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Taking stock 2025: How Arizona Wildcats women’s basketball is looking under Becky Burke

Published

6 months ago

June 27, 2025

The offseason is here, with all of Arizona’s sports done for 2024-25 season and the 2025-26 campaigns still a little ways away.

Which makes this a great time to step back and see how all of the Wildcats’ programs are doing and how they’ve handled the move from the Pac-12 to the Big 12

Over the next few weeks we’ll take a look at each of the UA’s men’s and women’s athletic programs to see what shape they’re in and what prospects they have for the near future. We’ll break down each team and evaluate how it is performing under its current coaching staff, looking at the state of the program before he/she arrived and comparing it to now while also evaluating how that program fits into its new conference.

Next up: Becky Burke’s women’s basketball team

How it looked before

Arizona athletic director Desireé Reed-Francois hired former University at Buffalo head coach Becky Burke after a tumultuous parting with former Wildcat great Adia Barnes.

Barnes was hired by former AD Greg Byrne as the lowest-paid coach in the Pac-12. She took a moribund program that no one outside Tucson—and only a few within Tucson—cared about to the Final Four in five years. The community support exploded with Arizona regularly leading the Pac-12 in attendance and selling out the 2019 WNIT championship game.

The Wildcats made the postseason every year it was held from 2018-19 through 2024-25, after which Barnes left for SMU. The Wildcats were also headed for a high seed and hosting rights in 2019-20 before the pandemic caused the postseason to be canceled.

Three of the five postseason appearances were in the NCAA Tournament, giving Arizona its first appearances in the Big Dance since 2005. The other two postseason runs were in the secondary tournament. Those included marching to the WNIT title in 2019 before that tournament was demoted to tertiary status by the WBIT.

The program had double-digit wins in all but one of Barnes’ seasons and won at least 18 games in each of her final seven years at Arizona. They won at least 20 five times in her nine years at the helm.

On the downside, Barnes had bled a lot of transfers out of the program since the WNIT run and had conflicts with some of her players and their parents in recent years. She had also become increasingly unhappy with what she considered inadequate support for women’s basketball since the change in leadership both within the department and at the university.

Where things stand now

It’s difficult to say where the team stands now because almost everyone is new on both the coaching staff and the roster. The only returning player is Montaya Dew. Others either transferred out before Barnes left or followed her to SMU.

Burke put together a roster fairly quickly, but almost all of it is unproven at this level. The roster consists primarily of players who transferred from mid-major programs or were committed to Buffalo before the coaching change.

The staff will also be learning the ropes at this level. Only associate head coach Ashley Odom has coached or recruited at the power conference level. The team also has ties to the WNBA with former Wildcat and long-time Phoenix Mercury assistant Julie Hairgrove. Director of basketball operations Lauren Flaum and two creatives were retained from the previous staff, but the rest of the coaching and support staff come from mid-major programs, are Burke’s former players and staff members, and/or have not been in college or professional basketball in recent years.

Big 12 vs. Pac-12

When it comes to women’s sports, it would probably be easiest just to copy and paste, “The Big 12 isn’t the Pac-12.”

That’s true when discussing softball, volleyball, gymnastics, soccer, beach volleyball, swimming and diving, and just about every other sport known to womankind. Women’s basketball is no different if you look at history, but it wasn’t the case last year. The Big 12 didn’t have the star power of the old league, but it had more depth in 2024-25.

The old Pac-12 put a higher percentage of teams into the 2025 NCAA Tournament with 58 percent of former members of the Conference of Champions advancing to the Big Dance compared to 44 percent of the Big 12. In both cases, that came down to seven teams, but finishing in the top half of the Big 12 didn’t mean a berth like it did in the Pac-12. The Big 12 had more teams advance beyond the round of 64 (4 vs 3) and more end up ranked at the end of the season (5 vs 2), but the old Pac-12 had teams advance further.

The Big 12 started the season with five ranked teams, including Iowa State in the AP top 10. That number would drop over the course of the season and ISU did not live up to the hype, but when all was said and done, five Big 12 teams were in the AP Top 25.

Utah was the only one of the former Pac-12 teams to make the NCAA Tournament out of the Big 12, although both Arizona and Colorado went to the WBIT. The end of the Pac-12 and the retirement of Tara VanDerveer saw Stanford take a step back.

USC and UCLA made huge additions in the transfer portal and were two of the best teams in the country. Both got No. 1 seeds in the tournament. The Bruins made it to the Final Four. USC fell short after an injury to star JuJu Watkins in the Sweet 16 but still advanced to the Elite 8.

Oregon State took the WCC Tournament crown to advance to March Madness. Oregon, California, and Washington all made it back to the tourney after missing in recent years. When Utah was included, that was almost 60 percent of the old Pac-12 making the Big Dance, even with Stanford’s NCAA streak ending.

The Big 12’s best seed was TCU, which got a No. 2 seed. They ended the season as the No. 6 team in the AP poll after being the second team on the “others receiving votes” list to start the year. Joining them were Baylor, Kansas State, West Virginia, Oklahoma State, Utah, and Iowa State. Arizona and Colorado were in a battle for an eighth berth, but both ended up on the wrong side of the bubble and played in the WBIT.

When all was said and done, the Big 12 put five teams in the final AP poll: TCU (6), Kansas State (13), Baylor (18), West Virginia (21), and Oklahoma State (24). Only two former Pac-12 teams ended with a ranking: UCLA (3) and USC (5).

One big question

How will Burke and her players handle their first year of Power 4 competition?

Burke’s pre-Arizona experience came in NAIA, Division II, and mid-major Division I leagues. Buffalo played in the MAC, which was the 16th-ranked league last season based on NET. The Bulls faced one Power 4 team all season. They beat Rutgers in the WNIT. The Scarlet Knights went into the tournament at 11-19 and finished 13-20. They were 3-15 in the Big Ten.

Burke has been extremely successful at every stop she has made. Whether that transfers to Power 4 basketball is the question.

As for her players, only returning Dew has played extensive minutes in a major conference, and she is coming off her second knee injury in as many years. While Arizona got transfers from Texas Tech, Kansas, and Virginia, only one of them played last season. She saw just 34 minutes on the court.

There are some very promising newcomers on the team. Kamryn Kitchen was a top 100 recruit before enrolling early at Virginia and redshirting last year. Ogheneruona (Miracle) Akpotayobo was an Auburn commit that several Power 4 teams recruited when she decommitted from the Tigers. Mickayla Perdue was the Horizon League Player of the Year last season. All of them have the potential to be great, but they will be getting used to a different level of play.

How the team does the first year could have an impact on future recruiting, so getting off to a good start could be key to Burke’s tenure at Arizona.

Lead photo by Ryan Kelapire

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Witherspoon Earns AVCA All- Region Honors

Published

57 minutes ago

December 10, 2025

Your Sports Nation

AUGUSTA, Ga. – Augusta junior outside hitter Layne Witherspoon has been named an AVCA All-Region Honorable Mention selection following a standout 2025 campaign in which the Jaguars finished 25–9 and captured the Peach Belt Conference regular-season title.

Witherspoon delivered 346 kills on .295 hitting across 126 sets while adding 168 digs, 84 total blocks, and 433 total points. She tallied 17 double-digit kill performances, highlighted by a season-high 17 kills against Montevallo on Sept. 19 and a 21-point outing versus Francis Marion on Sept. 13. On the defensive side, she posted a season-best 14 digs at Flagler on Oct. 4 and recorded seven total blocks against Georgia College on Oct. 17. She was second on the team with 3.44 points per set.

A consistent presence in Augusta’s front row, Witherspoon helped power the Jaguars to their PBC regular-season championship and another postseason appearance.

Fans of Jaguar Athletics can subscribe to the email listserve by clicking here. Fans can follow Augusta University at www.augustajags.com and receive short updates on Facebook at Augusta University Athletics and on Twitter at @AugustaJags

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Hanson Wins Region Player of the Year, Cook Named Coach of the Year

Published

1 hour ago

December 10, 2025

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LEXINGTON, Ky. — Gophers senior outside hitter Julia Hanson was named AVCA Northwest Region Player of the Year while Keegan Cook was named Coach of the Year, the organization announced today.

There are 14 first-team All-Region members and an additional group of honorable mention selections for each of the 10 regions. A Player of the Year, Freshman of the Year, and Coach of the Year were selected for every region.

The 213 student-athletes who made All-Region represent 109 different schools. Nebraska leads the way with seven All-Region selections, followed by Pittsburgh and Stanford with six apiece. Florida, Kentucky, Louisville, Minnesota, Texas A&M, and Wisconsin all have five All-Region first-team or honorable mention selections.

Joining Hanson on the AVCA All-Northwest Region First Team were freshman opposite Carly Gilk and redshirt freshman setter Stella Swenson. Redshirt senior middle blocker Lourdes Myers and freshman middle blocker Jordan Taylor were named all-region honorable mention.

A Savage, Minn., native, Julia Hanson earns another major award after a magnificent senior season. She was also named a unanimous First Team All-Big Ten selection in 2025. During her fourth year in the Maroon and Gold, Hanson won Big Ten Player of the Week on Sept. 1 and was named MVP of the Golden Gopher Invitational on Aug. 31.

For the year, she totaled 26 10+ kill matches in 32 chances, posting a career-high 4.13 kills per set, a mark that ranked her fourth in the Big Ten. Hanson also hit a career-best .309, a mark that ranked her third among Big Ten pins.

She tallied five 20+ kill matches and averaged a career-best 0.30 service aces on the year. Her 26 aces in conference play put her at No. 8 in the conference. Defensively, Hanson posted 0.64 blocks and 1.60 digs per set. She was named as one of 30 players to the AVCA Preseason Player of the Year Watch List and was a Preseason All-Big Ten honoree. Hanson helped Minnesota reach its first Sweet 16 since 2022 after going for 36 kills last weekend in two matches (.500 hitting).

Coach Cook was named AVCA Region Coach of the Year for the fourth time in his career and first at Minnesota. Cook led the Gophers to a 24-9 (12-8 Big Ten) record and a Sweet 16 appearance for the first time in his three years at the ‘U’. He and his coaching staff did this despite losing four starters to season-ending injuries in the first four weeks of the season. The Gophers played five freshmen starters for a majority of the season, including three-fourths of Big Ten competition. Minnesota also won four ranked matches this year, taking down No. 23 Indiana, No. 24 Penn State, No. 11 Purdue and No. 23 Iowa State.

Carly Gilk earned an all-region nod to go along with her Freshman All-Big Ten accolades. The rookie opposite posted 2.28 kills per set on a scorching .293 hitting in 2025. She also posted 1.70 digs, 0.60 blocks and 0.27 aces per set in 28 matches played. She had seven 10+ kill matches and seven 10+ dig matches on the year. Gilk had the best match of her freshman year on Oct. 26 at Purdue, tallying 15 kills (.364) and 10 digs in a five set match.

Redshirt freshman setter Stella Swenson added an all-region honor after being named All-Big Ten Second Team and to the Big Ten All-Freshman Team. She averaged 9.78 assists, 2.16 digs, 0.61 blocks, 0.59 kills and 0.28 aces per set in her first year as a starter, playing in all 33 matches.

Swenson posted eight double-doubles, including a career-best 58-assist, 10-dig outing in a five-set win at Iowa. She ranked eighth in the Big Ten in assists per set and was fifth amongst setters with 0.59 kills per set. She was the first Minnesota freshman to post 1,000 assists in her rookie season since her sister, Samantha Seliger-Swenson, did so in 2015. Stella was named Big Ten Freshman of the Week on Sept. 1 after being named to the Golden Gopher Invitational All-Tournament Team. She was added to the AVCA Mid-Season Player of the Year Watch List as the only freshman on there,

Redshirt senior middle blocker Lourdes Myers had the best season of her career in 2025 in the Maroon and Gold. She was named AVCA All-Northwest Region Honorable Mention after going for 1.70 kills and 1.19 blocks per set, playing in all 33 matches. Myers had two 10+ kill matches in 2025, including a 12-kill, nine-block match at Washington. She had seven-or-more kills 13 times and five-or-more blocks 12 times. Myers ranked ninth in the Big Ten in blocks per set.

Freshman middle Jordan Taylor also earned AVCA All-Northwest Region Honorable Mention. She had a banner freshman season, averaging a team-best 1.24 blocks per set, playing in 30 matches. Taylor averaged 1.35 kills per set on .355 hitting, going for five-or-more kills 12 times. She had five+ blocks nine times, including a career-high 11 block match at Iowa on Nov. 16.

The Gophers (24-9, 12-8 B1G) compete in the Sweet 16 against No. 1 seeded Pittsburgh (28-4, 18-2 ACC) at 6 p.m. CT on Thursday. The match will be on ESPN2.

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Badgers Land Five on AVCA North All-Region Team

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1 hour ago

December 10, 2025

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MADISON, Wis. – Five total players of the Wisconsin volleyball team were named to the American Volleyball Coaches Association (AVCA) North All-Region Team. Outside hitter Mimi Colyer was named North Player of the Year, while head coach Kelly Sheffield was named Coach of the Year.

The Badger list of North All-Region First Team honorees consists of Carter Booth, Mimi Colyer, Grace Egan, Kristen Simon and Una Vajagic. Head Coach Kelly Sheffield also earned his sixth Coach of the Year honor.

Freshman Kristen Simon was one-of-three freshman named First Team. In the regular season, Simon played in 89-of-92 sets as the starting libero for Wisconsin. The Kentucky native led the team with 3.49 digs per set, chipped in with 14 service aces and averaged 1.10 assists per set. She reached double-figure digs 19 matches, including a season-best in her very first collegiate match against Kansas with 23. The 5-foot-8 libero also earned Big Ten All-Freshman this season.

For the first time in her career, right side hitter Grace Egan earned All-Region honors. Traditionally, an outside hitter, Egan moved over to the right side and averaged 2.43 kills per set, 2.19 digs per set, 3.09 points per set and chipped in with 25 service aces this season for the Badgers. She totaled three double-doubles (kills, digs) against Texas, Florida and Northwestern.

Outside hitter Una Vajagic steadily became one of the Badgers most dynamic players in the starting rotation. The Serbian native totaled 2.71 kills per set, 2.56 digs per set, and 3.07 points per set in her first full season with the Badgers. Vajagic also collected eight double-doubles (kills, digs) in the regular season, including a back-to-back double-doubles in her first two collegiate matches against Kansas and Texas. The 6-foot outside hitter also chipped in with 18 service aces for UW.

Senior Carter Booth claims her fourth All-Region honor and third with the Badgers. In all four years, she has been a First Team honoree, including Freshman of the Year when she was with Minnesota. In the regular season, Booth led the Badgers and ranked 5th in the NCAA with a .436 hitting percentage. She added 2.02 kills per set, 1.24 blocks per set and 2.70 points per set. Booth totaled eight matches where she didn’t have a hitting error, including a season best 11 kills on 15 swings with no errors. Defensively, Booth achieved a season best 10.0 blocks at Michigan St. on Nov. 15.

Also joining Booth as a four-time AVCA All-Region recipient is outside hitter Mimi Colyer. She also repeats as All-Region Player of the Year. As a freshman Colyer was named the Pacific North Region Freshman of the Year at Oregon, and in 2024, she was named the Northwest Region Player of the Year. In just one season with the Badgers, Colyer has already broken and is on pace to break several more single-season offensive program records. The California native reached double-figure kills in every match but one this season, including nine matches with 20 or more kills. Colyer averaged 5.32 kills per set, 5.93 points per set, 2.20 digs per set, and added 0.69 blocks per set. She also hit .334 in the regular season. Colyer totaled seven double-doubles including a season-best 25 kill, 18 dig performance at Washington on Oct. 24.

Head coach Kelly Sheffield earned his sixth All-Region Coach of the Year honor after leading the Badgers to a 24-4 regular season record, and a 17-3 Big Ten record for second place. Sheffield replaced nearly his entire starting rotation, including four All-Americans from a season ago.

Wisconsin is 1-of-55 teams assigned to the American Volleyball Coaches Association (AVCA) North Region, joining just Michigan State as a Big Ten school representing the North Region.

FULL LIST OF AVCA ALL-REGION RECIPIENTS

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Women’s Volleyball Puts Three on AVCA All-East Coast Region Team – Penn State

Published

2 hours ago

December 10, 2025

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UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. – Three Penn State women’s volleyball players earned All-East Coast Region honors as announced by the American Volleyball Coaches Association (AVCA) on Tuesday. Gillian Grimes, Kennedy Martin, and Maggie Mendelson all received the award after helping the Nittany Lions qualify for the NCAA Tournament for the 45^th-consecutive season.

Grimes earned All-East Coast Region for the first time following her final collegiate season. The senior was a much-needed consistent player and presence as a team captain for Penn State. She was named the Big Ten Libero of the Year thanks to her impressive passing numbers. Defensively, she finished with 441 digs (3.64/set) and contributed offensively with her 30 aces. A two-time All-Big Ten selection, Grimes now turns her attention to the pro ranks as she will play for the San Diego Mojo in Major League Volleyball.

Martin put together one of the greatest statistical seasons in program history, etching her name in the Penn State record books. She set program records for the 25-point rally scoring era (2008-present) in kills (634), kills/set (5.42), points (728) and points/set (6.22). She was a first-team All-Big Ten selection in her first season in the conference and now adds All-East Coast Region recognition to the two All-Southeast Region awards she won at Florida.

Mendelson closes her collegiate volleyball career with her first All-East Coast Region award. The middle blocker hit .363 with 2.19 kills/set and tallied 91 blocks to lead the team’s defense at the net. She had 10 matches with double-digit kills, nine of which came during Big Ten play. She hit .500 or better in five of those matches.

Penn State has now had a middle blocker make an all-region team in back-to-back seasons as Mendelson joins Taylor Trammell (2024) as the recipients of the award. Grimes is the first Penn State libero to make all-region since Jenna Hampton in 2021, while Martin is the team’s first right side to earn the honor since 2021.

The 2025 Penn State women’s volleyball season is presented by Musselman’s.

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Ugolini Named AVCA All-Region – America East Conference

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2 hours ago

December 10, 2025

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<br /> Ugolini Named AVCA All-Region – America East Conference <br />

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BOSTON – After claiming America East Player of the Year honors, Bryant’s Arianna Ugolini has been named Honorable Mention All-Region by the American Volleyball Coaches Association.

Ugolini led the conference in kills (419), service aces (43), and points (476.5) while helping Bryant claim a share of its first-ever regular season title. She is Bryant’s first-ever Player of the Year in volleyball and was a First-Team All-Conference selection.

ABOUT AMERICA EAST

Founded in 1979, the America East Conference is an elite NCAA Division I athletic conference that fosters an environment for student-athletes to become champions. Comprised of academically renowned, like-minded member institutions located in the Northeast region of the United States, America East is committed to broad-based excellence and progressive in its approach to supporting its more than 3,500 student-athletes across 18 sponsored sports. For more information, visit www.AmericaEast.com and follow the America East Conference and its social media channels, @AmericaEast.

– America East Conference – Where Champions Rise –

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Behrend sprinter wins at Houghton December Classic

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2 hours ago

December 10, 2025

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ERIE, Pa. — Penn State Behrend runner Carter Tobin won the 60-meter dash at the Houghton December Classic. He finished in 6.85 seconds — a qualifying time for the All-Atlantic Region Track and Field Conference.

Tobin, a sophomore from Irwin, placed third in the 200-meter dash, finishing in 22.22 seconds.

Lee Qualk, a freshman from Coal Center, placed third in the triple jump, clearing a distance of 7.13 meters.

In the women’s events, the 4×200 relay team — Anna Buck, Caroline McDevitt, Abigail Falk and Ruby Lormejuste — placed third, finishing in 1:54.41.

Behrend’s basketball, swimming and diving and wrestling teams also were in action last week. Here are the scores and highlights:

Men’s basketball

Penn State Behrend 69, Carlow 53
Penn State Behrend 75, La Roche 71

Jacob Dunkle, a freshman from Washington, scored 23 points and grabbed nine rebounds against La Roche. Dolan Waldo, a senior from Pittsburgh, scored a career-high 19 points and grabbed 11 rebounds.

Women’s basketball

Penn State Behrend 94, Carlow 38
La Roche 68, Penn State Behrend 64

Alaina Fabin, a sophomore from Indiana, scored a career-high 23 points and grabbed 12 rebounds against La Roche. Emma Marsteller, a sophomore from Sandy Lake, scored 21 points and grabbed a career-high 11 rebounds against Carlow.

Men’s swimming and diving

Penn State Behrend 129, Allegheny 70

Behrend’s 200 medley relay team — Nevin Rutherford, Evan Tritt, Nicolin Pierce and Michael Kali — won, finishing in 1:45.52. Isaac Stoeckle, a sophomore from Pittsburgh, won the 1,000 freestyle, finishing in 10:57.86. Kyle Malec, a freshman from Edinboro, won the diving events; he earned 198.35 points in the 1-meter event and 195.25 points in the 3-meter event.

Women’s swimming and diving

Penn State Behrend 154, Allegheny 106

Kaitlyn True, a freshman from Denton, Texas, won the 100 freestyle (59.42) and the 100 breaststroke (1:14.31). Izzy Sheridan, a senior from Orefield, won the 100 backstroke, finishing in 1:07.79. Rylee Ondrejko, a freshman from Washington, won the diving events; she earned 139.80 points in the 1-meter event and 150.20 points in the 3-meter event.

Wrestling