The Kent State women’s basketball team had a magical season in 2023-2024, breaking through for their first trip to the NCAA tournament since 2002. Under the direction of Head Coach Todd Starkey, the Golden Flashes played their best basketball under the bright lights in downtown Cleveland to win three games in four days to reach mid-major heaven, the big dance.
The MAC released their preseason poll Tuesday and they picked KSU to finish second in the league, as the defending tournament champions. A lot of pressure they must be putting on themselves this season. They must defend their title! A huge target on their back! Nah, not really.
“No, I think it actually takes the pressure off you a little bit because you know you’ve done it,” Starkey said on The Field of 68 Media Day interview Tuesday. “You kind of crossed that threshold. I think any pressure that we get would be from the outside maybe but I think for me the message to our team was we’re not defending anything, we’re pursuing another championship. So that’s kind of been our focus is really the art of pursuit again and preparing ourselves for what faces us this year.”
Losing Katie Shumate, who is now playing professionally, leaves a void in leadership and production. Jenna Batsch, who was the most improved player in the league last year, was named All-MAC Preseason 1st Team. She will look to take another jump in her game as a senior. Batsch was asked about the perceived pressure and if it affects them.
“It doesn’t, no. And we kind of talked about that. We’ve talked all summer and even in past years that pressure is a privilege so I think that target on our back is something that we don’t need to be afraid of but something rather that we need to attack.”
Kent State is looking to blend some key returners such as Batsch, Janae Tyler, Bridget Dunn and Dionna Gray with some key newcomers both from the transfer portal and from their high school recruits.
Kent State will look to reinvent themselves this year but also stick to what they’ve done to be successful in the past. Batsch is excited for her senior year and to see this new version of the Golden Flashes.
“I’m very confident in what we have coming back and we’ve also gained some very good players and some transfers so I’m really excited to see, and I don’t think that we’ll fall off really at all” she said. “I know people think that we will but I have high expectations for this team and I think we’ll be just fine.
“I think just playing how we know how to play. I think everybody else thinks that all the pressure is on us to win again because we’ve won before. I think if we just focus on ourselves and play the basketball we know how to play we’ll be fine.”
Starkey admitted last season was validation of sorts for him, his staff and his team and all the hard work they put in, but is also looking ahead to a new challenge in 2024-2025.
“It’s a different team. We lost three key players from last year’s team, two of which are playing professionally overseas which is great for our program but it puts a different light on things. We have to refocus and move forward towards the challenge that’s ahead this season.”
TV TIME: Kent State got their game vs. Buffalo that was set for Saturday, January 4 flexed to Sunday, January 5th for a nationally televised audience on CBS Sports Network from the MAC Center. The game will tip at 2:00pm. This will be the team’s fifth nationally televised game over the past two seasons and third on CBSSN.
There is a chance for more games to be flexed for TV, most notably a Saturday, February 22 game at Ball State, that could find itself into a Noon, ESPNU slot if both the Flashes and Cardinals have the season they are expected to.