City of Basketball Love

By Josh Verlin (@jmverlin)
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(Ed. Note: This article is part of our 2025-26 season coverage, which will run for the six weeks preceding the first official games of the year on Nov. 4. To access all of our high school and college preview content for this season, click here.)

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The countdown to the 2025-26 Division I basketball season is officially on. 

Tuesday, September 23 marks the six-week mark until the start of the college basketball season, and has become our annual time to officially kick off our preseason coverage. We used to do that with a Big 5 all-preseason team, but due to the transfer portal era and constantly-changing landscape, we instead use this as a time to give an overview of where all six of the city’s Division I teams stand as the preseason grind begins. 

It’s an interesting year in the Big 5 on the women’s side, with question marks all over the place. Drexel returns a good bit from a winning squad, but most of the city is either dealing with massive losses due to graduation (St. Joe’s, Temple, Villanova) or is trying to get some positive momentum after a few years of spinning wheels (La Salle, Penn). Whether or not there’s a conference contender or two in the bunch remains to be seen, but they all have various reasons for optimism as November appears upon the horizon.

Here’s a look at all six as the preseason gets underway:

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Drexel Dragons

Coach: Amy Mallon, 6th season (99-53, .651)
Last Year: 17-13 (12-6 Coastal Athletic)

Graduated
Chloe Hodges, Cara McCormack

Transferred Out
Clara Bergeron (unknown)

Stayed
Amaris Baker (Gr. | G), Deja Evans (Jr. | F), Iriona Gravley (Soph. | F), Emilee Jones (Soph. | SF), Molly Lavin (Sr. | F), Laine McGurk (Jr. | SG), Jalyn McNeill (Sr. | F), Grace O’Neill (Sr. | G), Mariah Watkins (Soph. | SF)

New Additions
Julia Garcia Roig (Jr. | G | Xavier), Molly Rullo (Fr. | SF | Cardinal O’Hara), Bria Watkins (Fr. | SF | Webster Schroeder, N.Y.)

Bottom Line

The Dragons have been above .500 both overall and in league play each of the last two seasons, but that’s not quite the program standard, as the Drexel women have won 20-plus games in eight of the last 13 campaigns. Two starters graduate in Hodges and McCormack, but Mallon and her staff have plenty back otherwise, including the team’s leading scorer in Baker (17.0 ppg), a quality big in Evans (9.4 ppg, 6.1 rpg, 2.3 bpg), and a Swiss Army Knife with tons of experience in O’Neill, a four-year starter out of Archbishop Carroll who averaged 5.2 ppg, 5.6 rpg and 3.6 apg as a junior.

Of the three newcomers, the most recognizable name to our readers will no doubt be Rullo; a four-year starter at O’Hara, the three-time PCL first-team selection was a force inside and out for the Lions during her career, the 5-11 wing excelling at getting downhill and finishing at the hoop with a quality jumper as well. Roig comes in with 56 games (20 starts) under her belt from her two years at Xavier, though she wasn’t called on to contribute much offensively (2.9 ppg).

What the Dragons most need to develop this season is an offensive option or two outside of Baker, and improve on a poor team 3-point shooting performance last year. Drexel was just 27.8% from beyond the arc last year, a number that drops to 25.2% without McCormack’s 57-of-165 (34.5%). Improving that number and getting stronger on the glass will go a long way considering they lost seven games by seven points or less (or in OT) last year. 

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La Salle Explorers

Coach: Mountain MacGillivray, 8th season (81-128, .388)
Last Year: 10-23 (3-15 Atlantic 10)

Graduated
Jolene Armendariz, Mackenzie Daleba

Transferred Out
Alisa Blalock (Texas Southern), Ivy Fox (unknown), Irene Garcia (unknown), Vega Gil (St. Thomas Aquinas), Ayisse Magassa (Cleveland State)

Stayed
Ty’Renisha Bowers (Sr. | G), Ashleigh Connor (R-Jr. | G), Sania Jenkins (Soph. | G), Aryss Macktoon (Jr. | G), Lauren Patnode (R-Fr. | G), Anna Pryzyszlak (Sr. | F), Joan Quinn (Soph. | G), Diora Ressaissi (Soph. | SF)

New Additions
Ava Hoy (Fr. | C | HC Williams, N.Y.), Yar Manyiel (Jr. | SF | Johnson County CC), Jana Mbambo Njoya (Fr. | G | France), Ivona Miljanic (Sr. | G | Northwestern State), Amiya Moses (Fr. | F | Addison School, Ont.), Kiara Williams (R-Fr. | F | Pittsburgh)

Bottom Line

Last year’s Explorers were an almost entirely-new group under MacGillivray, who pieced together a roster from the high school ranks, junior college programs and small-college transfers plus a couple D-I imports. There’s six new faces this year as well, but that’s still a big improvement in terms of program continuity compared to the prior offseason. 

The returning group includes the three leading scorers from last year in Connor (10.8 ppg, 4.9 rpg), Macktoon (10.6 ppg, 5.0 rpg) and Quinn (9.1 ppg, 3.5 rpg), who all had some standout games mixed with a few less-than-efficient outings and stretches. 

The hope for MacGillivray is that a more experienced team in his system can play at the pace he wants without as many mistakes. The Explorers forced 17.2 turnovers/game last year, around the midpoint of the A-10, but committed 18.1/game, third-worst in the conference, without a single player in the rotation with a positive assist-to-turnover ratio. They were also tied for the worst in the league at 3-point shooting (25.5%).

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Penn Quakers

Coach: Mike McLaughlin, 16th season (258-175, .596)
Last Year: 15-13 (6-8 Ivy League)

Graduated
Stina Almqvist, Lizzy Groetsch

Transferred Out
N/A

Stayed
Saniah Caldwell (Sr. | G), Katie Collins (Soph. | C), Mataya Gayle (Soph. | G), Georgia Heine (Jr. | G), Reagan Jamison (Soph. | G), Gabriella Kelley (Soph. | F), Helena Lasic (Sr. | F), Sarah Miller (Soph. | G), Tina Njike (Jr. | C), Ese Ogbevire (Jr. | G), Simone Sawyer (Sr. | G), Abby Sharpe (Jr. | G), Brooke Suttle (Soph. | G), Ashna Tambe (Soph. | G)

New Additions
Sarah Gordon (Fr. | G | Vestavia Hills, Ala.), Kate Lipatova (Fr. | C | Putnam Science, Conn.), Ruke Ogbevire (Fr. | G | Fulshear, Tex.), Ari Paraskevopoulou (Fr. | F | Athens, Greece)

Bottom Line

The Quakers haven’t been over the 20-win mark in five years after a string of seven straight with at least that number, and don’t have double-digit Ivy wins in that time, either. Last year’s finish was the program’s fewest Ivy wins since the 2011-12 season; it was still enough to sneak into the Ivy tourney as the No. 4 seed, where Penn put a scare into top-seeded Columbia before losing by four. 

Thanks in part to its academic reputation and the Ivy League’s holdout as the only D-I league that doesn’t offer athletic scholarships, the Ancient Eight has been somewhat immune to the country’s overall transfer situation. That means McLaughlin and his staff have a ton of continuity to work with, though they do have a big piece to replace in Almqvist, the 6-1 Swedish forward the team’s leading scorer (17.7 ppg) and rebounder (7.6 ppg) and an All-Ivy selection at the ‘4’ spot.

McLaughlin does have a terrific 1-2 punch in Gayle (12.3 ppg, 4.3 apg), a third-year starter at point guard, and Collins (10.0 ppg, 7.2 rpg), the 6-1 Ivy League Rookie of the Year who was also one of the team’s top 3-point shooters last year (33.7%). Sawyer (6.8 ppg, 3.1 rpg), Miller (5.5 ppg) and the next five-highest scorers for the Quakers last season are all back, plus they get Ese Ogbevire — who averaged 4.7 ppg as a freshman two years ago — along with her sister Ruke on the roster this year. 

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Saint Joseph’s Hawks

Coach: Cindy Griffin, 25th season (422-321, .568)
Last Year: 24-10 (12-6 Atlantic 10)

Graduated
Emma Boslet, Talya Brugler, Paula Marina, Julia Nyström, Mackenzie Smith

Transferred Out
Lizzy Gruber (Maine), Laura Ziegler (Louisville)

Stayed
Gabby Casey (Jr. | G), Emerson Devenie (Sr. | G), Kaylie Griffin (Sr. | G), Meja Jägerskog (Soph. | F), Aleah Snead (Jr. | SF), Rhian Stokes (Soph. | PG)

New Additions
Kaylinn Bethea (Fr. | G | Penn Charter), Rian Dotsey (Fr. | F | Haverford High), Jill Jekot (Soph. | G | Penn State), Cecilia Kay (Soph. | F | American), Emily Knouse (Fr. | SG | Archbishop Wood), Olivia Lutterodt (Fr. | F | Farum, Den.), Faith Stinson (Sr. | F | IU Indy)

Bottom Line

A 2025 class to remember graduated after getting the whole Hawks’ program back on track. The group of Brugler, Nyström and Smith joined a program coming off back-to-back single-digit-win seasons and won 20+ games each of the last three years, including a 52-16 record over the last two. Though they don’t have an NCAA Tournament berth to show for it, it’s a group that helped bring St. Joe’s women’s basketball back into the top part of the Atlantic 10, and now it’s up to a young-but-promising group to maintain the momentum. 

The returning group will feature Casey (7.7 ppg, 4.4 rpg), Snead (6.4 ppg, 3.9 rpg) and Stokes (5.7 ppg), all of whom played well in their roles a year ago but now will have to shoulder much more responsibility. Kay, a 6-2 forward from Massachusetts, averaged 11.5 ppg and 8.9 rpg in 30 starts at American last year; Stinson, another 6-2 forward, averaged 9.2 ppg and 5.3 rpg at IU Indy (formerly known as IUPUI). 

The freshmen group, which features quite a few familiar names, holds a ton of promise. Bethea has been one of the top guards in the area during her four-year run at Penn Charter, Knouse is a great shooter with size at 5-11, and the 6-1 Dotsey came on strong during her four years at Haverford High with the most positional versatility of the group; Jekot, another familiar name whose older sister Katie Jekot was a standout Hawks’ point guard, was a high school standout who played sparingly in her only year at PSU. 

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Temple Owls

Coach: Diane Richardson, 4th season (51-41, .554)
Last Year: 20-11 (13-5 American Athletic)

Graduated
Tiarra East, Tarriyonna Gary, Amaya Oliver, Anissa Rivera 

Transferred Out
N/A

Stayed
Drew Alexander (Soph. | G), Kelian Cedano (Soph. | G), Savannah Curry (Soph. | G), Felicia Jacobs (Soph. | F), Jaleesa Molina (Jr. | F), Sheyenne Swain-Price (R-Soph. | C), Tristen Taylor (Jr. | G), Kaylah Turner (Jr. | G) 

New Additions
Anastasia Bulanova (Fr. | F | Novosibirsk, Rus.), Saniyah Craig (Jr. | F | Jacksonville), Brianna Mead (Soph. | G | LIU), Ariana Meriedy (Fr. | F | Riverdale Baptist, Md.), Khloe Miller (R-Fr. | F | East Carolina)

Bottom Line

Richardson’s Temple squads have won exactly 20 games in back-to-back seasons, with a 26-10 record in AAC play during that span, the former Towson coach quickly getting the Owls back to competing for league titles after taking over prior to the 2022-23 season. They’ve done it with aggressive defense and finding versatile pieces offensively; the Owls led the AAC in turnover margin last year, forcing a conference-high 19/game.

There’s a good bit of production for Richardson to replace this season, including a four-year starter and the team’s leading scorer in East (13.9 ppg, 5.1 rpg, 2.3 apg) as well as the Owls’ top 3-point threat in Gary (11.9 ppg, .383 3PT%) and frontcourt contributors in Rivera (7.9 ppg, 5.5 rpg) and Oliver (5.3 ppg, 4.6 rpg); all four of them played a minimum of 117 games in their careers, with a combined 333 career starts. 

That leaves Molina (7.5 ppg, 7.0 rpg), Taylor (6.7 ppg, 3.6 apg) and Turner (9.9 ppg, 2.4 rpg) as the team’s most experienced players, the first two going into their third years with the team and Turner her second. Curry, a 5-11 Westtown grad, saw her minutes increase throughout her freshman season as well. It’s a really young group for Richardson, a challenge she’ll surely relish, but one which might need some time to gel and figure out how to win games early in the season.

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Villanova Wildcats

Coach: Denise Dillon, 6th season (114-51, .691)
Last Year: 21-15 (11-7 Big East)

Graduated
Maddie Burke, Lara Edmanson, Jaliyah Green, Kaitlyn Orihel, Bronagh Power-Cassidy

Transferred Out
Maddie Webber (Illinois)

Stayed
Ryanne Allen (Sr. | G), Jasmine Bascoe (Soph. | G), Denae Carter (Sr. | F), Brynn McCurry (Jr. | F), Rachel Wirts (Soph. | F)

New Additions
Brooke Bender (Fr. | F | Anthony Wayne, Ohio), Elise Bender (Fr. | F | Anthony Wayne, Ohio), Kennedy Henry (Fr. | G | Westtown School), Kelsey Joens (Jr. | G | Iowa State), MD Natumbue (Fr. | G | Crestwood Prep, Ont.), Kylee Watson (Gr. | F | Notre Dame)

Bottom Line

It’s going to be a new-look ‘Nova for sure this year, with six of last year’s top eight in terms of minutes played no longer on the Main Line — though the two that remain are a strong duo. Dillon and her staff will have a lot of retooling to do in the early part of the season, though, losing a ton of overall collegiate experience in the likes of Burke, Power-Cassidy and Edmanson, all fifth-year collegiate players, and the transfer of Webber (13.3 ppg) was a blow as well. 

The most important piece this year is no doubt Bascoe. The talented 5-9 guard from Canada led the team in scoring (16.2 ppg) and assists (4.3 apg) during an impressive rookie collegiate year, earning First Team All-Big East and All-Big East Rookie Team selections as well as Big 5 Rookie of the Year honors, and will have the ball in her hands the vast majority of the minutes for the Wildcat offense. Carter, a 6-0 post from St. Basil’s, gives them a quality post, averaging 8.6 ppg and 6.5 rpg last year after missing the previous season due to a knee injury.

The only other veteran returning is Allen, who averaged 4.8 ppg in 27 games off the bench in her first year with the program a year ago; McCurry averaged 2.7 ppg and 1.8 rpg as a true freshman two years ago but suffered a major knee injury for the second time in three years and missed last season. They should get good support from Joens, a 5-10 guard who was 79-of-192 (41.1%) from 3-point range in two years at Iowa State, and Watson, a 6-4 South Jersey native who averaged 6.5 ppg and 4.6 rpg in two years as a full-time starter at Notre Dame.