCO nationwide title final season. McKinna Brackens comes over after averaging 9.8 factors and 5.7 rebounds per sport for UNLV final season, and Jordan Jones joins the Solar Devils after averaging 19.8 factors per sport and setting Denver’s single-season scoring report. Jones was additionally fifth within the nation in free throws made per sport final season.
Moreover, Acacia Hayes averaged double figures in scoring in every of the previous three seasons for Western Kentucky.
Some Energy 4 gamers are right here too, together with the well-traveled Gabby Elliott, who has began in video games for Clemson, Michigan State and Penn State all through her profession. Marley Washenitz involves Arizona State after beginning in 78 video games for Pitt over the previous three seasons, and it’s fairly attainable that no participant improved extra as a 3-point shooter over the previous yr than her. She shot 12.8 % from deep as a sophomore, then jumped to 35 % as a junior, flattening 1.3 threes per sport.
Heloisa Carrera of Ole Miss is right here too, and so is LSU veteran Final-Tear Poa. Whereas she didn’t pile up eye-popping stats for the Tigers as they received a nationwide championship and superior to 2 Elite Eights, Poa featured in 102 video games for Kim Mulkey’s aspect and began in 27 of them. She offered the Tigers with sharp passing and a flexible defensive presence and may do the identical for the Solar Devils. In LSU’s nationwide title win over Iowa in 2023, Poa knocked down a pair of 3-pointers and drew two expenses on Caitlin Clark.
Freshman Amaya Williams, who was a workforce captain on the California powerhouse Mater Dei, may very well be a rookie to look at too.
Among the many few returners, Jyah LoVett ought to assist the Solar Devils too after beginning in 21 video games as a sophomore final season. She averaged 8.9 factors, 2.6 rebounds and a pair of.1 assists per sport whereas taking pictures 41.3 % from the ground and 35.2 % from 3-point land.
4 gamers on this Arizona State roster — LoVett, Moore, Elliott and Washenitz — every shot higher than 35 % from 3-point vary final season. Discovering success in taking pictures from behind the arc was one thing that Miller’s Grand Canyon’s groups did properly, because the Lopes have been thirteenth nationally in 3-point taking pictures final season with a collective 36.8 % mark.
Miller has assembled a roster that ought to assist Arizona State compete within the Large 12 immediately. The Solar Devils haven’t made the NCAA Match since 2019, however this workforce might need what it takes to finish that drought.
