The 2025-2026 season marked the IU Indianapolis Jaguars’ return to double-digit wins, the first time since the 2022-2023 season, when the team competed under the name IUPUI. The team finished 14–17 overall and 9–11 in conference play. They also reached the quarterfinal round for the first time under head coach Kate Bruce, and it was the first since winning the Horizon League Championship in 2022.
Offensively the team averaged 66.3 points per game, placing sixth of 11 teams, an improvement from the 2024-2025 season. The Jaguars were among the league’s better offensive-rebounding teams, ranking fourth with 341 rebounds. However, the team struggled from 3-point range, shooting only 27%. To improve the team’s shooting, players were given individual workouts, tailored around their shooting, form, and confidence building. The team also worked on improving its free throw percentage, which was 66% at the end of the season.
“We have done a lot in preseason and postseason of reading screens and reading our defense, learning how to and what to do when opponents switch or don’t switch or chase us off screens,” said Julia Hall, a returning redshirt sophomore, said, “We have a lot of off-ball movement now, which I think will be very beneficial… like screens happening, dives, cuts…that will give us a lot more opportunities on offense and getting each other open.”
While the team also improved defensively compared to last season, they allowed 68.7 points per game. They held opponents to 29.6% from the 3-point line, while opponents shot 72.4% from the free throw line. The defense grabbed 654 rebounds, but opponents averaged 37.6 rebounds per game against them. To improve, the team worked on intensity and communication. Bruce said the team has players who can defend; they just have to play team defense and have a “bend don’t break mentality.”
With 10 returning players, the Jaguars will keep the majority of their core players and continue to build on the experience gained from last season’s run. The team did lose five players, the most notable being the team’s leading scorer, Nevaeh Foster, who transferred to the University of Illinois Chicago. Last season, Foster scored 384 points over 31 games, averaging 12.4 points per game. Despite Foster’s departure, the team still has its next two leading scorers in twins Olivia and Hailey Smith, who scored 329 points (10.6 PPG) and 304 points (10.1 PPG), respectively.
“I think bringing back the twins, Hailey and Olivia, they’ve just continued to get better and better. We brought back four starters so I think we’ve filled the gap that she [Foster] left,” Bruce said. “She was a good shooter for us, but we brought in three players who we think can shoot the ball really well and then we brought in some height with Hailee Brennen, so that should help address the rebounding.“
The Jaguars, alongside the men’s basketball team, will play their first home games at the new James T. Morris Arena, which broke ground in February 2025 and will include a basketball/volleyball court with seats for 4,500 patrons. With the team playing in a new home, they’re excited to open up the year there, with the goal of winning a championship.
“We’re going to be a lot of fun to watch, we are going to play fast, we are going to score a lot of points. Defensively, we are going to up the pressure, get a lot of steals and turn those into points. I think it will be a lot of fun brand of basketball to watch,” Bruce said.
Returning Players
Olivia Smith, Senior, 5-10, G/F, Fishers, IN, Fishers HS/Ball State
Playing her first season with the Jaguars, Smith proved to be a dependable player, finishing as the team’s second-highest scorer. She played in all 31 games, making 29 starts and averaging 10.6 points per game. Additionally, she led the team in free throws made with a 75% efficiency rate. Now a senior, Smith will be expected to take on a bigger role and was noted to have stepped in her leadership on the team. If last season was anything to go off of, this season shapes up to be a year where Smith can lead the team in points scored.
Hailey Smith, Senior, 5-10, G/F, Fishers, IN, Fishers HS/Ball State
Also in her first season with the Jaguars, Smith raised her level of play from her time at Ball State. She played in 30 games, making 26 starts while averaging 10.1 points and a team-high 5.8 rebounds per game. Coming into her senior year, Smith will look to continue the momentum from last season and could potentially start every game as a fundamental piece of the team.
Destini Craig, Redshirt Sophomore, 5-10, G/F, Fort Wayne, IN, Northrop HS
A breakthrough season for Craig, who played 29 games, making 21 starts and averaging 7.7 points per game. The improvement is similar to the numbers she put up in high school, and she’ll look to continue strengthening her two-point shooting, where she shot 45%, and keep making those good shots. She will also look to get to the free throw line, where she made 59% of her attempts. We can expect Craig to continue her improvement and surpass her stats from last season.
Incoming Players
Hailee Brennen, Senior, 6-3, F, Miami, FL, Mainland HS/Charleston Southern/Florida A&M/Daytona State/LSU New Orleans
Brennen joins the Jaguars coming in with lots of college basketball experience, having played at four schools before coming to Indianapolis. In her most recent stats with LSU New Orleans, she played 30 games and started 14. She averaged 5.1 points and 3.5 rebounds per game. Now the tallest player for the Jaguars, she will look to help address the team’s rebounding problems and be a key contributor on both offense and defense.
Reagan Sipla, Redshirt Sophomore, 6-1, G, St. Charles, IL, St. Charles North HS/Quinnipiac
Transferring from Quinnipiac University, Sipla comes in having played in 15 games off the bench with a career high of 5 points and two rebounds last season. This will be her second year as a redshirt, but she’ll look to put up the numbers that she did in high school, where she made the most 3-pointers in a single season and scored 1,336 career points. She also brings height to the team and will look to surpass her stats from last season on a new team.
Swynn Jackson, Freshman, 5-11, G, Fort Wayne, IN, Fort Wayne Northrop HS
Starting her collegiate career, Jackson comes in from Fort Wayne Northrop High School averaging 16.5 points per game and 6.7 rebounds per game during her senior year. She ranked No. 25 in the state and in the top 302 nationally for points per game. If Jackson can adapt and score about the same, she could be an asset to the team and help increase the team’s average points per game.
Projected Starting Roster
Guard/Forward – Olivia Smith, 5-10, SR
Guard/Forward – Hailey Smith, 5-10, SR
Guard/Forward – Julia Hall, 6-0, SO
Guard/Forward – Destini Craig, 5-10, RS SO
Guard – Reagan Sipla, 6-1, RS SO
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