After scoring commitments from senior-to-be Karoline Striplin and junior-to-be Shay Ciezki, commander in chief Teri Moren has done a lot to replenish this roster after losing so much from last season. With the always dominant Mackenzie Holmes no longer around to punish opponents in the paint and Sara Scalia's lightning quick trigger from outside no longer in town, this was a depth chart in desperate need of some difference makers.
With 9 players returning from last season's roster and 2 very talented frontcourt players coming in via the 2024 freshman recruiting class, Moren still had 2 humongous holes to fill with the losses of last season's stars. The freshman, including national top 60-ranked 6'4" forward Faith Wiseman, certainly helped in the healing process. The additions of Striplin and Ciezki should accelerate it immensely.
As things currently stand, this is a very deep team with a lot of very talented pieces. We know that Sydney Parrish, Chloe Moore-McNeil and Yarden Garzon will retain their starting spots, but who fills in the remaining two slots in the first 5?
We envision an initial rotation of something resembling the following, at least to start.
PG | Chloe Moore-McNeil (5'11" | Senior), Lexus Bargesser (5'9" | Sophomore)
SG | Shay Ciezki (5'7" | Junior), Julianna LaMendola (6'1" | Sophomore), Henna Sandvik (6'0" | Junior)
SF | Sydney Parrish (6'2" | Senior), Lenee Beaumont (6'1" | Sophomore)
PF | Yarden Garzon (6'3" | Junior), Lily Meister (6'3", Junior), Sydney Fenn (6'3" | Freshman)
C | Karoline Striplin (6'3" | Senior), Faith Wiseman (6'4", Freshman), Sharnecce Currie-Jelks (6'2" | Junior)
Ciezki should slide into Scalia's role from last season, instantly becoming the bonafide marksman of the starting unit. In her first two collegiate seasons at Penn State, she connected on 38.9% of her 5.5 attempts from deep per game. She will have the same green light that Scalia had in 2023-2024, and her presence on the floor should open up a ton of space for Parrish and Moore-McNeil to operate. Garzon and her 42.2% success rate from downtown this season will be back as well to offer further floor spacing.
Striplin, who has started a combined 39 games in the past two seasons, should begin the season as the starting center. She is a rugged, gritty post player who should come in and become a tone setter for this team. Her outside shot has gradually improved over her first 3 campaigns, and she should offer yet another spacing mechanism for the 5th-year phenoms to utilize.
Beyond the starting 5, this is an insanely deep bench plush with solid role players. Bargesser could very easily be starting for this team, and should be the first player that Teri Moren turns to from the bench. Do not be surprised if she winds up in the closing lineup on a lot of nights. Meister, LaMendola, Beaumont, and Sandvik should all improve with another year of seasoning, and Currie-Jelks should have a lot of motivation to bounce back after missing all of last season due to injury.
Factor in the incoming freshman prospects, and it is not hard to see that this is a squad with some serious reinforcements inbound.