How will TCU women’s basketball’s talented transfer class mesh with returning veterans?
After finishing with the program’s first winning record since 2019, TCU women’s basketball coach Mark Campbell brought in a highly touted transfer class led by Olympic bronze medalist Hailey Van Lith.
What role will Van Lith and the other transfers play ahead of TCU’s upcoming season?
Campbell emphasized that he wanted to unleash Van Lith’s full capabilities without restricting her to a predefined role.
“We’re going to use her as a true combo guard,” Campbell said Tuesaday during a presesaon media session. “Haley is just an attacking, dynamic play-making guard. She’s not pigeonholed into into one position, and Haley needs freedom, she needs space, and when she has those things, she can put the ball in the hole at a high level and create for your team at a high level. And so we’re going to make sure she gets to do those things.”
TCU’s head coach also said he wanted the LSU transfer out in transition more because of how dangerous she is on the run.
He also touted her experience saying it was crucial for any team with winning aspirations to have players who have not only had experience but have had success in college.
Last season with LSU Van Lith helped guide the team to the Elite Eight averaging 11.6 points, 3.4 assists and 2.4 rebounds per game, and won an Olympic Bronze medal with the USA’s 3x3 basketball team.
Van Lith isn’t the only major transfer brought in by TCU this offseason. The Horned Frogs also signed Maddie Scherr, Donovyn Hunter, Taylor Bigby and Deasia Merrill.
“Yeah, the new group, there’s six of them have just been a great addition, and obviously a highly touted, highly talented class, and they’ve done a tremendous job blending in with our returners,” said Campbell.
Hunter, a sophomore transfer from Oregon State, made the Pac-12 All-Defense team and All-Freshman team in 2023 and is another player with deep tournament experience making a trip to last year’s Elite Eight.
“Donovyn Hunter was a starting point guard at Oregon State last year as a true freshman on an elite team. But she’s an old school pass-first point guard, elite vision, elite defender, and she’s doing an amazing job,” said Campbell.
Scherr, a graduate transfer from Kentucky, was second on her team last year in scoring and rebounding, and with her, Van Lith and Hunter provide TCU with a stable of competent guards who can handle, score and pass the ball.
TCU’s key returning veterans from last year will mix with the influx of talent from the transfer portal to make the Horned Frogs a deeper and more dangerous team than last season and better protect them from injuries.
One of those returning players is Maddison Conner who set a school record for three-pointers (100) in a season on her way to an All-Big 12 second team selection and Campbell said he hopes to see the senior guard continue to flourish.
“I hope she breaks her record. Madison, you will hope that kid gets 10 threes, 15 threes a game, as many clean looks that we can get from Madison Connor, we want her to shoot that thing. I think her job is going to be easier this year with the amount of talent that’s surrounding her, the best defenders, not necessarily on Madison Connor every night,” Said Campbell.
He also praised returning center Sedona Prince after one of the most successful seasons of her career which culminated in her earning an All-Big 12 honorable mention.
“She had her best year of college basketball, 20 points, 10 rebounds, three blocks. She was a force on both ends and and was really effective in the pick-and-roll stuff,” said Campbell.
Campbell said the focus will be getting TCU’s talent, both new and old, to mesh together before season’s first game on Nov. 5 against Houston Christian.
“Obviously, we have over 90% of our scoring coming back, and so trying to get that the old group, the group that’s returning, and the new group, to come together and playing good basketball, something that we’re working through,” said Campbell, “We just finished today was day six of our practice days, and so it’s been an awesome first week.”
