Stephen F. Austin won the Southland Tournament as the third seed, beating Nicholls, Lamar, and McNeese to take the league’s NCAA Tournament bid, even though McNeese had won the regular season at 21-1. Almost none of the league’s best players return. All five first-team All-Southland players are gone, McNeese and Northwestern State have new head coaches, and Lamar has the most proven scoring back.
The Big Picture
The Southland has 12 teams, and three of them have new head coaches: Ashton Feldhaus at McNeese, Jayln Johnson-Joubert at Nicholls, and Alan Frey at Northwestern State. Ayla Guzzardo, the Coach of the Year, left McNeese for Georgia, and Anna Nimz left Northwestern State for North Alabama. The other nine coaches are back, and Aqua Franklin at Lamar and Lane Lord at UTRGV have been in place the longest, in their eighth and ninth seasons.
The league lost almost all of its best players. Dakota Howard, the Freshman of the Year, left McNeese for Georgia; Vernell Atamah, the Player of the Year, left Northwestern State for Vanderbilt; Key Roseby left SFA for UCF; and Jalayah Ingram, the Newcomer of the Year, left UTRGV for Texas Tech. Charlotte O’Keefe of UTRGV is also gone, leaving Lamar’s Kamryn Wilson as the only one of the ten first- and second-team All-Southland players back. More than 100 of the 164 players on the 12 rosters are newcomers. No one who played for LSU New Orleans last season returns, and McNeese and Texas A&M-Corpus Christi return two each. Lamar is my pick to win the league, with Wilson, Jacei Denley, and Shaila Forman, three guards who each averaged about 10 points, all back. Lamar’s biggest loss averaged 8.1 points, while SFA lost its three leading scorers but still has two players back who averaged 11 points. UTRGV rebuilt around transfers who averaged 8.0 and 9.9 points in the league; McNeese is a wild card with a first-year coach and a nearly new roster; and the bottom of the league is made up of teams that lost most of what they had.
Skim Milkey’s Predicted 2026-27 Order of Finish
1 - Lamar
2 - Stephen F. Austin
3 - UTRGV
4 - McNeese
5 - UIW
6 - East Texas A&M
7 - Southeastern Louisiana
8 - Nicholls
9 - Houston Christian
10 - Northwestern State
11 - Texas A&M-Corpus Christi
12 - LSU New Orleans
Skim Milkey’s Preseason All-Southland Team
Cora Horvath, G, East Texas A&M
Jacei Denley, G, Lamar
Kamryn Wilson, G, Lamar
Shaila Forman, G, Lamar
Zy Thompson, F, McNeese
Aziyah Farrier, F, SFA
Kaylinn Kemp, G, SFA
Myka Perry, G, SFA
Aliyah Collins, G, Southeastern Louisiana
Eryn McKinzie, G, Southeastern Louisiana
Destiny Whitaker, G, UIW
Gwendlyn McGrew, G, UIW
Chazlyn Dettor, F, UTRGV
Erin Maguire, G, UTRGV
Kamryn McLaurin, G, UTRGV
Lamar
Record: 20-11, 17-5 Southland (2nd, WNIT appearance)
Coach: Aqua Franklin, 8th season, 120-86
Lamar finished second, went straight to the semifinals, and lost 64-59 at home to SFA. The Cardinals then lost 78-68 to Portland in the WNIT second round. R’Mani Taylor, a senior who averaged 8.1 points and 2.9 assists, is the main departure. Seniors T’Aaliyah Miner, who averaged 5.7 points and 4.2 rebounds, and Taliah Hill, who averaged 4.3 points and 3.8 rebounds, are also gone.
Four of the six leading scorers are back. Wilson, a second-team All-Southland guard, averaged 10.9 points and 3.7 rebounds and started 29 games, and Denley, a senior guard, scored 10.2 points with 2.8 assists. Forman added 9.9 points and 3.8 rebounds as a freshman, and forward Solenne Olenga averaged 6.9 points and 5.7 rebounds. Molly Powell scored 3.5 points in 19 games, and Keyjona McDaniel played 18 games as a freshman.
Brooklyn Alexander and Kennedi Alexander are the main transfers. Brooklyn averaged 2.5 points in 28 games at Memphis, and Kennedi averaged 3.6 points and 3.8 rebounds in 30 games. Jada Graves, Larissa Hubbard, and Te’Sani Green arrive from New Mexico JC, Jones College, and Kilgore College. The freshmen are guards Kyndall Roberts and Jordan Pete.
Lamar is first because it keeps a second-team guard, two other players who scored close to 10 points, and a starting forward, and its biggest loss averaged only 8.1 points, a smaller hole than any team near the top has to fill. Franklin has also won at least 20 games in four straight seasons, and McNeese finished ahead of the Cardinals last year and returns almost nothing. If Graves or Hubbard can give them another ball handler, I believe they will be tough to stop in the league.
Players to watch: Kamryn Wilson, Jacei Denley, Shaila Forman, Solenne Olenga
Stephen F. Austin
Record: 25-10, 16-6 Southland (3rd, tie, NCAA Tournament appearance)
Coach: Leonard Bishop, 4th season, 76-28
SFA beat Nicholls 63-60 at home in the quarterfinals, won 64-59 at Lamar in the semifinals, and took the title with a 71-59 win at McNeese. The Ladyjacks then lost 85-75 to Missouri State in the NCAA Tournament First Four. Key Roseby, a first-team All-Southland guard who averaged 13.0 points and 6.4 rebounds, left for UCF. Seniors Harmanie Dominguez, a second-team guard who scored 12.7 points and started all 33 games, and Ashlyn Traylor-Walker, who scored 12.9 points in 16 games, are also gone.
Six players who appeared last season are back. Myka Perry averaged 11.3 points and 4.5 rebounds and started all 33 games, and freshman Kaylinn Kemp scored 11.0 points and added 4.9 assists. Cha Gardner scored 6.6 points and grabbed 5.8 rebounds, starting every game; Lydia Cajuste scored 6.0 points off the bench; and freshman All-Defensive Team selection Aziyah Farrier averaged 5.7 points and 6.4 rebounds. Anika Hyland scored 3.3 points.
Avery VanSickle, a graduate guard, comes from Washington, and Faith Acker, a senior forward, comes from Oklahoma State, where she played 12 games. Taja Bennett, a junior guard, arrives from junior college. The freshmen are guards Katie Fox, Alex Crouse, and Braylee Winfrey, and forward KJ Pinchon.
Perry, Kemp, and Farrier keep SFA second, and Bishop has won at least 22 games in each of his three seasons. SFA sits in front of UTRGV because it returns two players who averaged 11 points, while UTRGV has no returning scorers of that type. The Ladyjacks won the tournament without a first-team player returning, though, and the three leading scorers have left, so Perry and Kemp have to step up and become true all-conference type players.
Players to watch: Myka Perry, Kaylinn Kemp, Aziyah Farrier, Cha Gardner
UTRGV
Record: 21-14, 16-6 Southland (3rd, tie, WNIT appearance)
Coach: Lane Lord, 9th season, 106-136 (23rd overall, 414-258)
UTRGV beat Northwestern State 76-67 at home in the quarterfinals, then lost 67-52 to McNeese in the semifinals. The Vaqueros then won 71-59 at Austin Peay in the WNIT first round and lost 81-52 at Illinois State. The departures are the league’s biggest. Ingram averaged 17.1 points, 7.3 rebounds, and 3.9 assists, and O’Keefe, a first-team and All-Defensive Team forward, averaged 12.5 points and 13.7 rebounds. Kayla Lorenz and Ivy Brown, who each scored about 5 points, are also gone.
Chazlyn Dettor, a forward, averaged 9.9 points and 5.3 rebounds as a freshman and started 30 games, and Erin Maguire, a graduate guard, scored 8.3 points with 3.1 assists and started 31 games. Gianna Angiolet averaged 6.9 points and started 20 games. Elizabeth Romer, Rylie Whitehair, Madison Huhn, and Elise Horne played smaller roles.
Jesslynn Jalomo is the top transfer. She averaged 8.0 points and started 23 games at Nicholls, and Kamryn McLaurin comes from Houston Christian, where she scored 9.9 points in 27 games. Janette Aarnio, a graduate guard, played four games at South Florida. The freshmen are forward Lina Fimbo and guard Jessica Borders.
UTRGV’s case for third is that it replaces Ingram and O’Keefe by committee, with Dettor and Maguire back and Jalomo and McLaurin arriving after scoring 8.0 and 9.9 points against Southland teams. The Vaqueros lack a player who carried a team the way Ingram did, and no one on the roster averaged 11 points last season. Lord had his most wins at UTRGV last year, and this roster looks like it can approach that again.
Players to watch: Chazlyn Dettor, Erin Maguire, Kamryn McLaurin, Jesslynn Jalomo
McNeese
Record: 29-6, 21-1 Southland (1st, WBIT appearance)
Coach: Ashton Feldhaus, 1st season, 0-0 (3rd overall, 38-25)
McNeese won the regular season by four games, beat UTRGV 67-52 in the semifinals, and lost 71-59 to SFA in the final at home. The Cowgirls then won 68-48 at Texas A&M in the first round of the WBIT and lost 56-41 at San Diego State. Guzzardo, the Coach of the Year, left for Georgia, and Feldhaus, who coached Morehead State last season, took over. Howard, the Freshman of the Year and a first-team selection, averaged 13.0 points and 6.1 rebounds and transferred to Georgia. Seniors Jalencia Pierre, the Defensive Player of the Year, who scored 9.9 points and added 3.6 assists, and Arianna Patton, who scored 10.7 points, are also gone.
Two players who appeared last season are back. Carley Hamilton averaged 3.9 points in 31 games, and Avari Berry scored 2.9 points with 1.8 assists in 33 games.
Feldhaus rebuilt through the portal. Forward Zy Thompson comes from UT Martin, where she averaged 10.5 points and 5.9 rebounds in 25 games, and Morgan Boyd averaged 7.5 points and 4.8 rebounds in 15 games at Presbyterian. Valencia Fontenelle-Posson scored 6.2 points and grabbed 3.5 rebounds in 22 games at Siena. Josefine Enander and Anja Ekstrom arrive from Morehead State, where Enander averaged 4.7 points in 32 games, and Ekstrom started 27. Mariam Coulibaly and Sumaiya Ibrahim come from junior college, and senior guard Sarah Taub comes from North Florida. Kira Lynch is a freshman guard.
Fourth is an interesting spot for a team that won 21 of 22 league games a year ago, but almost none of that roster remains, and Feldhaus has won 38 games in two seasons as head coach. Thompson is the only newcomer to score in double figures in Division I. If Feldhaus finds a lead guard who can produce at a high level, the Cowgirls can finish higher; if not, this roster is closer to the middle than the top.
Players to watch: Zy Thompson, Morgan Boyd, Valencia Fontenelle-Posson, Josefine Enander
UIW
Record: 13-17, 11-11 Southland (6th)
Coach: Jhasmin Player, 2nd season, 13-17
UIW lost 81-55 at home to Nicholls in the tournament’s first round. Jorja Elliott, who averaged 11.7 points and 5.5 rebounds, Madison Cockrell, who scored 10.0 points and had 3.2 assists, and Raimi McCrary, who scored 6.8 points and grabbed 6.0 rebounds, are gone, and Brynn Lusby, who scored 10.9 points, is at North Alabama.
Gwendlyn McGrew averaged 9.0 points and 4.9 rebounds in 24 games, and Destiny Whitaker scored 8.5 points in 19. Morgan Borgstadt, a senior forward, averaged 6.3 points and 3.4 rebounds and started 13 of 19 games, and Londyn Oliphant averaged 4.1 points. Madison Williams scored 3.0 points and started 23 games, and Martina Monton Martinez played six games.
Nevaeh Jones, a center, comes from Charleston Southern, where she averaged 3.5 points and 3.4 rebounds in 29 games, and Kayanna Cox scored 3.8 points in 25 games at UCF. A’Maya Holton averaged 3.3 points and 2.8 rebounds at Oral Roberts, Mariah Hart scored 3.7 points in 29 games at LSU New Orleans, and Lucia Lara played 23 games at New Mexico State. The freshmen are guards Zaviyana Madison and Endia Stigall and forward N’Kiyah Burge. Sophomore forward Sedelia Wilson-Larkin did not play last season.
Fifth fits a UIW team that finished two spots ahead of East Texas A&M last year, has more returning rotation players than most of the league, and gives Player a second year with a group that already knows the system. The problem is that Elliott, Lusby, and Cockrell each scored 10 or more points, and none of them return. If McGrew or Whitaker takes over that role, the Cardinals can finish in the top four.
Players to watch: Gwendlyn McGrew, Destiny Whitaker, Morgan Borgstadt, Nevaeh Jones
East Texas A&M
Record: 13-17, 9-13 Southland (8th)
Coach: Valerie King, 4th season, 35-55
East Texas A&M lost 69-56 at Northwestern State in the first round of the tournament. Tiani Ellison, a second-team All-Southland forward who averaged 15.5 points and 6.9 rebounds, is at Central Arkansas, and Reza Po, who scored 12.8 points, is at North Texas. Senior Ahmya Boyce, who scored 7.4 points with 3.0 assists, is also gone.
Senior guard Cora Horvath averaged 9.3 points, 3.3 rebounds, and 3.0 assists and started all 28 games, and Nina Horvath scored 7.4 points and started 18. Rezia Castillo averaged 5.0 points and 3.2 rebounds as a freshman, and Terrayah McCoy scored 1.9 points.
Torie Sevier is the top transfer. She averaged 6.3 points and 3.6 rebounds in 28 games at Texas A&M-Corpus Christi, and Samantha Serrano scored 3.6 points in 31 games at UIC. Brooklyn Terry comes from UTEP, Jadyn Fife from Colorado State, Jailynn Brill from Tarleton State, and Jeriyah Baines from South Alabama, and Destine Duckworth, a junior forward, comes from Central Arkansas. The freshmen are guards Zoee Mitchell, MaKenzie White, and Blayke Brackens.
I have East Texas A&M sixth because the Horvaths give King two experienced starting guards, and Sevier adds a forward who has played at this level. The team won nine league games last year to Southeastern Louisiana’s four, which keeps it ahead of that team. It lost its two best scorers, though, and nobody on the roster has scored more than 10 points in a season, so there is no obvious reason to expect more than 13 wins.
Players to watch: Cora Horvath, Nina Horvath, Torie Sevier, Rezia Castillo
Southeastern Louisiana
Record: 5-24, 4-18 Southland (11th)
Coach: Jeff Dow, 2nd season, 5-24 (23rd overall, 349-295)
Southeastern Louisiana missed the tournament after winning five games. Lihi Azouri, a freshman who averaged 10.7 points and started 19 games, is at Saint Mary’s, and Bethany Graves scored 4.5 points with 5.1 rebounds.
The Lions bring back more than most of the league. Aliyah Collins, a fifth-year guard, averaged 14.8 points, 3.6 rebounds, and 3.2 assists and started 27 games, and no returning player in the Southland scored more. Eryn McKinzie averaged 9.9 points and 5.2 rebounds in 14 games; Mia Ramos averaged 8.0 points; and Natalie Huff averaged 6.7 points, 3.4 rebounds, and 2.4 assists.
Micah Cooper, a junior guard, comes from Bradley, where she averaged 3.1 points and 1.7 rebounds in 22 games, and Lillian Merow, a sophomore center, averaged 2.3 points and 2.3 rebounds at Omaha. Emma Lucio, a redshirt junior guard who transferred from UTSA, did not play last season. Guard Diana Szakolczi led the junior college group, averaging 13.4 points and 4.8 rebounds at Midland College, and made the Western Junior College Athletic Conference first team. Shaine Parker, a forward, averaged 10.9 points and 5.2 rebounds at Panola College, and Susan Fahnbulleh, a guard, averaged 10.0 points at Grayson College. Yolaine Luthi, a forward, averaged 9.2 points and 6.0 rebounds at Allen County Community College and made the all-conference first team in the Kansas Jayhawk Community College Conference. The freshmen are guard Ne’talya Hurst and forwards Trinity Jackson-Wilkins and Deena Holmes.
Collins is the league’s best returning scorer, and with McKinzie, Ramos, and Huff, she gives Dow a real core, which is why Southeastern Louisiana leads Nicholls, whose best returner averaged 7.3 points. The 5-24 record is why I do not go higher, since a team that returns most of its scoring still lost 24 games with these players. If McKinzie stays healthy all season, the Lions can climb out of the bottom four.
Players to watch: Aliyah Collins, Eryn McKinzie, Mia Ramos, Natalie Huff
Nicholls
Record: 15-16, 10-12 Southland (7th)
Coach: Jayln Johnson-Joubert, 1st season, 0-0
Nicholls beat UIW 81-55 at UIW in the first round of the tournament and lost 63-60 at SFA in the quarterfinals. Justin Payne stepped down in April after three seasons, and Johnson-Joubert, last season’s assistant, was named head coach. The four leading scorers are gone. Sh’Diamond McKnight averaged 12.1 points, Marie Kenembeni scored 9.7 points with 4.3 rebounds, and Tanita Swift, an All-Defensive Team selection, averaged 9.5 points and 4.8 rebounds. Jalomo, who scored 8.0 points, is at UTRGV.
Jasmine Matthews, a senior forward, averaged 7.3 points and 2.9 rebounds in 26 games, and Anyra Wilson scored 6.1 points with 4.6 rebounds and 2.7 assists in 23 starts. Laryn Scott averaged 2.6 points and 2.8 rebounds, and Makayla Charles scored 4.5 points in six games.
Johnson-Joubert filled the roster mostly through junior college. Charnelle Hoof, who averaged 10.3 points and 5.3 rebounds, comes from McLennan Community College; Mattea Henry from Labette Community College; and Danielle Bennett from Southwestern Christian College. Shelcie LeBlanc and Kira Johnson arrive from Baton Rouge Community College and Kilgore College. The freshmen are forward Kaliyah Samuels and guard Tyanna Stewart. Britiya Curtis, a junior guard, was the 2023-24 Southland Freshman of the Year and averaged 10.9 points that season and 10.5 the next, but she did not play last season.
Eighth is where I have Nicholls after it lost its four leading scorers and its coach in the same offseason, and almost everything left is untested at this level. Matthews and Wilson give the Colonels two starters to build around. The league is thin enough that a quick fit between the junior college group and the returners could move them up.
Players to watch: Jasmine Matthews, Anyra Wilson, Laryn Scott, Charnelle Hoof
Houston Christian
Record: 8-21, 6-16 Southland (9th)
Coach: Drew Long, 2nd season, 8-21 (6th overall, 62-69)
Houston Christian missed the tournament after winning eight games. Grace Booth, a sophomore who averaged 11.1 points and 6.3 rebounds, is at USC Upstate, and McLaurin, who scored 9.9 points, is at UTRGV. Madelyne Davis, who scored 4.0 points, and senior Jo Oly, who scored 3.3 points with 3.2 rebounds, are also gone.
Jordan Jackson, a fifth-year forward, averaged 8.1 points and 5.4 rebounds and started 21 games, and Tove Caesar scored 5.6 points with 2.1 assists and started 23 games. Madison Hurta averaged 5.4 points, Dasia Hyams scored 4.1 points, and Sidney Carr scored 3.7 points with 1.8 assists. Hannah Fields scored 3.2 points, and Veronika Korchagina played four games.
Tessa Engelmen, a senior forward, comes from Tarleton State, where she averaged 2.3 points and 2.5 rebounds in 27 games. Nikki Stanic played 23 games at New Mexico State, averaging 0.8 points, and Basak Orhan averaged 0.9 points in 11 games at Cal State Fullerton. The freshmen are guards Remy Hearn, Sadie Hall, J’Lee Salinas, and Pearson Hearne, and forward Emelie Lindqvist.
Houston Christian lost its two leading scorers from a team that won eight games, and no one on the roster has averaged double figures. Jackson is the best rebounder left and Caesar the best passer, but both are steady starters rather than scorers, and the transfers have combined for very little production at the Division I level. I have the Huskies ninth, and a jump would require a freshman or transfer to score more than anyone expects.
Players to watch: Jordan Jackson, Tove Caesar, Madison Hurta, Dasia Hyams
Northwestern State
Record: 18-14, 14-8 Southland (5th)
Coach: Alan Frey, 1st season, 0-0
Northwestern State beat East Texas A&M 69-56 at home in the first round of the tournament and lost 76-67 at UTRGV in the quarterfinals. Anna Nimz left for North Alabama after six years, and Frey, a first-time head coach who spent 18 seasons on the Tulane staff, took over. All five starters are gone. Atamah, the Player of the Year, averaged 18.8 points and 6.9 rebounds and is at Vanderbilt. Nya Valentine, a senior and second-team guard who scored 13.3 points and added 4.5 assists, is gone. Seniors Tiara Abron, who scored 9.5 points, and Carla Celaya, who scored 4.7 points with 8.1 rebounds, are also gone, as is sophomore Clarence Djuela, who averaged 5.6 points and 6.8 rebounds.
Four players returned, and none averaged more than 2.7 points. Stephie Salumu scored 2.7 points, Payton Miller scored 2.1 points in 29 games, Cimiya Rideaux scored 1.2 points, and Momina Kassim played 18 games.
KP Parr is the top transfer. She averaged 5.0 points, 2.9 rebounds, and 3.0 assists in 28 games at Texas State. Chloe Donnell comes from South Alabama, India McMahon from Nicholls, Erica Carr, a 6-3 center, from San Diego, and Becca Milon from Monmouth. Delora Pricop arrives from Hutchinson Community College, Karma Wynn from Wallace State, and Yaly Ben Harush from Northeastern Junior College. The freshmen are guards Stella Allison and Val Montero and forward Chiara Pavitsits.
Northwestern State was fifth in the league last year, and nearly all of that production is gone. Parr is the only newcomer who played rotation minutes at the Division I level, and this is Frey’s first time running a program. Tenth is where I have the Demons, and there is little on the roster to argue against it.
Players to watch: KP Parr, Stephie Salumu, Delora Pricop, Cimiya Rideaux
Texas A&M-Corpus Christi
Record: 6-23, 5-17 Southland (10th)
Coach: Toyelle Wilson, 2nd season, 6-23 (9th overall, 116-130)
Texas A&M-Corpus Christi missed the tournament after winning six games, with five seniors leaving the rotation. Samora Watson averaged 10.4 points, Chelsea Wooten averaged 9.7 points and 2.9 assists, Marissa Shelton averaged 8.4 points, and K’Nari Holliday averaged 7.8 points and 6.1 rebounds. Sevier, who scored 6.3 points, is at East Texas A&M.
Asha Walker, a senior guard, averaged 7.2 points and 2.6 rebounds and started 13 games, while Rayna Williams, a forward, averaged 4.5 points and 5.5 rebounds and started 21 games.
Andrea Chiquemba, a graduate forward, is the top Division I transfer. She averaged 6.7 points and 3.4 rebounds and started 24 games at Bellarmine, and Andjela Marojevic averaged 2.2 points in 16 games at Utah State. Chelsy Singleton, a senior guard, averaged 14.0 points, 5.0 rebounds, and 3.1 assists at Shorter University and made the All-Conference Carolinas third team. Sille-Liis Mölder, a junior guard, averaged 5.2 points and 4.0 rebounds at Chipola College after a season at UMass Lowell, and Caitlin Lord, a forward, averaged 6.6 points and 6.1 rebounds and started 31 games at Three Rivers Community College. Senior guard Lynn Rieth averaged 3.1 points at Three Rivers, and senior guard Valeria Martínez was injured and did not play last season. The freshmen are guards Laura Frances Willis, Carmen Sánchez-Ramos, and Nadia Merino Ruiz, and forward Lori Zlatoper. Junior guard Naiya Carney, who scored 31 points in 27 games in 2024-25, was injured and did not play last season.
Texas A&M-Corpus Christi lost most of its scoring, and the best returning scorer averaged 7.2 points. Chiquemba is the only newcomer who started regularly at the Division I level; Singleton and Lord bring some production from lower levels, and Walker and Williams are the only two proven players who stayed. I have the Islanders 11th, and Wilson will need the junior college group to be better than it looks on paper.
Players to watch: Asha Walker, Rayna Williams, Andrea Chiquemba, Chelsy Singleton
LSU New Orleans
Record: 3-27, 3-19 Southland (12th)
Coach: Trelanne Powell, 4th season, 19-70 (12th overall, 159-132)
LSU New Orleans finished last and missed the tournament. All of its leading scorers are gone. Brialle Washington averaged 10.2 points; Shanihya Brown averaged 9.5 points and added 3.8 assists; Lauren Banks averaged 9.1 points and grabbed 5.4 rebounds; and Jayla Kimbrough averaged 7.3 points and grabbed 5.0 rebounds.
Mackenzie Joseph, a fifth-year guard, is the only player on the roster who was with the program last season, but an injury kept her out. She averaged 11.2 points at Western Nebraska and made the All-Region team in 2023-24. No one else on the roster played for LSU New Orleans, so Powell’s fourth season starts with an almost entirely new group.
Kehinde Obasuyi, a senior guard, is the one player with recent Division I experience. She averaged 4.3 points and 1.4 rebounds in 10 games at Western Carolina and started five. Powell rebuilt the rest of the roster mostly with junior college players. Gabby Edo, a center, averaged 7.5 points, 10.0 rebounds, and 2.8 blocks at Temple College, and Tajenae Gooden averaged 11.8 points, 4.4 rebounds, and 3.4 assists at McLennan and made the all-conference team. Jadaya Branch averaged 11.6 points and 4.2 assists at Triton College and earned NJCAA All-Region 4 second-team honors; Sophia Edwin averaged 9.4 points and 4.4 assists at State Fair Community College; and Sh’Ryah Wright averaged 5.1 points and 3.0 rebounds at Coffeyville Community College.
Destinie Gordon, a forward, averaged 10.8 points and 9.1 rebounds at Florida SouthWestern State College and made the Citrus Conference first team. Cameron DaCosta, a guard, averaged 6.3 points, 4.9 rebounds, and 2.5 assists at Chattahoochee Valley Community College, and Akiyah Carnes averaged 5.3 points and 4.7 rebounds in 22 games at Baton Rouge Community College in 2024-25. Ari Mason, a guard, averaged 18.3 points, 5.2 rebounds, and 2.4 assists in 25 games at Southwestern College. The freshmen are guards Gianna Ericksen and Isabella Robbins and forward Rhian Comery.
LSU New Orleans is last because there is little here to point to as a floor. Powell has won 19 games in three seasons, and nearly every veteran on the roster is coming from junior college. Those players have to produce immediately, and if they do, LSU New Orleans might be the conference surprise.
Players to watch: Kehinde Obasuyi, Gabby Edo, Tajenae Gooden, Ari Mason
Southland Round-Up
Lamar, SFA, and UTRGV look like the strongest teams on paper, and the gap between them is smaller than the order suggests. Lamar has the only returning All-Southland player and a coach who has won 20 games four years in a row; SFA has the tournament champion’s core, and UTRGV has the most turnover to absorb after losing Ingram and O’Keefe. McNeese is the hardest team to place: a 29-win regular-season champion with a new coach and almost no returning players, and the team I am most likely to get wrong.
The middle of the league comes down to one player apiece. UIW needs McGrew or Whitaker to become a lead scorer, East Texas A&M needs Sevier to play like a starter at this level, and Southeastern Louisiana needs Collins to repeat her 14.8 points with a healthy McKinzie beside her. Nicholls, Houston Christian, and Northwestern State lost most of what they had, while Texas A&M-Corpus Christi and LSU New Orleans are rebuilding with almost no one back. I expect Kaylinn Kemp, who scored 11.0 points with 4.9 assists as a freshman at SFA, and Chazlyn Dettor, who started 30 games as a freshman at UTRGV, to take the biggest steps forward. The league was top-heavy last year, with McNeese at 21-1 and no one else above 17-5, and the third-seeded team won the tournament. With every first-team player gone and three new head coaches, I expect a closer race at the top and a lot of movement in the middle.
Editor’s Note: Records and conference standings reflect the final 2025-26 Southland regular season and postseason. Player stats reflect 2025-26 production, unless noted. All 12 rosters have been confirmed against official, live 2026-27 team pages as of October 26th. Coaching and roster notes reflect known offseason moves as of October 26th. Roster additions may shift rosters before the season opens in November and may affect the order as of this writing.
