Though the transfer portal remains a gnawing, persistent presence all over the mid-major world, observers of the now-12 teams in Horizon League women’s basketball shouldn’t be blamed if they find things extremely familiar right now.
Sure, 11 of the 15 players on the HL’s most recent all-conference teams have departed since the spring, but graduation, not the deep pockets of larger schools, was the culprit in all but three of those cases. Meanwhile, most of the water in the next wave of talent poised to take its place at the top of the conference is produced by student-athletes who have already been around for a year or two – even if a couple have switched schools somewhere along their journey.
It shouldn’t come as any surprise, then, that the projected favorites dominated our preseason all-conference voting, with last year’s tournament championship game participants, Green Bay and Youngstown State, collecting eight of the 15 spots. The Penguins’ league-high five selections include three players who have already received an HL individual award (Sarah Baker, Jada Leonard, and Paulina Hernandez), one who probably should have (Danielle Cameron), and a newcomer who won plenty of hardware at the Division II level (Mia Kalich).
Defending champion Green Bay, meanwhile, has two previous HL award winners (Jorey Buwalda and Meghan Schultz), along with an Olympic gold medalist (Elisa Mevius).
That’s not exactly the sort of dynamic that makes for a heated, contentious vote.
Nevertheless, here are our selections of the Horizon League’s best players ahead of the 2026-27 campaign.
First Team
Jorey Buwalda* // F // Green Bay
Sarah Baker // F // Youngstown State
Meghan Schultz // F/C // Green Bay
Myriam Traore // G/F // Robert Morris
Makenzie Luehring // G // Oakland
*Player of the Year
The 2025-26 postseason Horizon League Player of the Year was Green Bay do-everything forward Jenna Guyer, so it seems at least a little logical that Jorey Buwalda – the player who now may be counted on to fill Guyer’s shoes for the Phoenix – receives consideration to follow her at banquet season. Of course, Buwalda has already proven plenty in her own right as an All-HL Third Teamer last year at Milwaukee. She approached a double-double average with 12.1 points and 8.7 rebounds per game and, like Guyer, is also capable of hitting a perimeter shot once in a while.
After a false start of a 2024-25 that ended with injury, Sarah Baker finally played a full season for Youngstown State last year, earning her way on to the Horizon League’s All-Freshman Team by anchoring what could fairly be called the best frontcourt in the conference. Her 11.5 points placed second on the Penguins, and considering that she has range well beyond “putback merchant,” her field goal percentage of 52.5 was outstanding as well. YSU will be considered by most as the top threat to dethrone Green Bay, and Baker will be instrumental in determining whether that happens.
If Buwalda ends up being the HL Player of the Year, it will be largely thanks to Meghan Schultz, who anchors the middle of the floor for Green Bay and gives Kayla Karius the ability to get a bit creative with her other forwards. At 6-4, she is a matchup nightmare, and opponents often figure that the best way to beat Schultz is to attack with speed and get her in foul trouble. However, she doesn’t need much time on the floor to make an impact; her 12.5 points and 4.3 rebounds per game last season occurred within just 20.7 minutes.
Chandler McCabe has made a ton of outstanding transfer additions in her time at Robert Morris, many of whom helped the once-downtrodden Colonials improve to 18 wins a year ago. It’s hard to argue that any of them have been better than Myriam Traore. The former Siena player’s level of athleticism in a 6-3 frame is practically unfair, and she seemed to put everything together down the stretch for RMU, including 20-plus points in wins over IU Indianapolis, Wright State, and Detroit Mercy, as well as in a close call at Youngstown State. Bobby Mo seems poised to take another step this year, and Traore should be right in the middle of it.
The last time the public watched Makenzie Luehring play basketball, she set a new Horizon League Tournament single-game scoring record, dumping in 39 points during a near-upset of Cleveland State back in March. As electric as that effort may have been, it was just a single data point in the conference freshman of the year’s incredible campaign, one that also saw two other 30-point contests. Luehring is the HL’s leading returning scorer by a full three points per game – but don’t overcommit to her, or she’s liable to burn you with one of her 3.7 assists per outing. Can she somehow propel even higher from here? If so, look out.
Second Team
Jada Leonard // G // Youngstown State
Elisa Mevius // G // Green Bay
Paulina Hernandez // F // Youngstown State
Eva Levingston // F // Robert Morris
Nevaeh Wingate // F // Northern Illinois
Though Youngstown State lost a pair of star players following their breakout 2025-26 season, they did a superb job replacing them through the transfer portal. One such addition is Jada Leonard, snagged from rival Cleveland State in the aftermath of the Vikings’ coaching change. Leonard, an HL All-Defensive Team selection last year after averaging 2.9 steals per game, figures to serve as the most direct substitute for the graduated Casey Santoro.
How many Olympic gold medalists have ever played in the Horizon League? The answer is at least one, as new Green Bay guard Elisa Mevius earned the top spot on the podium with Germany’s 3×3 team at the 2024 Paris Games. As it turns out, Mevius is no slouch at 5×5 basketball either. In her last full season at Oregon, 2024-25, she was a regular starter for the Ducks and averaged 6.6 points, 3.0 assists, and 1.6 steals per game. If it’s not obvious from all of that, it’s entirely possible that she’s significantly underrated on the second team here.
Paulina Hernandez won the Horizon League’s Sixth Player of the Year award in the spring, though it seems likely that she will receive a promotion to Melissa Jackson’s first five in the wake of Sophia Gregory’s transfer to Liberty. That prospect might be a little scary for anyone looking to score in the YSU paint since, even while coming off the bench and playing 16 minutes per game last season, Hernandez ranked 28th nationally with 1.8 blocked shots per game (her per-40 number, 4.5, was sixth-best).
It’s unlikely, but still possible, that the phrase “rock fighter” was coined to describe Eva Levingston. The former Cal State Fullerton forward became responsible for much of the interior dirty work in her first season at Robert Morris in 2025-26, leading the Colonials with 6.5 rebounds per game and serving as a worthy complement to more heralded players like Traore and Aislin Malcolm. With a deep and talented perimeter lineup, and Ava Leroux next to her, Levingston could be poised for another big year.
In some ways, Northern Illinois will be a bit of a mystery during their first season back in the Horizon League, though it seems safe to pencil in Nevaeh Wingate for a bunch of points. Wingate, a former St. John’s player, led the Huskies with 13.5 tallies per game last year and closed the season by scoring 20 or more times in five of her last eight games. Though she’s NIU’s clear go-to player on offense, her defense (including 2.0 steals per game) isn’t to be trifled with either.
Third Team
Alexa Hocevar // G // Cleveland State
Danielle Cameron // G // Youngstown State
Lianna Baxter // C/F // Oakland
Makayla Jackson // G/W // Detroit Mercy
Mia Kalich // F // Youngstown State
Recruiting Alexa Hocevar was one of new Cleveland State head coach Bob Dunn’s top priorities after he took the job, and it’s little wonder why: at IU Indianapolis two years ago, the Willoughby Hills, OH native stuffed the stat sheet to the tune of 8.1 points, 4.7 rebounds, 1.9 assists, and 1.5 steals per game. She’s also a positive culture player, one who seems poised to garner the sort of responsibility with the Vikings that could lead to a career year.
Sniper Danielle Cameron hit the three-pointer that locked down Youngstown State’s biggest win in years – their semifinal triumph over CSU in last season’s Horizon League tournament – and knocked down plenty of others before and after that on the way to becoming one of the nation’s more prolific snipers. The Penguins, as usual, should be pretty well set on the front line, but Cameron’s shot provides a vital counterbalance.
Slowly, but surely, Lianna Baxter has evolved into one of the conference’s top post players, and she took her most recent step forward in Keisha Newell’s first season, an effort that included a team-high 5.3 rebounds per game. With the likes of Luehring and Layla Gold back, along with a couple of savvy transfer additions and maturing depth, Baxter won’t have to do anything more than what she’s been doing for the Golden Grizzlies to succeed.
It sort of seems like Makayla Jackson has been at Detroit Mercy forever. She hasn’t been, but then again, her three completed seasons at UDM (which have included a coaching change and a couple of substantial roster turnover operations) certainly make it seem that way, all things considered. The Virginian is a high-energy player who always seems to be squarely in the middle of the Titans’ biggest moments.
Along with Hernandez, Mia Kalich will serve as insurance against Gregory’s departure. The Northeast Ohioan spent the first three years of her career at Division II outpost Seton Hill, and thoroughly dominated at that level, including averaging a double-double during each of the last two seasons. In 2025-26, she ranked among the top five nationally in field goal percentage (2nd, 63.9 percent), rebounds per game (4th, 12.1), and steals per game (4th, 4.0). Wondering how all of that will translate to DI? Look no further than another former YSU great: Lilly Ritz.
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