The West Virginia Mountaineers enter their third season under coach Mark Kellogg without one of the best players in program history. Guard JJ Quinerly ran out of eligibility last spring and turned into a WNBA draft pick and played alongside UConn superstar Paige Bueckers with the Dallas Wings.
Life without Quinerly starts now as the Mountaineers should be considered contenders for the Big 12 crown in 2025-26. Here is a preview of the upcoming season.
West Virginia Mountaineers
2024-25: 25-8, 13-5 in Big 12, tied for fourth place. Lost to TCU in the semifinals of the Big 12 women’s basketball tournament. Reached the round of 32 in the NCAA Tournament before losing to North Carolina, 58-47.
Head coach: Mark Kellogg is 50-16 in two seasons with WVU. He has led the Mountaineers to the second round of the NCAA Tournament in each season. He is five wins away from reaching 500 wins for his career.
Big 12 history: West Virginia joined the Big 12 in 2012 from the Big EAST. The Mountaineers won the 2017 Big 12 Tournament over Baylor and made the finals two other times in 2014 and 2021. West Virginia also shared the 2014 regular season title.
West Virginia Schedule: Click here for a complete 2025-26 Big 12 schedule.
West Virginia 2025-26 Roster Review
Gone: G Destiny Agubata (2.5 ppg), F Danelle Arigbabu (1.1 ppg), G JJ Quinerly (20.4 ppg), F Kylee Blacksten (6.1 ppg), F Freyal Defne Atli (0.9 ppg), G Zya Nugent (1.7 ppg), G Ashala Moseberry (1.4 ppg), G Kyah Watson (5.9 ppg), F Tirzah Moore (2.4 ppg).
Returning: G Sydney Woodley (3.9 ppg), G Sydney Shaw (11.4 ppg), G Jordan Harrison (13.7 ppg), F Jordan Thomas (6.2 ppg), F Célia Rivière (3.3 ppg)
Incoming transfers: F Carter McCray (10.6 ppg at Wisconsin), G Gia Cooke (12.2 ppg at Houston), F Riley Makalusky (8.1 ppg at Butler), F Kierra Wheeler (15.6 ppg at Norfolk State), G Loghan Johnson (5.5 ppg at Texas Tech).
Incoming freshmen: G Madison Parrish (No. 90 national recruit per ESPN)
Projected Starting Lineup
G Jordan Harrison: Has run Kellogg’s offense since she was a true freshman at Stephen F. Austin.
G Sydney Shaw: Gave Mountaineers an infusion of offense in her first season after transferring in from Auburn.
G Gia Cooke: She was Houston’s best player last season, and her speed and defense should be a good fit in Morgantown.
F Kierra Wheeler: Nearly averaged a double-double at Norfolk State last season.
F Jordan Thomas: The top scoring interior player for WVU that returns should give them a boos inside.
Starting Lineup Crashers
F Carter McCray: She averaged double-digits at a power conference program a season ago.
F Riley Makalusky: A solid scorer on the wing who could be an asset in the paint as well.
Lineup Competition
WVU’s defensive identity requires speed and quickness so expect the Mountaineers to start at least three guards as they have in their first two seasons under Kellogg. Harrison, Shaw and Cooke seem like a perfect trio to help WVU on both ends. The Mountaineers don’t have “tall” players because how they play requires them to sacrifice a bit of size. West Virginia’s tallest player is 6-foot-3. Expect Kellogg to run plenty of forwards into the game, both in the paint and on the wing. But if Wheeler’s offense translates at the high major level, that will be a differentiator for the Mountaineers this season. WVU only has 11 players on the roster, but most will play some minutes, especially early in the season as Kellogg works on rotations.
Early Prediction
Replacing Quinerly is going to be tough, but the returns of Harrison and Shaw give the Mountaineers a good start. With a solid infusion of transfer talent and a system that feeds off great defense and turning teams over, there is a good chance that Kellogg takes the Mountaineers to the NCAA Tournament for a third straight year. Expect WVU to be in the mix for a Top 4 Big 12 Tournament seed, too.
