Projecting the Horizon League for the coming season is primarily an exercise in trust.
After all, last year’s top three teams, Green Bay, Purdue Fort Wayne, and Cleveland State, were each battered by high-profile departures, whether through graduation or the transfer portal. So really, anyone attempting to place those schools for 2025-26 is first answering a fundamental question: how much do you trust the team’s coaching staff and established legacy to execute an instant rebuild?
The answer, it turns out, is “quite a bit,” as that trio once again leads our preseason poll of writers and podcast staff.
The Phoenix’s claim in that regard has a few decades of tradition behind it, of course, not to mention a star-studded list of additions. While CSU and PFW don’t have quite that lengthy of a track record, they do have well-established coaches who have elevated their respective programs from previous doldrums – and earned that trust that declares that no matter what happens, their teams will be good.
Ascendant Robert Morris and Youngstown State are among those who will attempt to crash the party, under second-year head coaches Chandler McCabe and Melissa Jackson. Meanwhile, a first-year coach (technically speaking), Kiefer Haffey, hopes his Detroit Mercy squad can find another gear after returning much of its roster.
| Place | Team | Points |
|---|---|---|
| 1. | Green Bay | 55 |
| 2. | Cleveland State | 44 |
| 3. | Purdue Fort Wayne | 42 |
| 4. | Robert Morris | 33 |
| 5. | Youngstown State | 32 |
| 6. | Detroit Mercy | 31 |
| 7. | Northern Kentucky | 26 |
| 8. | Milwaukee | 21 |
| 9. | Wright State | 20 |
| 10. | IU Indianapolis | 14 |
| 11. | Oakland | 12 |
If anyone needed evidence that Green Bay lives a charmed existence, the Phoenix’s offseason should have taken care of that. After graduating a star-studded class that spent most of the last five years together and led the way to the two most recent Horizon League titles – Bailey Butler, Natalie McNeal, Jasmine Kondrakiewicz, Maddy Schreiber, and Cassie Schiltz – Kayla Karius hit the transfer portal with a fervor previously unseen in the program. The result? Two established Horizon League stars, Maddy Skorupski and Kamy Peppler, a pair of former high major players making their way back home, Lily Hansford and Gracie Grzesk, and another, Carley Duffney, who played for Karius at South Dakota. Add in returners like Jenna Guyer, and GB’s typically-strong freshman group, and it will once again be championship or bust in Titletown.
Though Cleveland State’s roster was all but leveled by the transfer portal in the spring (including the losses of Jordana Reisma, Mickayla Perdue, and Destiny Leo) the Vikings rebounded well to assemble a group that should retain CSU’s customary place near the top of the league. One star who didn’t leave is Colbi Maples, though the 2023-24 Horizon League Player of the Year is returning to action after an ACL tear last November. Maples will be complemented by Jada Leonard, a lanky guard who was the leading scorer at Saint Peter’s in back-to-back years, and sharpshooting former Valparaiso and Northern Colorado wing Ella Van Weelden. Transfers Izabella Zingaro and Laurel Rockwood form what should be one of the HL’s best post rotations, while returners Macey Fegan and Sarah Hurley will look to take another developmental step.
After Purdue Fort Wayne made the final move towards joining the likes of Green Bay and Cleveland State among the Horizon League elite last year, it only makes sense that the Mastodons now have something else in common with the Phoenix and Vikings: the uncertainty of a substantially-rebuilt roster. Gone is the group that led PFW’s progression from one win to its best Division I efforts, including long-term standouts like Amellia Bromenschenkel and Audra Emmerson, as well as more-recent headliners like Lauren Ross (coincidentally, all three are now assistant coaches, with Ross sticking around on Maria Marchesano’s staff). Jordan Reid, last season’s HL Sixth Player of the Year, will receive an expanded role as the Dons’ most notable returner, while fellow former NAIA All-Americans Alana Nelson and Lauren Lee lead the program’s next wave.
In Chandler McCabe’s first season at Robert Morris, the Colonials abruptly became a Horizon League contender after spending most of their first four seasons in the conference near the bottom of the standings. Far from satisfied with a run to the HL semifinals, RMU pushed forward and recharged its roster with a large transfer class highlighted by a couple of high-profile additions, Bailey Kuhns and Aislin Malcolm. Kuhns spent the first three years of her career at Mercyhurst and helped the Lakers transition to Division I, while placing 22nd in the nation in scoring last year with 20.3 points per game. Meanwhile, Malcolm is a former top-100 recruit who was an every-game starter at Pitt two years ago. The Colonials’ 2024-25 leaders in scoring (Noa Givon) and assists (Jada Lee) are back as well.
Year two of Melissa Jackson’s tenure at Youngstown State, unlike her first, carries some expectation. A lot of that burden ties to the way the Penguins finished the 2024-25 regular season: three wins in their final four tries, including a stunner over Cleveland State. YSU was a young team that frequently showed it, but by the second half of the schedule, eventual Horizon League Freshman of the Year Sophia Gregory had emerged as a top player in the conference. Gregory will be joined along the Guins’ front by a pair of high-ceiling players who had most, or all, of their seasons wiped out by injury, Sarah Baker and Ashlynn Van Tassell, as well as by former CSU players Faith Burch and Paulina Hernandez. Casey Santoro was a savvy transfer addition for her ability to offer some balance and mentor YSU’s young guards.
After what can fairly be called a lost decade, Detroit Mercy finally found some continuity and success under former head coach Kate Achter. So, when Achter left for Western Michigan after last season, athletic director Robert Vowels made the logical decision – he promoted assistant coach Kiefer Haffey to the head job, with the hope that he can keep the train running. So far, so good, as the Titans were able to retain most of a roster that went 15-15 overall last season. That includes 2024-25 All-Horizon League third team pick Aaliyah McQueen, who blossomed at her fourth college stop with 13.6 points and 7.4 rebounds per game. Makayla Jackson, Myonna Hooper, and Katie Burton are also back, and former Northern Kentucky players Kailee Davis and Allison Basye anchor an intriguing group of newcomers.
In 13 years as the head coach at Thomas More, Northern Kentucky’s Jeff Hans lost exactly 42 times. Then, in his first season at NKU, the Norse dropped 21 games. Even with the program rebuilding in the aftermath of the contentious end to Camryn Volz’s tenue, “aberration” doesn’t adequately cover those results in the broader arc of Hans’ career, so it’s probably safe to say that the Norse will be improved. How much improved? That largely depends on under-the-radar additions like Taysha Rushton, a guard who has been among the best in the nation at the Division II and NAIA levels, a handful of former juco players, and a freshman class good enough to vie for early playing time. NKU returns Kamora Morgan, a breakout star as a rookie last season, as well as Mya Meredith and her per-game output of 10.8 points and 6.2 rebounds.
Uncharacteristically, Milwaukee found itself in last place at the end of 2024-25, after the Panthers had typically been one of the Horizon League’s perennially-strong squads for most of Kyle Rechlicz’s tenure. Though Rechlicz will have to confront some key losses – not the least of which was starting point guard Peppler, to UWM’s archrival – she’s encouraged by the potential for breakouts from under-the-radar players like Grace Lomen and Sophia Rampulla. As always, Milwaukee will have one of the league’s strongest frontcourts, featuring Payton Rechlicz, Jorey Buwalda, and Cece McNair, while newcomers Rita Gomes, Olivia Olson, and Valérie Cassidy-De Falco will be counted on to fill in the team’s holes on the perimeter. One other thing to keep in mind: last year, Milwaukee lost seven games by one possession, or in overtime, and another five by two possessions.
On January 4th, Wright State lost its tenth straight game to drop to 2-14 overall. That was quite a precipitous fall for a program that had shown steady progress in Kari Hoffman’s first three seasons at the helm, including a trip to the Horizon League semifinals in 2023-24. The good news is that the Raiders went on to win half of their final 16 games, offering the notion of something to build on. That’s not a crazy thought. Though rebound vacuum Amaya Staton graduated and both Macie Taylor and Makiya Miller transferred, WSU does return human utility knife Claire Henson, as well as Lauren Scott and Olivia Brown. From there, Hoffman will likely rely heavily on guard Breezie Williams, who starred at Bryant last year, as well as continued development from Rylee Sagester, Abbie Riddle, and Chloe Chard Peloquin.
With Katie Davidson now at South Florida, IU Indianapolis is trying to re-construct its identity for the second time in Kate Bruce’s four years in charge. The good news for the Jaguars is that talented Nevaeh Foster headlines the team’s five returning players, after averaging just shy of ten points per game last season. The bad news is that none of the others played significantly (though guard Camron Blank and her 11.3 minutes per game is a debatable case), so the Jags are sorely lacking game experience. Bruce brought in a trio of Ball State transfers in the spring, including twin sisters Olivia and Hailey Smith, a group that offers the pedigree of a top MAC program. Ariana Williams, a 6-2 forward from Chicago who spent her freshman season at Penn State, will likely receive heavy usage as well.
New coach Keisha Newell brings a much-needed change of energy to Oakland, a program that has struggled in recent years, thanks in part to Jeff Tungate’s health issues and frequent absences. A year-one miracle from Newell might be asking a lot, but she has a track record of quick turnarounds and immediate success, thanks to previous stints at Division II Lewis and Roosevelt University, of the NAIA. Despite the coaching change, OU did manage to hang on to an underrated center tandem of Lianna Baxter and Sereniti Roberts-Adams, along with guard Jazzy Dupree-Hebert. However, the bulk of the Golden Grizzlies’ production is likely to come from an interesting group of additions, highlighted by former DePaul guard Angie Smith, Layla Gold, a wing who started at Valparaiso last season, and a large freshman class, several of whom are former Lewis commits.
Preview Week 2025-26
MBB: Preseason Poll | Preseason All-League | Preseason Awards
WBB: Preseason Poll | Preseason All-League | Preseason Awards
Cleveland State (MBB | WBB) | Detroit Mercy (MBB | WBB) | Green Bay (MBB | WBB) | IU Indy (MBB | WBB)
Milwaukee (MBB | WBB) | Northern Kentucky (MBB | WBB) | Oakland (MBB | WBB) | Purdue Fort Wayne (MBB | WBB)
Robert Morris (MBB | WBB) | Wright State (MBB | WBB) | Youngstown State (MBB | WBB)
