If one thing has been true of Horizon League women’s basketball over the last several seasons, it’s that there is never much separation within its standings.
Though the HoriZone Roundtable staff has voted Green Bay as the championship favorite – should that prediction play out, it will be the Phoenix’s fourth consecutive crown – last season’s runner-up, Youngstown State, is right behind and certainly a credible threat to turn the tables.
That scenario repeats itself in several other places throughout our poll. For example, just two voting points separate fourth-place Cleveland State and sixth-place IU Indianapolis. The margin between Purdue Fort Wayne in seventh and Detroit Mercy in 11th, meanwhile, was seven points.
Seemingly, there are only two truly safe guesses at this point: at the end of the regular season and the first round of the HL tournament, six teams will be invited to the conference’s new home, Riverview Health Arena at Innovation Mile in Noblesville, IN to fight for a trophy, and we’ll have fun finding out who ends up making that trip.
Rank // Team // Points (First)
1 // Green Bay // 82 (5)
2 // Youngstown State // 78 (2)
3 // Robert Morris // 67
4 // Cleveland State // 53
5 // Oakland // 52
6 // IU Indianapolis // 51
7 // Purdue Fort Wayne // 41
8 // Northern Kentucky // 30
9 // Northern Illinois // 29
10 // Milwaukee // 26
11 // Detroit Mercy // 23
12 // Wright State // 14
On September 23rd, Green Bay welcomed back All-Horizon League second teamer Maddy Skorupski, who received a favorable ruling in one of the numerous eligibility-related lawsuits that dominated the summer news cycle. It was a nice outcome for the Phoenix late in the offseason, though the three-time defending conference champions likely would have been perfectly fine without her. Jenna Guyer, the 2025-26 HL Player of the Year, has graduated, but Kayla Karius swiped star power forward Jorey Buwalda from rival Milwaukee to significantly soften that blow. Olympic gold medalist Elisa Mevius (Oregon) and McKenna Johnson (Butler) are notable transfer additions as well, and returners Meghan Schultz and Gracie Grzesk, along with GB’s usual strong freshman class, round out the picture.
Last season represented a massive breakthrough for Youngstown State; the Penguins won 25 games and advanced to a conference championship game for the first time since 2000, when they were still a member of what is now the Summit League. Can Melissa Jackson’s squad take one more step and win YSU’s first Horizon League tournament title? Certainly, beating Green Bay for that honor is a tough ask, in this or any other year, but another dose of experience for a dominant frontcourt that includes the likes of Sarah Baker and Paulina Hernandez won’t hurt. Nor will the Penguins’ high-profile additions, which include former Cleveland State defensive ace Jada Leonard and walking Division II double-double Mia Kalich.
Without a doubt, Robert Morris has entered a new phase of program development. The Colonials are no longer an “upstart” or a “great story,” they’re simply “good” and expected to remain so as a baseline. So, even though RMU was hit with some key departures from last year’s 18-win squad – Aislin Malcolm and Bailey Kuhns, to name two – it’s generally accepted that they’ll find a way to keep rising. It certainly doesn’t hurt that massive pieces like Myriam Traore, Eva Levingston, and Ava Leroux are back, and the additions of former Duquesne sharpshooter Mackenzie Blackford, along with WNIT champion Timberlynn Yeast (who joins her sister Teigh, a freshman), bring plenty of high-level experience.
Despite losing Chris Kielsmeier, the most successful coach in program history, to Texas State, Cleveland State managed to retain a fair bit of continuity by hiring Bob Dunn, a two-time former Kielsmeier assistant who also spent recent time on high-major staffs at Miami and Penn State. That decision led to the Vikings losing just two players to the transfer portal (though both, Leonard and Macey Fegan, were starters) and broadly scanning more as a reshuffle than a rebuild. Dunn’s first roster, including returners Sarah Hurley and Paula Pique, as well as headlining transfer additions Alexa Hocevar and Macie Taylor, should be sound enough defensively to keep CSU in good shape.
Oakland was widely considered the worst team in the conference at the beginning of last season, but Keisha Newell’s Golden Grizzlies stunned most observers by beating teams like Robert Morris and Purdue Fort Wayne down the stretch, then nearly upsetting Cleveland State in the HL Tournament in arguably the best game of the season. Horizon League Freshman of the Year Makenzie Luehring was the team’s breakout star, both in that latter contest and generally; she’s back for a second year, and she’ll be well supported by Layla Gold, Lianna Baxter, and Angie Smith. NAIA transfer Samone Andrews and star freshman Sheridan Beal could wind up contributing plenty as well.
The sparkling new James T. Morris Arena will open in time to welcome IU Indianapolis this fall, marking an end to the program’s days in The Jungle, a cramped gym that few considered worthy of a Division I outfit. Otherwise, it’s fair to say that the Jags had a quiet offseason, but that’s probably a good thing following a strong close to 2025-26, and a surprise run to the Horizon League’s final five. Nevaeh Foster exited through the portal, but just about everyone else is back, including Hailey and Olivia Smith, Destini Craig, and Ariana Williams, as the team looks to take another step or two.
Wholesale changes struck Purdue Fort Wayne in the spring, when Maria Marchesano was rewarded for her incredible work in rebuilding the once-downtrodden Mastodons with a job at Butler, her alma mater. PFW did well finding Marchesano’s replacement: Kate Peterson Abiad, who has won Horizon League titles both as Cleveland State’s longtime head coach and as an assistant at Green Bay for the last couple seasons. It’s a reach to expect the same from her in year one, though she’ll have plenty of help from Claire Gregwer, a former NAIA superstar who used an eligibility wrinkle to play her final season for the Mastodons. High-potential big Avery Wagner will anchor the middle of the floor, while guard Nika Lokica is also back.
Northern Kentucky became the latest tale of woe for mid-major teams in the NIL/portal era during the offseason. After clicking over the second half of last season and building what would have been, at one time, positive momentum for the future, star freshmen Karina Bystry (Butler) and Maddie Moody (Marshall) departed for greener pastures. Jeff Hans’ reworked roster is a solid one though, including a bevy of international newcomers like Italian Gaia Castelli and Lucia Auza from Uruguay. Kennedy Younkin, a 6-2 transfer from East Tennessee State, should receive heavy minutes, while guards Anna Hamilton and Noelle Hubert offer continuity.
It’s largely been forgotten to history, but Northern Illinois was a powerhouse during its previous association with the Horizon League, and with the old North Star Conference (which, in the 1980s and early 1990s, housed most of the women’s teams that would eventually join the HL by 1994). The current Huskies probably aren’t quite ready to duplicate that run of five NCAA Tournament bids in six years just yet, but they have the chance to surprise some teams during Jacey Brooks’ second year in charge. Nevaeh Wingate fired home 13.5 points per game last season, second to Oakland’s Luehring among players returning to the same team. Emilie Sorensen is back to help on the perimeter, and a solid transfer class might produce immediately.
Milwaukee was one of the conference’s surprise teams last season, though certainly not in the way Kyle Rechlicz envisioned. What began as a hopeful push towards the middle of the standings devolved into an eight-win season (with just four of those coming during HL play). What’s more, the Panthers lost arguably their two best players, Buwalda and graduated guard Grace Lomen. Rechlicz, however, has faith that another year of growth will do wonders for what was an extremely young squad a year ago. Her daughter Payton remains one of its leaders, while steady Jada Williams will hold things down in the backcourt. Madison Fitzgibbon and Tierney Madigan earned loads of responsibility as true freshmen in 2025-26, while Sophia Rampulla is another breakout candidate.
In some ways, this season might represent a fresh start for Detroit Mercy. Entering 2025-26, the Titans lost head coach Kate Achter to Western Michigan, but subsequently promoted assistant Kiefer Haffey to the job, and were largely able to run it back. That decidedly didn’t go as planned, but UDM’s reshuffled roster certainly has a chance at better luck. Heavily-underrated Makayla Jackson, Maya Anderson, Anna Lassan and high-ceiling big Addisen Mastriano are all back, and the addition of former Buffalo guard Paula Lopez immediately gives the Titans one of the league’s better facilitators. Guard Colleena Bryant, a Detroit native who transferred home from Saint Mary’s, should also contribute immediately.
Wright State put together a solid, if under the radar, transfer class. The group includes 6-3 Allie Daniels, formerly of Division II West Virginia Wesleyan, and the hope inside the Nutter Center is that she can team with Grace Okih to bring the sort of credibility in the paint that has eluded Kari Hoffman for most of her tenure with the Raiders. Another solid addition was Jasmine Fearne, who spent four frequently-injured seasons at Bowling Green, but should offer WSU another weapon in its ever-potent three-point arsenal. Returner Rylee Sagester certainly knows a couple things about long-range shooting, and she, Olivia Brown, and Abbie Riddle should be complemented by a strong freshman class, highlighted by Spanish wing Paula Sevilla.
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