Middle Tennessee State‘s women’s basketball team will have a new look as it hits the floor for its season opener Nov. 3 against Tennessee State (10:30 a.m. CT at Murphy Center).
The Lady Raiders lost all five starters from last season’s squad, which went 26-9 and won the Conference USA regular-season title before falling in the tournament final and losing to Belmont in the WNIT.
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Following are three things you need to know about the 2025-26 MTSU women’s basketball team:
MTSU women’s basketball has youngest roster in quite some time
A team that has been accustomed to having several starters back each season, the Lady Raiders have a lot of new faces on the roster.
They’ve lost Anastasiia Boldyreva, Jalynn Gregory, Courtney Blakely and Elina Arike to graduation/eligibility, and Ta’Mia Scott transferred to Alabama.
The five starters dominated minutes played and statistical categories last season. Gregory and Boldyreva were four-year starters and Scott was a first-team all-conference selection who averaged a team-high 16.7 points along with 6.6 rebounds.
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MTSU now has seven true freshmen, a sophomore and two redshirt sophomores. Nine players made their debut during the team’s 94-39 exhibition win over Fisk.
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Talented freshman class lends optimism for Lady Raiders
The freshman crop is a talented one that could make an imprint on the program for several years.
Two of them are projected starters in the post: Macie Phifer and Blair Baugus.
The 6-foot-1 Phifer was one of the top recruits out of Mississippi at Ingomar High in New Albany. She was a two-time Miss Basketball winner and was the state’s Gatorade Player of the Year as a senior. She scored more than 3,500 points, and had 1,381 rebounds, 353 steals, 225 assists and 204 blocks in her career.
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Baugus, a 6-1 center, was a two-time TSSAA Class 1A Miss Basketball winner at Wayne County. She scored more than 2,500 career points and had more than 1,000 career rebounds in high school.
Yu Han Lin, a 5-9 guard from Taiwan, is expected to start at point guard. She played for Chinese Taipei in the 2024 FIBA U18 women’s Asia Cup, averaging 10.6 points and shooting 46% from the field.
MTSU women’s basketball coach Rick Insell gives instruction to Savannah Davis during a 2025 game.
Carsyn Swaney, a 6-0 guard, was an all-state selection at Maryville Heritage, leading her squad to the Class 4A state title as a senior. She scored more than 2,000 points in her career and averaged 18.2 points as a senior. She had a good preseason and could work her way into valuable minutes.
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Nicole Dominguez, a 6-10 center from Spain, should see minutes in the paint. She led Spain’s U18 women’s basketball team to a gold medal at the 2025 European Championship, averaging 7.8 points and 7.2 rebounds.
Veterans, transfers to play key roles for MTSU
An experienced MTSU starting lineup last season meant little playing time for some who have the opportunity to step up this season.
One player who did receive a considerable amount of time off the bench last season is sophomore Savannah Davis, who played in 24 games and hit 33% from 3-point range. The 5-10 guard was a two-time Miss Basketball at McKenzie and set a TSSAA record with 17 3-pointers in a game her senior season.
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A key transfer and projected starter will be senior Alayna Contreras. The 5-6 guard is a Missouri-Kansas City transfer, where she was a Summit League second-team all-conference performer, averaging 17.3 points and hitting 64 3-pointers.
Cecil Joyce covers high school sports and MTSU athletics for The Daily News Journal. Contact him at cjoyce@dnj.com and follow him on X, the platform formerly known as Twitter, @Cecil_Joyce.
This article originally appeared on Murfreesboro Daily News Journal: What to know about MTSU women’s basketball entering 2025-26 season
