By John Ostapowicz
YOUNGSTOWN, Ohio – It takes a while for most college basketball programs to build a winning culture.
The Youngstown State University women’s team expedited the process during the 2025-26 season.
The team doubled its win total from a year prior with a 25-10 overall record and finished 15-5 in Horizon League play. The program’s 25 wins was the most it had recorded in 28 years.
The team also made history with its first ever appearance in the Horizon League Women’s Basketball Championship game and fought its way to the Super 16 of the Women’s National Invitational Tournament — the deepest run in YSU history.
The Penguins are hard at work to pick up where they left off at the end of March. Head Coach Melissa Jackson, who is entering her third year at the helm, said expectations are higher than ever for the 2026-27 season. The team wants to to punch its ticket to the NCAA Women’s Basketball Tournament.
“We’ve seen the success and how to do it and how to do it the right way,” Jackson says. “Obviously there’s going to be high expectations for us coming back in this group, but we’re going to put our nose to the ground and continue to work really hard and do it one day at a time and just get a little bit better each day,” Jackson said.
To continue where the team left off, the squad needed to retain valuable players from last season. In total, seven players elected to stay at Youngstown State.
Jackson said those players will maintain the leadership and culture that was established from the year prior.
“Some of them [are] starting year three – like me – and they really know the ins and outs of our program,” she says. “They know our culture, they know how to lead [and can] bring the new ones along.”
TOP DEFENSE
Defense was a crucial key for the Penguins last season. They were the No. 1 defense in the Horizon League that held teams to under 58 points per game, eliminated the three-point shot – holding foes to under 26% from deep – and recorded 173 total blocks as a unit.
Senior Paulina Hernandez led the Horizon League in blocked shots and finished top 30 in total blocks in the entirety of NCAA Division I. Hernandez recorded more total blocks than notable major conference college basketball players such as University of Connecticut’s Sarah Strong, the University of Alabama’s Naomi Jones and Kennedy Basham at Texas Christian University.
With returners and new pieces joining the program the defense will continue to improve throughout the start of the regular season, Jackson says.
“We’re the number one defense returning. We got some unbelievable defenders that have been able to come back into our program and retain them, and they get even better,” Jackson says. “So a lot of things don’t change with us. People are going to have to adjust and adapt to Youngstown State.”
PLAYERS DEPART
The team lost leading scorer Casey Santoro to graduation. She elevated the guard position, played in 35 games for the Penguins and facilitated the offense with 11.8 points and 5.5 rebounds per game.
Its second leading shot blocker, Sophia Gregory, headed to Liberty University. Gregory was third in offensive scoring with 10.5 ppg, had 106 assists, 51 blocks and averaged 8.7 rebounds per game last season.
Another transfer from YSU’s program was Ashlynn Van Tassel, who played 10 games in 2025. She transferred to West Liberty University.
With the transfer of Gregory, the program will turn to junior Sarah Baker, who was the second-most efficient from the floor – over 52% from the field. Over the offseason, Baker began to work with Jackson on various fundamentals to help improve her game for the upcoming season.
“[Jackson] wants me to improve on finishing through contact, so that’s definitely something I want to work on,” Baker says. “My fadeaway game is good, but I want to try and mix it up a lot more so I can become more versatile and open up a lot of stuff for all my other teammates.”
NEWCOMERS
With two freshmen and three transfers joining the team, the incoming players will help fill the void left by Santoro and Gregory’s departures.
Youngstown State added depth at the forward position with senior Mia Kalich from Seton Hill University. At the Division II level, she was named the Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference West Defensive Player of the Year and recorded almost 1,000 points, 888 rebounds, 295 steals and 268 assists as a member of the Griffins.
True freshman Kaitlyn Turinsky is another player who is expected to make an immediate impact to the program. At Bellevue High School, she was named the Ohio Division IV Player of the Year and First-Team All-Ohio. She also helped the Lady Red win its first-ever state championship.
The rest of the Horizon League, including Cleveland State University and the University of Wisconsin-Green Bay, added depth and size to its roster.
Jackson says she would still put her post players against anyone in the conference because of the increased urgency around rim protection and finishing at the basket.
“I’ll put my posts up against any posts in the league. With [Baker], Paulina, the addition of Mia Kalich then Kaitlyn Turinsky — our true freshman. So I feel really good about our post group,” Jackson said.
The program also added depth at the guard position from fellow Horizon League transfer Jada Leonard. The Horizon League All-Defensive Team selection from Cleveland State comes to Youngstown State in her final year of eligibility with experience. In her career she has amassed over 1,000 points.
Leonard’s defense was also a point of emphasis. Her 2.9 steals a game last season was ranked top-25 in the nation.
The transfers and the freshmen were selected for the program because of experience and the fit within the current lineup that can help the team make a deeper-run in the postseason.
“We’ve been able to add some unbelievable pieces. Whether that’s through the transfer portal or freshmen that really fit our system, and so we really don’t have to change much there,” Jackson says. “I’m excited. This group is versatile and we might be able to do things maybe a little differently, but we had success with what we’ve been doing so I don’t think much is going to have to change there.”
POINT GUARD
Guard position helped transcend the Penguins last season. Junior Erica King looks to make a leap in year three, as she recorded a career-high 23 points against Oakland University and averaged over nine points a game.
Jackson says the main target in the transfer portal was point guard. Both guards are returning and transfers will add positional depth to the roster.
“We knew going into portal season one of our biggest targets was a point guard – somebody with experience,” Jackson says. “We wanted somebody with some real game experience and we hit the jackpot in Leonard… she really fits defensively what we do.”
With the start of the season just months away, Jackson said if the team wants to go further than last year it has to be patient and take it one day at a time.
“What is this year going to bring with this group? There’s high expectations, but we’re gonna continue to take it one day at a time, and if we do that, hopefully we’ll be cutting down some nets in March,” Jackson said.
Baker said the team was close to punching its ticket to March Madness and now with a new season underway, new players and the chemistry from her returning teammates will help pave the way for a competitive 2026-27 campaign.
“I feel like we were so close. And what we lacked was experience, playing that long is a lot on our bodies. Now we know what to expect. I’m excited to see with different people how far we can go, and how different we’ll play, and then just gotta give it another shot to hopefully get to the NCAA Tournament,” Baker saus.
The schedule for the upcoming season is yet to be finalized. More information is available on the team’s website at ysusports.com.
Pictured at top: Sarah Baker runs a drill during practice as she prepares for her junior season.
