What Cleveland State accomplished over the offseason, in terms of continuity, is quite stunning, particularly at the mid-major level in the present era of college sports.
The broad strokes of the story are that former head coach Chris Kielsmeier departed for Texas State after eight years, a pair of Horizon League championships, and six consecutive postseason appearances. An expansive search for his replacement led down numerous roads – one of which included his predecessor, Kate Peterson Abiad, who ultimately ended up at Purdue Fort Wayne – before athletic director Kelsie Gory Harkey and CSU’s search committee landed on Bob Dunn.
Dunn had most recently worked at Penn State, but previously served as a Kielsmeier assistant for three seasons across two stints, including the Vikings’ third-ever NCAA Tournament appearance in 2023. Even more notably as it relates to the upcoming campaign, his existing connections with the inherited roster enabled him to convince a staggering four players, including Sarah Hurley, Hanna Medina Kajevic, Paula Pique, and Queen Ruffin, to exit the transfer portal and head back to CSU. His five total returners nearly double the three Cleveland State had as it entered last season.
Not only that, but the rest of the staff enjoys a high degree of familiarity, thanks to carryover assistant coaches Shelby Zoeckler and Carolyn Wochele. Mariah White, a program legend as a player between 2017 and 2021, is a newcomer to that group only in the most technical sense. Summer workouts even included a long procession of alumnae visitors, including the likes of Destiny Leo, Colbi Maples, Nadia Dumas, Isabelle Gradwell, and Isabella Geraci.
So, yeah, in most of the substantial ways, understanding the 2026-27 Vikings won’t require much adjustment, quite the feat under the circumstances. To an extent, that will include what transpires on the court.
“You’re going to be able to see some similarities through the system, wanting to be aggressive and get to the free throw line as many times as you can, and get the ball as close to the basket as often as possible,” Dunn said. “[Leo], Micky [Perdue], and Colbi, our players of the year, they were fearless with the ball and aggressive, and just had a lot of passion for the game of basketball. And so you’re going to see that with our team this year.”
At the same time, it seems clear that Dunn has his own way of doing things. Though his underlying principles may not deviate a ton from Kielsmeier, there’s not likely to be the same fanatical adherence to his former boss’ system, along with the cleanly-defined positional roles within that system.
In fact, Dunn went out of his way to point out that his returners aren’t necessarily ahead of his newcomers, for precisely that reason.
“Everyone on the team is in a new role,” he offered. “There’s going to be a lot of similarities to the past years, but there’s going to be some differences. So everyone, no matter if they were a returning player or a player from the transfer portal, is still kind of figuring everything out and on level playing ground where they’re all in new roles and learning teammates and learning coaches.”
In other words, Cleveland State is still Cleveland State, but like all great programs, it’s evolving a bit to stay a few steps ahead of stagnation.
Returning Players
Sarah Hurley / Junior / 6-1 / G / Pelham, Ontario, Canada / Lincoln Prep
Rather abruptly, and thanks to the departures of Maples and Macey Fegan, Hurley finds herself as the most veteran player on the team, at least in terms of time with the program, and is the only Viking left who directly played for Dunn during his previous stints at CSU. That, along with a healthy bit of personal development, could lead to an expanded role for the Canadian, who has mostly been a classic 3-and-D wing to this point in her career.
“Seeing her growth this summer has been extremely rewarding to me as a coach,” Dunn said. “The growth that she’s had on the court, how she’s handled herself and pushed herself and challenged herself to do new things, explore her skills, and be a great teammate. Sarah has lived up to all that, and she’s brought a lot of joy to practice every day. I’m really proud of the growth that she’s made.”
Hanna Medina Kajevic / Sophomore / 5-7 / G / Norrkoping, Sweden / Hagagymnasiet
Fresh off a summer turn with Sweden’s U20 team at the Women’s EuroBasket tournament (which included some individual sparkles, but minimal team success), Kajevic will push for an expanded role at CSU during her sophomore season. She played just 88 total minutes as a rookie in 2025-26, but showed many of the characteristics that typically lead to success in that time, including defensive acumen and aggression with the ball. Her playing time might depend on her free throw shooting as much as anything else; she was 19-for-32 (59.4 percent) from the stripe at EuroBasket, and 6-for-22 (27.3 percent) with the Vikings last year.
Sur Lozano / Sophomore / 6-1 / G / Madrid, Spain / Colegio Luyferivas
Lozano was the only Cleveland Stater with remaining eligibility who never entered the transfer portal, even after Kielsmeier’s departure. That was a bit of a shock, considering that she was essentially the last player on the bench as a freshman last season. Nevertheless, at 6-1, Lozano has the size to be an effective perimeter defender and rebounder, and that’s often the fastest way to get on the court a bit more. It’s at least a little notable that she pulled in nine boards in her 25 minutes of playing time.
Paula Pique / Junior / 6-1 / G / Barcelona, Spain / Abilene Christian
Of the four players that Dunn talked out of the portal, Pique might have been the most surprising. After all, her sister Emma – at one time slated to join the Vikings this fall – elected to follow Kielsmeier to Texas State, making Paula’s return seem somewhat unlikely. That quickly changed in the days after CSU’s new coach took over.
“A couple girls on the team played for [Dunn], and they told me really good things about him,” Pique said back in June. “Then I had my meeting with him, and I really liked him as a person, his values, what he told me, the system, I liked it and I think he can make me a better player, and I’m so excited for the season.”
Pique is a defensive ace who has a knack for occasionally hitting gigantic shots, including three-pointers that keyed comeback wins over Cal State Fullerton and Middle Tennessee State last year, and should play a similarly-vital role this season.
Queen Ruffin / Senior / 5-6 / G / Moreno Valley, CA / Santiago HS / Indiana State
Ruffin played just five minutes of the 2025-26 opener against Chicago State before making it three years in a row that a Vikings guard suffered a season-ending knee injury (following Leo and Maples in that regard, of course). She’s not yet been cleared for full activity as of this writing, so her continued recovery will be a preseason storyline worth monitoring – particularly since Ruffin seemed poised for a significant role on last year’s deep roster before getting hurt.
“She’s coming along, and doing more and more each day,” Dunn noted. “Obviously, it’s a long process, and we’ve still got some time before games start, so we’re not rushing anything. But she’s coming along, and being a good voice on the sidelines when she’s not out there.”
Incoming Players
Brianna Barr-Buday / Sophomore / 6-2 / F / Grand Island, NY / Nichols School / St. Bonaventure
In contrast to years past, Cleveland State won’t always have a classic number five on the floor, a 6-3 or 6-4 “throw it in there and wait for something good to happen” player like an Izzi Zingaro or a Jordana Reisma. Barr-Buday, though, stands as one of the players set to receive significant minutes in the frontcourt after serving in a supporting role at St. Bonaventure last season. She played just shy of ten minutes per game for the Bonnies, but when she received longer looks, the Niagara Falls-area native produced. Coincidentally, that includes last November’s CSU Invitational in Woodling Gymnasium, when she totaled 28 points on 13-for-16 shooting, including ten tallies against the Vikings.
Annika Corcoran / Graduate Student / 5-5 / G / Chardon, OH / Gilmour Academy / Sam Houston State
Corcoran, one of two Northeast Ohioans on the roster, will play her final collegiate season close to home. To say she’s had quite the journey to this point would be a massive understatement. She began her career all the way back in 2019-20 at Detroit Mercy, and was an immediate starter for the Titans before her run in Motown abruptly ended amidst the AnnMarie Gilbert saga. A stop at Akron preceded a blink-and-you’ll-miss-it return to UDM, before Corcoran spent last year at Sam Houston State, where she notched 6.7 points and 1.4 assists per game for the Bearkats.
“Ani’s just been a great leader to our team,” Dunn said. “She’s willing to speak up for the team and speak up to the team when they need to hear something true.”
Silvia Gonzalez / Senior / 6-2 / F / Sant Adria del Besos, Spain / INS Joaquim Blume / George Washington
Most recently, Gonzalez played at George Washington, though she spent the two years prior to last season at Bryant (where, coincidentally, she was a teammate of former Viking Jada Leonard in 2024-25). At 6-2, she seems a likely candidate for frontcourt rotation minutes, though she’s also a surprisingly-good shooter; in her two years at Bryant, Gonzalez connected on 60 of her 181 three-point attempts (33.1 percent). She also brings tons of postseason experience to the table, including a Great 8 run with the Revolutionaries in the spring.
Alexa Hocevar / Senior / 6-1 / G / Willoughby Hills, OH / West Geauga HS / Toledo
Like Corcoran, Hocevar is a Cleveland-area native who has previously made an impact in the Horizon League, through a pair of seasons at IU Indianapolis from 2023-25. As a sophomore, she became a regular starter for the Jaguars, and was the sort of efficient two-way multi-position player that has typically proven successful on past Vikings teams. Hocevar’s stat line in 2024-25 included 8.1 points, 4.7 rebounds, 1.9 assists, and 1.5 steals per game, and Dunn was impressed enough to toss her a call during his first day on the job, as she headed back into the portal following one season at Toledo. A couple weeks later, the coach called Hocevar’s commitment “a huge win for our program.”
Chloe Oliver / Senior / 5-8 / G / Montreal, Quebec, Canada / Champlain College Saint-Lambert / Stony Brook
If there’s one Cleveland State newcomer shrouded in a bit of mystery, it might be Oliver, who has shown a clear growth trajectory during three seasons at Davidson and Stony Brook, to the point where it’s fair to wonder if she has reached her ceiling yet. Oliver has flashed as a high-level distributor and a capable three-point shooter (34.0 percent last year), though it remains to be seen exactly what the Vikings will ask of the Montreal native.
“[We’ve thrown her] into some different roles, having the ball in her hands, playing off the ball, but she’s doing really well being aggressive.” Dunn noted. “We kind of have to tell her to take some more shots and be more aggressive sometimes. But that’s a good thing when she’s being unselfish and wants to make her team better.”
Fatou Sane / Junior / 6-0 / G / Guediawaye, Senegal / J. Addison School / Duquesne
One common thread with most of Cleveland State’s newcomers is that they excel on the defensive end of the floor, and nobody has shown that more than Sane, who swiped 1.3 steals per game at Duquesne last year. That might not sound like much superficially, but she achieved that number in 15.6 minutes per game, making her per-40 average 3.2. For context, that would place her in the top ten among all CSU player-seasons over the last 15 years.
“She plays really, really hard, and really loves the game of basketball, and really gets up and pressures that ball and is really active,” Dunn confirmed. “So she can definitely be a defensive menace on the court, and that leads into transition, which leads into offense and confidence. But it starts with defense for sure with her.”
Macie Taylor / Graduate Student / 5-7 / G / Troy, OH / Troy HS / Miami University
Taylor brings a championship pedigree to the Vikings, after playing for a Miami University team that was one of the better stories in college basketball last season. The RedHawks went 28-7 overall, earning a trip to the NCAA Tournament after beating Toledo – coincidentally, including Hocevar – in the MAC championship game in Cleveland back in March. Taylor averaged 13.0 minutes per game on that team, but significantly more at Wright State two years ago when she was among the Raiders’ top four in points (7.8), assists (1.8) and steals (1.1). On a Vikings team with very few proven scorers, Taylor’s ability to go get a bucket when needed could prove valuable.
Tiyahna Trottier / Redshirt Junior / 6-1 / F / Belcourt, ND / Turtle Mountain Community HS / Minot State
If nothing else, Trottier is intriguing for the fact that she is one of only three players listed as a forward on the Cleveland State roster, along with Barr-Buday and Gonzalez. She spent 2025-26 at Division II’s Minot State, where she was a three-level powerhouse for the Beavers. Trottier shot 48.8 percent from the floor, though that number is poisoned by the fact that she was a frequent three-point shooter – she connected on 57.6 percent of her two-point tries, 36th best in the nation, along with a very respectable 34.6 percent of her deep balls, with both numbers contributing to a 55.4 percent effective field goal rate. She’s also credible as a shot blocker, with just under one swat per game last year.
Projected Starting Roster
Guard – Macie Taylor, 5-7, GR
Guard – Paula Pique, 6-1, JR
Guard – Sarah Hurley, 6-1, JR
Guard – Alexa Hocevar, 6-1, SR
Forward – Brianna Barr-Buday, 6-2, SO
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