By Bennett Parker | Sports Writer
Baylor women’s basketball stood at 21-4 while being ranked No. 12 in the country with three weeks before March Madness.
The Bears stumbled through their final seven games, going 3-4, suffering two losses to TCU. The struggles continued, not making it out of the first weekend in the NCAA tournament with a second-round loss to Duke.
Head coach Nicki Collen was faced with a substantial rebuild over the offseason, losing four of her five starters from the 2025-26 campaign. Collen got to work in the transfer portal, beefing up the backcourt with a pair of junior guards out of the SEC. Trinity Turner and Tianna Thompson headline the list of those joining the Bears.
There is only one player with expiring eligibility on the roster, which has Collen expecting big things for the coming seasons.
“The majority of this team can return,” Collen said. “You can’t assume anything, but I think it’s a team that can make a big jump this year and a greater jump next year.”
After a disappointing close to last year’s run, Collen’s squad is “chasing greatness” with the retooled roster.
“I think we’ve got a lot of hungry players,” Collen said. “Players that have been productive, whether it was in major minutes or limited minutes at other places, to go along with our returners.”
Collen has yet to break through the Sweet 16 in her time with Baylor despite finishing top-5 in the Big 12 and making the dance in every season of her five-year tenure.
The underlying issue last season was on the offensive side of the floor, finishing eighth in points per game and 12th in field goal percentage in the conference.
“Our greatest jump needs to be on the offensive side of the ball,” Collen said. “We were elite offensively for four years … We were not a year ago, won 25 games, and had to lean on our defense.”
Collen has brought in some pieces to hopefully right some of those wrongs, but the solution lies more in the consistency and decision-making.
“We’re only going to be better offensively if we share the basketball better,” Collen said. “If we take better care of the ball.”
The Bears have playmakers across the court. At the forefront is last season’s leading scorer, senior guard Taliah Scott, along with the pair of SEC guards.
“We’ve got a lot of people that can make plays,” Collen said. “It’s about consistently making the right play and getting them to understand points per possession, points per shot.”
One of the big additions Collen was able to bring in was junior forward Kate Koval out of LSU. Collen is hoping to expand her game and make her a scoring threat from all three levels.
“She has international flair to her game,” Collen said. “I was surprised that she didn’t take a three in college, because watching her in club basketball, she was someone that would stretch the D and play on the perimeter more. Hopefully she brings a dimension that combines something different than those three post players.”
Collen has finished the grind of roster construction. Now, the focus turns to putting a good product on the floor for an entire season. The regular season success is expected, but Collen and the Bears are looking for more.
“This team has to have the mindset all the time that good isn’t good enough and to truly chase greatness and chase it in a way that eliminates ego,” Collen said.
