The Kent State women’s basketball team was picked to win the Mid-American Conference regular season in 2025-2026 when the preseason poll was announced on Tuesday morning.
Additionally, Kent State got five votes to win the tournament crown in downtown Cleveland at the league’s annual conference tournament to be held March 11-14.
Junior post player Janae Tyler was named to the All-MAC Preseason first team and junior sharp shooter Mya Babbitt was named to the second team.
High expectations are nothing new for Head Coach Todd Starkey and his staff. The Golden Flashes will be looking to get back to the NCAA tournament after appearing in the big dance in 2024. The always competitive MAC will be tough once again and will be even deeper with the addition of UMASS, who is picked to finish third.
“I think it’s maybe one of the first times that Kent State’s been picked to win the conference in the preseason poll,” Starkey said during Tuesday’s media day portion. ”Obviously it’s a great testament to where our program is and what we’ve built here. If it can serve as some motivation, great. I’m sure there’s some coaches in the league that didn’t get picked #1 or further down or that type of thing that will try and use that as bulletin board material for their team. Coaches use whatever means they can to motivate their teams.”
In addition to Tyler and Babbitt, the Flashes return seven players who averaged 10 minutes or more in 2024-2025. Senior guard Dionna Gray is back to lead the team, and Corynne Hauser will be back from injury this season after missing all of 2024-2025 and the end of the 2023-2024 season. Before injury, Hauser had established herself as one of the top guards in the league.
Besieged by injuries in 2024-2025, the Flashes hope the depth that was created last season pays off for them this year with a talented blend of returners, newcomers, and a hopeful return to health.
With that said, being picked number one is a great sign of respect for the program, but it must be proven everyday on the court.
“I think for us it’s just a testament to what we’ve done, not what we’re getting ready to do,” Starkey said. “So we’ve got to earn that everyday. We’re excited about attacking the season. We’re pursuing something and that is a MAC Championship, and that’s really our standard every year. Our players that really get immersed in the process and really get excited about the preparation everyday are the ones that really thrive and when we have enough players do that together, we get great outcomes.”
Never shying away from anyone in the non-conference, Kent State will once again play a very difficult schedule with games scheduled at James Madison in the opener November 3, at West Virginia (11/7), at Xavier (11/14), at Ohio State (11/19), along with a trip to the Bahamas to play Tulsa and another opponent to be determined. This is all in hopes of being prepared for MAC play, and hopefully another fun ride come March.
“Our expectations really don’t change year to year. We always expect to win and we expect to compete for championships every year. That’s just the mentality that I always have and that we have for our team. These players, you pick us one, you pick us twelve, anywhere in the middle, we’re going to pursue the same goal and that is to win the day, to win right in front of us and the outcomes take care of themselves. This group is going to be a work in progress. I think we’ll absorb some bumps in the road on the way and like we always say we want to be playing our best basketball in March when the games matter most and that’s my expectation for this team.”
Kent State will host an exhibition with Pitt-Johnstown on Wednesday, October 29 at 7pm in the MAC Center. The regular season home opener is Monday, November 10 at 5pm vs. Walsh with the men hosting UNC-Wilmington around 7:30pm.
KENT STATE BASKETBALL PREVIEW SHOW:
Join us for our Kent State Basketball Preview Show on ‘X Spaces’ on Tuesday, October 28 at 6pm. We will talk to Corynne Hauser around 6:15pm and Starkey at 6:30pm.
KSU TIX:
Make plans to be at the MAC Center for this women’s team. They play hard, represent the university the right way and have cultivated a special fan base.
CAM ON THE POD:
New radio play by play man Cam Manna has been doing podcast interviews with members of the program and it’s a great way to get ready for the season. Check them out here.