Becoming a college basketball coach, then being charged with building a program that can emerge from years, or even decades, of doldrums is one of the toughest jobs in the world. More fail than succeed, and every step along the way (whatever the eventual outcome) is chronicled on scoreboards and message boards, facilitating everyone from athletic directors to casual fans in forming often-loud opinions of their work.
It’s a lot of why coaches tend to be chronic workaholics, as they look for that last little bit of film that will give them an advantage on a game-deciding play, or that under-the-radar prospect that can immediately change a team’s fortunes.
That’s what makes Northern Illinois’ Jacey Brooks either a little bit of an oddity, or perhaps completely normal in her chosen line of work. In February of 2025, NIU announced that it was leaving the Mid-American Conference for the Horizon League in most sports. Roughly five weeks later, Brooks agreed to become the Huskies’ new women’s basketball coach. In doing so, she deliberately signed up for a bit of an impediment in her efforts to turn around the fortunes of an outfit that hasn’t enjoyed a winning season since 2018-19.
Brooks was extremely familiar with the MAC, thanks to two seasons as the associate head coach at Buffalo (the latter of which resulted in a WNIT championship), as well as a previous five-year run on the staff at Bowling Green.
“I knew the MAC very, very well, knew the coaches, knew what every team was trying to do,” she acknowledged.
The Huskies’ second-year coach also has experience at three other western New York schools, including SUNY Cortland, Canisius, and St. Bonaventure. However, none of those institutions are members of the Horizon League.
That means, on top of everything else asked of Brooks and her staff as they try to build off of a seven-win introductory season, unfamiliar opponents to learn inside and out before conference play starts, a different scheduling cadence, and even new cities where the director of operations Tyler Vaundry must try to find the best hotels and restaurants.
Brooks will hardly be heading into the unknown alone.
In fact, in some respects, she has what can be considered one of the most experienced teams in the HL, even if the roster as the whole scans as superficially young. Of NIU’s six returners, five have started for the Huskies before, led by Nevaeh Wingate and Emilie Sorensen, who were every-gamers last year. Though there’s plenty to contrast between the senior post player and the sophomore guard, both established stars enter 2026-27 on an upward trajectory and should help their team make an immediate impact in strange territory.
Guard Alecia Doyle should play a prominent role as well, as she averaged 11.5 points per game in 2024-25 before missing Brooks’ first season at the helm with an injury. Same for Sa’Mahn Johnson, who flashed as a true freshman last year.
Point guard Ashlynn Brooke, though new to NIU, is essentially making the same transition as the rest of the program after spending three championship-winning years at Ball State. She’s likely the Huskies’ top transfer addition, though the likes of Anna Stromberg and Atarah Walker offer some much-needed size to a roster that ranked near the bottom of the list nationally in rebounding, blocked shots, and field goal percentage allowed last season.
Brooks certainly hopes that her eight newcomers – including a massive class of four freshmen – can help improve Northern Illinois’ paltry scoring output of 57.5 points per game a year ago.
“I feel like we’re leaps and bounds further than where we were last year at this point,” the coach said. “We’re a little more well-rounded this year. We’re able to score the ball; last year we struggled to score, unfortunately.”
However it all plays out by March, Brooks is sure of at least two things. One is that her team won’t be outworked. The other is that she has the right people around her to take her best shot at a historic first run through a new circuit.
“I have a great group of young women who genuinely enjoy being around each other each and every day,” she said.
Returning Players
Cyra Conwell / Sophomore / 5-5 / G / Chicago, IL / Butler College Prep
Though she only ended up playing 12.4 minutes per game by the end of the year, and despite being recruited by former coach Lisa Carlsen, Conwell did earn some measure of trust from Brooks early on with four starts in the first half of her freshman season. Between that, and Conwell’s sticking around through at least two clear opportunities to leave, there’s plenty of evidence that she could play a notable role for the Huskies in the coming season. The Chicago native isn’t likely to provide a massive scoring boost (though she did manage ten points in a game against UIC last November) but can still be trusted to play mistake-free ball during important stretches.
Alecia Doyle / Graduate / 5-8 / G / Carterville, IL / Carterville HS/SEMO
Doyle is something of an ace in the hole for the Huskies, as she returns after missing the 2025-26 season due to injury. However, two years ago, the former Southeast Missouri Stater was second on the team with 11.5 points per game, including four 20-point efforts in the last nine times she took the court. She’s a true three-level scorer, a label that includes the lost art of the mid-range jumper and a 35 percent mark from three-point range, and though she’s never appeared in a game for Brooks (her 2024-25 output came under Carlsen), she seems a natural fit for the current leader’s system.
Sa’Mahn Johnson / Sophomore / 5-7 / G / Columbus, OH / Reynoldsburg HS
More or less immediately on her arrival as a true freshman last season, Johnson became an important part of NIU’s backcourt, including six starts and 16.1 minutes per game. The former Ohio Division I state champion essentially defines the term “volume shooter,” with a whopping 17.5 field goal attempts per 40 minutes in 2025-26, along with a 30.8 percent usage rate (a number that ranked 58th in the nation). That confidence often paid off though, as Johnson enjoyed six games with 14 or more points, including a career-high 19 tallies against Indiana State last December, thanks largely to her getting to the free throw line 12 times.
Lexi Kerstein / Junior / 5-6 / G / Riverwoods, IL / Deerfield HS/Vermont
A former America East Conference champion while at Vermont in 2024-25, Kerstein followed Brooks to DeKalb last offseason and will look to break into an extremely crowded guard rotation. She played in two contests for the Huskies last year, though one is definitely worth mentioning: Kerstein was pressed into action for 18 minutes against Milwaukee on November 7th and ended up with three steals, though the Panthers went on to win the game.
Emilie Sorensen / Sophomore / 5-9 / G / Waukee, IA / Waukee HS
Sorensen’s freshman season at NIU couldn’t have gone much better: she became the first Husky rookie in ten years to start every game, then ended up on the MAC All-Freshman Team. That accolade was largely earned behind the arc, as her 38.0 percent success rate from three-point range was sixth among MAC players who attempted at least three triples per contest. In all, the Iowan scored 9.8 points per game, with one highlight including a vital 21 points (mostly on six threes) in NIU’s best win of 2025-26, a last-second 71-69 result against Texas State.
“Shooting’s my game,” Sorensen shrugged, while adding that she also likes to work out of the post.
She’s not lying about that. Far from a one-dimensional bomber, Sorensen scored more than a quarter of her points from two-point range last year, and also gets to the free throw line at an elite rate. In fact, her career-high 22 points against Western Michigan in January only included nine points on threes.
Nevaeh Wingate / Senior / 6-0 / F / Liverpool, NY / Liverpool HS/St. John’s
Other than Oakland’s Makenzie Luehring, no player returning to a current Horizon League team averaged more points per game than Wingate’s 13.5. Despite being relatively small, an even six feet tall, she largely plays as a conventional post, with an uncanny ability to sneak behind coverage or deploy a deep bag of moves. However, it’s probably not best to think of her in the classic “immovable object” sense.
“I’m a very versatile post,” Wingate elaborated. “I like to get downhill. Posting up is my thing, but also being on the perimeter and being able to shoot the three is a capability of mine.”
Incidentally, so are passing (2.0 assists per game) and defense (2.0 steals per game), though Wingate’s scoring took most of the headlines down the stretch last season when she averaged 18.2 points in nine games after February 1st. With more size on the roster this year, Brooks has the luxury of considering some different ways to get the ball in her star’s hands, though sticking with what works is certainly a viable option as well.
Incoming Players
Komari Booker / Freshman / 6-1 / F / Indianapolis, IN / Pike HS
Brooks loves Booker’s athleticism and energy, two traits that could help the Indianapolis native see playing time earlier than expected of most freshmen. She’s a classic power forward (something in short supply on the NIU roster), renowned for her rebounding ability, and helped Pike to a sectional championship last season. It’s not particularly easy to win any sort of individual award in hoops-crazy Indiana, but Booker did that too, including high honorable mention all-state recognition from the AP, and two appearances on the IBCA’s list of big school all-state players.
Ashlynn Brooke / Senior / 5-6 / G / Logansport, IN / Pioneer HS/Ball State
NIU’s headlining addition just might be Brooke, who spent the last three years in a Ball State program that has become the envy of the MAC in that time, including a pair of regular season titles, the 2025 tournament championship (and its associated NCAA Tournament bid), as well as a trip to the WBIT during Brooke’s freshman season. In fact, Brooks believes that she has nothing short of a program-defining point guard on her hands.
“She really understands what it takes to win and be a part of a successful program, her mentality is just a little bit different,” the coach said of Brooke, who contributed to a pair of BSU wins over the Huskies last year. “And then you talk about the basketball stuff. She has the ability to shoot it. She has a really, really high IQ. So she’s been really good within our offense, and making sure she’s getting the players to the right positions where they need to be.”
Emma Close / Freshman / 5-7 / G / Wauwatosa, WI / Wauwatosa East HS
Brooks beat out suitors from Mercyhurst, Chicago State, and Maryville to land Close’s commitment last fall. Wisconsin, of course, is always saturated with hoops talent, and Close rose to the top of that fertile territory with a WIAA Division I championship game appearance as a senior and a Division II title as a junior, along with all-state honors in both seasons. She’s generally played as a point guard most of the time, but comes highly-billed as a shooter and has developed a strong off-ball repertoire as well.
Laniah Davis / Freshman / 5-6 / G / Michigan City, IN / Marquette Catholic HS
Davis, in Brooks’ words, is “probably going to be the [freshman] that’s most ready at this point,” though it probably doesn’t require much expertise to figure out that the rookie is a very, very good player. Beyond helping her high school to three sectional titles, two regional titles, and a semi-state title, Davis set Marquette Catholic’s career scoring record with 2,100 points, and the Blazers’ career steals record with 345 thefts, while earning a nomination for the 2026 McDonald’s All-American Game. Her time is likely coming sooner than later.
Fiona Madigan / Freshman / 5-9 / G / North Bay, Ontario, Canada / Orangeville District Secondary School
In Madigan’s introductory announcement, Brooks said that the Canadian freshman “embodies everything we stand for here at NIU.” If that sounds like hyperbole, consider the reaction of Greg Firth, Madigan’s coach at Orangeville Prep, to her commitment in January: “This young lady drove 3.5 hours two to three times a week to practice when she was in grade 9. She moved away from home in grade 10 and continued to put in the work. She did not run away from challenges, just continued to work.” That’s quite a lot to live up to, though the early reports are that Madigan is a coach’s dream as a blue-collar player, but one with the athleticism and intelligence to stand out beyond simply making effort plays.
Leah Middleton / Senior / 5-11 / G / Auburn, NY / Auburn HS/Binghamton
Brooks grabbed Middleton from near her old stomping grounds, as the senior is not only from New York’s Finger Lakes region, but spent the last three years playing at nearby Division I schools Le Moyne and Binghamton. If nothing else, on a Huskies team overflowing with smallish guards near the top of the roster, Middleton stands out as a high-intensity player with a bit of length who can potentially play in a few different spots on the floor and work out of all three levels. She’s decidedly a proven commodity in some respects, given that she regularly started for a 20-win Bearcats team and had her share of big games, including ten double-digit scoring efforts.
Anna Stromberg / Junior / 6-3 / F / Andover, MN / Legacy Christian Academy/Radford
NIU was a smallish team last season, but did plenty to address that issue in the transfer portal, including the addition of Stromberg, who played eight minutes per game for a 23-win, WNIT-qualifying Radford team. Despite that somewhat-limited playing time, the Minnesotan’s per-40 numbers (including 8.1 rebounds and 0.8 blocks), along with a 54.1 field goal percentage, are enough to suggest that she can meet the added responsibility that the Huskies are likely to give her. If nothing else, Stromberg has already found Horizon League play to her liking; she knocked down a career-high ten points, while equaling her career best with six rebounds, to help the Highlanders push Cleveland State to overtime last November.
Atarah Walker / Junior / 6-2 / F / Niagara Falls, NY / Niagara Falls HS/SUNY Niagara
Though she’s largely considered a project, there’s a lot to like about Walker, who was (very) briefly committed to her hometown Niagara squad in the spring before the Purple Eagles dismissed coach Jada Pierce and opened the door for NIU to swoop in. In two years at SUNY Niagara, she was a consistent double-double threat and hit that milestone 14 times in 53 career games, including averages of eight points and eight rebounds as a freshman, then nine and nine as a sophomore. She’s a physical, high-ceiling player who might be thrown into the fray relatively quickly, given the Huskies’ less-than-ideal depth chart situation in the middle of the floor.
Projected Starting Roster
Guard – Ashlynn Brooke, 5-6, SR
Guard – Emilie Sorensen, 5-9, SO
Guard – Alecia Doyle, 5-8, GR
Guard – Leah Middleton, 5-11, SR
Forward – Nevaeh Wingate, 6-0, SR
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