It’s been the story all offseason: how will the MVC change with three new teams?
On the women’s side, at least, it completely uproots the conference.
The addition of the Ohio Valley’s Belmont and Murray State – who both finished in the top three of the conference last season – as well as the Horizon League’s Illinois-Chicago adds new depth and new challenges for the returning Valley members.
New faces seems to be the theme of the conference this year, as four new head coaches and a plethora of transfers will headline the fresh season.
Below, I preview the year ahead and predict who will be the next school to raise the championship trophy in Moline.
#1 BELMONT
Entering their first year in the Valley, it seems the upgrade in conference was necessary for the Bruins. They’ve won the Ohio Valley Conference regular season title in five of the last six years and totaled 11 championships in just 10 seasons in the OVC. As the only non-power conference team to reach the NCAA Tournament’s Round of 32 in each of the last two seasons, the Bruins will look to add to that and build off of last year’s three-point loss.
At the head of those efforts are their three leading scorers, all of which return for their junior years. Destinee Wells (16.7 PPG), tabbed Preseason Player of the Year by the MVC, is joined by Madison Bartley (11.7 PPG, 5.1 RPG) and Tuti Jones (11.6 PPG), with all three earning OVC First Team honors a season ago and combining for over 50% of the team’s scoring and assists. The team graduated their other two starters, but emerging sophomore Tessa Miller and South Florida grad transfer Sydni Harvey should provide much-needed minutes.
In all five years of the Bart Brooks era, the Bruins have never finished below the top 35 nationally in 3-pointers made. While they may struggle on defense in what shapes out to be a tougher conference, it’s nothing that “Splashville” won’t be able to handle.
#2 DRAKE
After making the WNIT in Allison Pohlman’s first year at the helm, the Bulldogs feature two players on the MVC Preseason All-Conference Team and return their top five scorers – setting them up for success early on.
Coming off a 20-14 record and a 9-9 record in the Valley, Drake will be led by MVC Newcomer of the Year and first team selection Megan Meyer. The senior posted 12.1 points per game last year and was tied with forward Maggie Bair for the team lead, the latter of which led the team with 6.2 rebounds per game. They will be joined by fellow big Grace Berg – an MVC First-Teamer in her own right last season – and Katie Dinnebier with her team-leading 107 assists.
All around, Drake appears to be a strong contender for a Valley title. With the experience and the roster depth coming back this year, expect the Bulldogs to finish near the top of the conference this time around.
#3 ILLINOIS STATE
Last year’s Hoops in the Heartland winner not only returns four starters from their championship season, but they add on the Division II Player of the Year Paige Robinson as well. Averaging 21 points per game on 47% shooting for Division II Drury, she’ll have to step into the shoes of MVC Tournament MVP Juliunn Redmond.
As the Valley’s leading scorer at 17.8 points per game, Redmond was an All-MVC First-Team member for the second year in a row and Robinson will need to adjust quickly to Division I in order to repeat that production. Helping that cause will be fellow first-teamer DeAnna Wilson, who led the team with 7.8 rebounds per game while adding nearly 13 points per contest.
It’s hard to replace a player like Redmond but with the momentum on their side, it looks to be another good showing from the Redbirds.
#4 MISSOURI STATE
Missouri State has finished in the top four of the conference for the past eight years, so a coaching change should not change that. Yes, they lost four of their five starters from a year ago, but they also reloaded and brought in a pair of Power 5 transfers in guard Aniya Thomas (Kansas) and forward Kennedy Taylor (Colorado).
Thomas, part of a Kansas team who made the second round of the NCAA Tournament, averaged 8.5 PPG while starting over half the games for the Jayhawks. Taylor only averaged 2.4 minutes for the Buffaloes, but was also a part of an NCAA Tournament team in Boulder. This experience means the squad won’t miss the departing seniors that led them to an 11-seed in the tourney last year.
The Lady Bears also return Sydney Wilson, one of just five players in the Valley to average at least 10 points, five rebounds and one steal per game last season. She’s joined by fellow returner Ifunanya Nwachukwu (5.1 RPG), who put up 17 points against Ohio State in the NCAA Tournament. The team may look different, but expect the same firepower from the Lady Bears.
#5 MURRAY STATE
Coming off a school record 21 regular-season wins, the Racers will look to make strides in their first year in the Valley. They return four starters from a year ago, all of whom earned All-OVC honors.
The headline of that group is OVC Player of the Year Katelyn Young. Dominating the league with 20.1 points per game, the forward will need to turn in a similar performance to see her team thrive. She will have help, as Macey Turley, Hannah McKay and Alexis Burpo, who all averaged double-figures last year, are back. In total, the Racers return 85 percent of their scoring and rebounding efforts.
There’s a lot of experience, but it’s a harder conference and the program hit its high point last season. A lot of things need to go right for Murray State to finish high, so for now they’re in the middle of the pack.
#6 NORTHERN IOWA
The Panthers look very different this year, losing three starters after finishing their 13th consecutive season in the top half of the MVC. In head coach Tanya Warren’s 15th year, UNI will have to replace the production lost from the departures of leading rebounder Bre Gunnels (6.9 RPG) and leading scorer Karli Rucker (12.9 PPG).
They do return 11.9 PPG from senior guard Kam Finley, who also led the team in 3-pointers. Leading rebounder Grace Boffeli is back too, but it’ll be interesting to see who gets the rest of the starting minutes for the Panthers. Warren has been through this type of changeover before, so the streak should stay intact.
#7 INDIANA STATE
This team shocked many fans last season, picking up five wins in conference play and 11 wins total which were both more than the previous two seasons combined. Head coach Chad Killinger is into his second year in Terre Haute, and he’ll look to build off the newfound success of the program.
The Sycamores return one of their top contributors in guard Del’Janae Williams, who led the team in points (12.5), assists (2.8) and steals (2.0) per game. She’s joined by starters Mya Glanton and Natalia Lalic and the team gets forward Adrian Folks back, who led the team in points before going down to a season-ending injury. Getting through that period alone sets this squad up for success.
Killinger also went out and signed Alona Blackwell from Oakland, Ella Sawyer from Austin Peay and Chelsea Cain from Nicholls State, all three of which were All-Freshman or All-Newcomer team selections at their previous schools. This combination of returners and new faces will lead to another step up in the standings for the Sycamores this season.
#8 SOUTHERN ILLINOIS
The Salukis surprised many preseason voters and clinched the MVC regular season title last season. Then, nine-year head coach Cindy Stein retired, leaving Kelly Bond-White to take the reins.
She comes into Carbondale inheriting just one starter from that top-seeded team: guard Quierra Love. The sophomore averaged 5.6 PPG and will need to take on a bigger role this year, especially after the team lost MVC Player of the Year Abby Brockmeyer and the program’s all-time leading scorer in Mackenzie Silvy. The Salukis feature newcomers from all over the country, as Bond-White brought in six transfers to reload her squad.
They may prove everyone wrong again and win back-to-back titles, but on paper there’s not much to back that up at this point in the season.
#9 EVANSVILLE
Last season was not the one that head coach Robyn Scherr-Wells envisioned in her first year with the Purple Aces, and she will look to turn things around in Evansville. The team returns four starters after winning just two games in the MVC last season, and it remains to be seen whether that’ll make a difference.
Evansville is once again led by senior guard/forward Abby Feit, who averaged a team-leading 15.1 points and 8.9 rebounds per game last season on her way to a First-Team All-MVC selection. Those totals were good enough for fourth and second in the conference, respectively.
The biggest loss has to be guard Je’Naiya Davis, who was right behind Feit with 15 PPG. Besides that, the Aces bring back eight letterwinners from a year ago, setting them up for improvement this season. However, there’s just not enough experience to see this team finishing near the top.
#10 VALPARAISO
In one of its best years in the MVC, Valpo went 9-9 in conference play last season and will look to build off of that finish. Unfortunately, it doesn’t seem like that’ll happen.
Only two starters return from that sixth place team and only seven players overall are coming back. The biggest loss is MVC First-Teamer Shay Frederick, whose team-leading 11.9 PPG will be sorely missed. The returners include guard/forward Leah Ernest (7.7 PPG, 4.6 RPG) and guard Olivia Brown (6.6 PPG), but their three top point-scorers have all departed. Expect a rebuilding year for the Beacons.
#11 BRADLEY
The Braves only return one starter from a year ago, but that happens to be MVC Freshman of the Year Caroline Waite. At 13 points per contest, Waite was the top-scoring underclassman in the Valley last season and was 11th in the country in 3-pointers made per game (2.88). Finishing 4-24 a season ago, including just one win in Valley play, it will be a tough road ahead for the new-look Braves.
Head coach Kate Popovec-Goss, a former recruiting coordinator at Northwestern, had to dive into the transfer portal after inheriting a team with just three guards. The Braves reeled in Old Dominion’s Alex Rouse and a pair of junior college players in Megan Barton and Ruba Abo Hashesh, among others, to pair with Waite in the backcourt.
It’s always hard to say how newcomers will perform, but if Bradley expects to compete they’ll need third-year improvements from forwards Tete Danso, Isis Fitch and Daija Powell. Either way, it’ll be a year of rebuilding against the more experienced Valley squads.
#12 ILLINOIS-CHICAGO
Even with the departing of their head coach, the Flames still return all five starters from a year in which they won a total of two games. Coming from the Horizon League, UIC will have to rely on the wisdom of Illinois State grad Ashleen Bracey at the helm and Peoria native Jaida McCloud on the court.
A Richwoods High School graduate, McCloud led her team with 16.3 points and 6.2 rebounds per game on her way to an all-MVC Second Team honor. Unfortunately, the next highest scorer averaged just under 10 a game. This means they’ll need heavy improvement from those around McCloud, which doesn’t seem likely given the changes to the coaching staff.
