Five things to know about Ball State women's basketball before 2026-27 season

College basketball season is just around the corner, which means that Ball State women's basketball is gearing up for another potential run towards a conference title.The Cardinals have won three out of four conference titles over the last two seasons, sweeping the Mid-American Conference regular season and tournament titles in 2024-25 before splitting the regular season title with Miami (Ohio) last year. Ball State failed to defend its tournament championship, falling to Toledo in the semifinals, and finished its 2025-26 campaign with a 26-7 record.More: Ball State women's basketball 2026-27 schedule releasedBall State will tip off its 2026-27 season at home against Arkansas State on Monday, Nov. 2. Here are five things to know about Ball State women's basketball before the season begins:Brady Sallee is a scheduling madmanBrady Sallee returns to the sideline for his 15th season as Ball State's women's basketball head coach, with the same lineup of assistant coaches joining him on the bench for the fourth straight year. Associate head coach Audrey Spencer is in her 14th season on staff, Moriah Monaco is entering her sixth season as an assistant coach, while Casey Morrissett and Mariah King are each entering their fourth season as assistant coaches. Sallee has compiled a 290-162 record over his decade-and-a-half leading the program.One thing Sallee has become known for in recent years is challenging his teams with tough nonconference schedules before MAC play ramps up. This year's nonconference slate may just be his masterpiece. The Cardinals will play four Power 4 opponents — Louisville and Illinois at home, Maryland and Cincinnati on the road — and have some strong mid-major opponents scheduled like Temple, Fresno State, Arkansas State and reigning Big South champions High Point."I'm excited about our non-conference schedule, and I also think the guy that put it together is half crazy. I'll let you figure out who that was," Sallee said. "We will know exactly who we are at the end of December. We're going to take some punches in the face, and I think the story of this season, when we look back, is probably going to be how we handle those punches."Who is returning for Ball State women's basketball?Of last year's 13 players, one graduated and five more hit the transfer portal, leaving Ball State with six holdovers from its 2025-26 roster—Giorgia Gorini, Grace Kingery, Karsyn Norman, Aniss Tagayi, Tessa Towers and Zhen Verburgt. All of them, with the exception of Gorini, averaged at least 20 minutes per game last season and should continue to play big roles on this year's team.Towers is the most productive returning Cardinal, averaging 14.7 points and 8.4 rebounds per game, both top-10 in the MAC. Her 6-foot-5 frame and physicality make her a force to be reckoned with in the paint, and she is one of the conference's truest matchup nightmares. She earned all-MAC First Team honors last season and was named preseason all-MAC First Team this year.Kingery was an all-MAC honorable mention last year and also earned preseason all-MAC honors with a spot on the Second Team. She averaged 13.4 points per game last season and was the conference's most prolific shooter, leading the MAC with 97 3-pointers made on 40.6% 3-point shooting. Tagayi was the only other Cardinal to earn all-MAC honors last season with a spot on the all-freshman and all-defensive teams. A gifted athlete and feisty defender (1.5 steals per game last season), Tagayi spent the offseason becoming European champions with her French national team.Rounding out the returners are Norman, Verburgt and Gorini. Norman (9.4 points, 4.9 assists per game last season) will operate as the floor general point guard once more and could see increased scoring responsibilities, while Verburgt should play a larger role after being the first player off the bench last season. Gorini only averaged 10 minutes per game last season, but Sallee expects her to be a top rotational player in the backcourt this year.Who are the new transfers for Ball State women's basketball?Ball State has had great success with transfers in recent years, including but not limited to Norman, Towers, Bree Salenbien, Alex Richard and Elise Stuck. This year, the Cardinals brought in two transfer players during the offseason cycle — Helen Holley, a forward from San Diego, and Faith Walker, a guard from Duquesne. Both will enter their third season of collegiate basketball: Walker played two years at Duquesne, while Holley started her career at Michigan State before transferring to San Diego for the 2025-26 season.At 6-1, Holley gives the Cardinals some additional size and athleticism in their rotation. Holley averaged 3 points and 4 rebounds per game while shooting 39.6% from the floor at San Diego last season. Sallee has wanted to coach Holley since seeing her as a high school prospect at Gilmour Academy in Ohio, and now he will finally get the chance. Walker, meanwhile, gives the Cardinals another defensive stopper on the perimeter. She averaged 2.5 points, 2.7 rebounds, and 1.7 assists per game for the Dukes last season and also racked up 16 steals. Sallee highlighted Walker's length, versatility and competitiveness as assets that will make her a key piece of this year's Ball State team."We've been so fortunate because in the portal, I don't think we've gone overboard, but man, have we hit the nail on the head with good people," Sallee said. "We did the same thing this year with Faith and Helen — tremendous kids, big smiles, fun to be around and just fit so well into the culture. I think what has been a constant in all of these kids that have come in through the portal is they have wanted the culture that we have in place."Who are the new freshmen for Ball State women's basketball?Ball State also added two highly-touted freshmen signees to the roster — one from in-state and one from overseas. Lilli Barnes joins the Cardinals after a standout high school career at Valparaiso, where she helped the Vikings win back-to-back regional titles and was named an Indiana All-Star last season. Collegiate Girls Basketball Report ranked her as the fifth-best prospect in Indiana for her class, and Sallee expects her to make an immediate impact in year one."Lilli is a load of talent, she is really, really good, and she has not disappointed for a second since she's been here," Sallee said. "The thing I love about Lilli is she will not get out of the gym, almost to the point where we as a staff are like, 'Okay, we've got to make her go home.' We love her versatility, she's going to play three, maybe four positions for us, but no matter where she is, I think you can play through her."The other freshman addition is Klaske Miedema, a 6-1 prospect who hails from Baarn, Netherlands. One of four Europeans on the Ball State roster (joining Tagayi from France, Verburgt from Belgium, and Gorini from Italy), Miedema has competed for the Orange Lions Academy in the Dutch Basketball Federation and for CBV Binnenland in the Dutch women's league. She may be a bit more of a raw prospect that could take some time to make a big impact on the floor, but Sallee is extremely confident in her ceiling."If anybody can imagine Bree Salenbien as a freshman, that's kind of where she is," Sallee said. "She's got all the stuff. She's long, she can shoot it, she can drive it, she can handle it, she can throw it into the third row or make a great pass, but that's what freshmen look like. I think, in time, you're going to start seeing that. I think the weight room is going to be big for her, but we saw a lot of potential and versatility."Is depth a concern for Ball State women's basketball?It's worth noting that Ball State only has 10 players on its roster this season with six returners, two transfers and two freshmen. That represents the smallest roster of the Sallee era, surpassing his 11-player roster from 2018-19, and the smallest roster in the MAC this season. Every other MAC school has at least 13 players on its women's basketball roster.With only 10 players — two of whom have never played college basketball — the Cardinals may find themselves in trouble if/when injuries start to take their toll. If just two starters go down, all of a sudden Ball State is playing an eight-player rotation with two freshmen involved. Fewer players means more minutes for everyone, especially the starters, so even if the Cardinals are fortunate enough to avoid serious injuries piling up, they may find themselves gassed in late-game scenarios.Nevertheless, the lack of depth hasn't deterred the program's high expectations. Ball State was picked to win the MAC regular season in the preseason coaches poll and tied with Toledo for the most votes to win the conference tournament. Sallee also remains confident in his group despite its lack of volume and anticipates another season of title contention."I think we've got a mature, well-led group that can see the big picture and what we're trying to do," Sallee said. "This thing's set up for another good run, another season that I think fans should expect a championship run. Whether or not we're able to do it will be the fun part of going game-by-game through this deal. I'm excited to get going."Contact Cade Hampton via email at cbhampton@usatodayco.com or on X, formerly known as Twitter, @CadeHamp10.This article originally appeared on Muncie Star Press: Five things to know about Ball State women's basketball before 2026-27 season