To say there’s a lot of excitement around the FGCU women’s basketball program would be an understatement.
Fresh off another NCAA Tournament appearance, their 11th in 14 seasons, in what was a competitive first-round game with Oklahoma, there will be many new faces trying to keep that level of success.
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That starts at the top with Raina Harmon, who enters her first season as head coach after serving eight years as an assistant at Iowa. She’s also facing the inevitable pressure of maintaining the prestige of a program that’s gone 487-84 (.853) since joining Division I in 2007.
More: Florida Gulf Coast women’s basketball hires Iowa assistant Raina Harmon as head coach
“I rely a lot on our returners to talk about what the standard is and what their expectation is when we got here,” Harmon said. “During the recruiting process, although it was swift, they all had an idea of what type of program that they were coming to, and they embraced that. They wanted to go to a place where they were going to win, feel valued, feel loved and have a great time, and compete for a long season. We’re looking to make a good playoff push, too.”
Harmon utilized the transfer portal aggressively since taking the job in April, landing six transfers and a standout freshman. It could’ve been more had Cerina Rolle and Maca Retamales followed through with transferring, but ultimately withdrew their names from the portal.
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Towson transfer Nay Staton, Michigan State transfer Sinai Douglas, and Miami Dade College transfer Shameir Quimby are three of the new players. Quimby averaged 19.3 points, 8.1 rebounds, 4.4 assists, and 2.6 steals averaging 25.6 minutes per game last season.
Nay Staton, #0 of the Florida Gulf Coast University Women’s basketball team drives to the basket during the first offical practice on Monday, Sept. 29, 2025.
Staton came off the bench but logged 26.2 minutes per game, averaging 11 points and 5.5 rebounds per contest, finishing in double figures 15 times, in what’s expected to be a balanced offensive grouping with plenty of different combinations of players on the floor.
As for what that looks like from Harmon and her staff, that remains to be seen. The public will get its first glimpse of the new-look Eagles on Saturday, Nov. 8, at home against Davidson.
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“That’ll kind of just work itself out as we go,” Harmon said. “I don’t want to put a cap on anybody, because then if you start limiting people in October, that’s going to be tough for them to show you who they are through the rest of the season. We do have a closed scrimmage this year, we do have an exhibition game this year, and I think as we start to get rolling through our nonconference, we’ll start to settle in and see who we’re going to have big contributions from.”
Cerina Rolle, #3, of the Florida Gulf Coast University Women’s basketball team drives to the basket during the first offical practice on Monday, Sept. 29, 2025.
And while the names and faces may have changed, the expectation certainly hasn’t. Expect the Eagles to contend for another ASUN title, especially playing tough competition in No. 2 South Carolina, Columbia, Indiana, Stanford, and more in the nonconference before looking to extend their conference win streak on the court to 55 in a row starting with North Alabama on Jan. 1.
“We have the same goals,” Rolle said. “Every time, we want to win the ASUN. That’s our main goal, getting another ring. We want to keep having competition in March Madness. We want to keep going until the ball stops.”
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Season schedule
Nov. 8 — vs. Davidson
Nov. 13 — vs. Ave Maria
Nov. 19 — at George Mason
Nov. 25 — vs. Indiana
Nov. 28 — vs. Stanford (Las Vegas, Nev.)
Nov. 29 — vs. Troy (Las Vegas, Nev.)
Dec. 3 — at Arkansas State
Dec. 12 — at FAU
Dec. 20 — vs. No. 2 South Carolina
Dec. 22 — vs. University of Fort Lauderdale
Dec. 29 — vs. Columbia
Jan. 1 — vs. North Alabama
Jan. 3 — vs. Central Arkansas
Jan. 8 — at Austin Peay
Jan. 10 — at Lipscomb
Jan. 15 — vs. West Georgia
Jan. 17 — at Queens
Jan. 22 — vs. Austin Peay
Jan. 24 — vs. Lipscomb
Jan. 29 — at Central Arkansas
Jan. 31 — at North Alabama
Feb. 5 — vs. Bellarmine
Feb. 7 — vs. Jacksonville
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Feb. 12 — at North Florida
Feb. 14 — at Stetson
Feb. 19 — vs. Eastern Kentucky
Feb. 21 — at Jacksonville
Feb. 25 — vs. North Florida
Feb. 27 — vs. Stetson
Follow Sports Reporter Alex Martin on X: @NP_AlexMartin. For the best sports coverage in Southwest Florida, follow @newspresssports and @ndnprepzone on Instagram.
This article originally appeared on Naples Daily News: FGCU women aiming to continue longstanding success under Raina Harmon
