Cleveland State announced its 2026-27 non-conference schedule on Friday, with Bob Dunn’s first slate featuring a healthy mix of the familiar and the novel.
It also may very well be the Vikings’ toughest lineup of games in recent years, to the extent such things can be determined before the season starts. For the first time since the 2022-23 campaign, CSU is set to play multiple high-major opponents, beginning with an opener at Big Ten foe Penn State on November 2nd, followed by a trip to Xavier of the Big East exactly two weeks later.
Penn State, of course, was Dunn’s employer during the 2025-26 season, when he was an assistant coach on Carolyn Kieger’s staff. However, the Vikings won’t enjoy much of a familiarity advantage; PSU dismissed Kieger at the end of the year, a move followed by a complete roster turnover. The new Lady Lions coach is Tanisha Wright, a program legend as a player from 2001-05 who subsequently spent the next two decades in the WNBA as either a player or a coach.
It will also be the PSU debut for Kamrah Banks, a four-star freshman point guard from Indianapolis who projects to be a significant part of the Lady Lions’ fate from the opening tip. Skyler Durley, the 2025-26 Mountain West Conference’s Freshman of the Year while at Nevada, is another player to watch. Petra Božan and Savannah White, intra-conference transfers from Nebraska and Wisconsin, respectively, should provide plenty of presence underneath as well.
Xavier is a bit more of a known quantity at this stage, as the Musketeers improved to 11-19 overall in Billi Chambers’ third season in charge, though XU added Kejia Ran over the offseason, a Chinese guard who was chosen by the Atlanta Dream with the 46th selection of this year’s WNBA Draft. Former CSU center Mya Moore will be playing her first games with the team, after an Achilles tear sidelined the Milwaukee native for all of 2025-26.
Moore won’t be the only former Viking involved with the non-conference schedule, as a visit to Akron on December 14th will feature a reunion with both forward Macey Fegan and assistant coach Chenara Wilson. The Zips, a Cleveland State opponent for the fifth straight season, are just one of three Mid-American Conference schools dotting the 12 non-conference games, a group that also includes Bowling Green (away on November 5th) and Kent State (at home on November 21st).
A trip to Drake, on November 10th, rounds out what will be a four-game road swing to open the regular season. The Bulldogs, of the Missouri Valley Conference, have generally been one of the stronger programs in the mid-major ranks over the years. With seven of nine rotation players returning, including Anna Becker, Maggie Taylor, and Lexi Carlsen, Allison Pohlman’s squad should present a stiff test about on par with Penn State and Xavier.
For the third straight year, Cleveland State will head to San Juan to participate in the December edition of the Puerto Rico Clasico. However, it will be the first time that the Vikings will face a pair of Division I opponents on the island, specifically Chicago State (December 19th) and Eastern Washington (December 20th).
CSU’s other regular multi-team event, the Viking Invitational, returns to Woodling Gymnasium during Thanksgiving week, though it’s been shaved from three games to two, and the entire showcase now takes place before the holiday (versus the Wednesday/Friday/Saturday setup of recent years). Georgia Southern (November 24th) and Lindenwood (November 25th) will face the home team, with Western Michigan also on hand to battle the Eagles and Lions, but not the Vikings.
A home game against Mercyhurst (December 11th) and a tune up against NAIA foe Defiance (December 28th) round things out.
Once that non-conference schedule is out of the way, Cleveland State will play the meat of what will be an as-yet-unannounced 20-game Horizon League season, a number that remains unchanged despite Northern Illinois bringing the HL’s membership to 12 this year.
Cleveland State’s 2026-27 Non-Conference Schedule
| Date | Opponent | Location | Arena |
|---|---|---|---|
| October 28 | Clarion Exhibition | Cleveland, OH | Wolstein Center |
| November 2 | Penn State | University Park, PA | Bryce Jordan Center |
| November 5 | Bowling Green | Bowling Green, OH | Stroh Center |
| November 10 | Drake | Des Moines, IA | Knapp Center |
| November 16 | Xavier | Cincinnati, OH | Cintas Center |
| November 21 | Kent State | Cleveland, OH | Wolstein Center |
| November 24 | Georgia Southern Viking Invitational | Cleveland, OH | Woodling Gymnasium |
| November 25 | Lindenwood Viking Invitational | Cleveland, OH | Woodling Gymnasium |
| December 11 | Mercyhurst | Cleveland, OH | Woodling Gymnasium |
| December 14 | Akron | Akron, OH | James A. Rhodes Arena |
| December 19 | Chicago State Puerto Rico Clasico | San Juan, PR | TBA |
| December 20 | Eastern Washington Puerto Rico Clasico | San Juan, PR | TBA |
| December 28 | Defiance | Cleveland, OH | Wolstein Center |
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