Earlier this month, the star-studded Kansas women’s basketball recruiting class of 2025 arrived on campus to get to work.
The addition of incoming freshmen like McDonald’s All-American Jaliya Davis, Oklahoma Player of the Year Keeley Parks, Iowa Player of the Year Libby Fandel and Colorado forward Tatyonna Brown — along with Indiana transfer Lilly Meister — figures to make an immediate impact on the program .
But KU coach Brandon Schneider said recently that one of the biggest things the program gained during the past year was the development of some of its depth.
“I really think it was a terrific year for players like Sania Copeland and Laia Conessa and Brittany Harshaw, who probably weren’t expecting to play the amount of minutes that they did,” Schneider said during a recent pre-summer press conference. “I think (it) really sets them up in a position to compete going into this next year. They’ll be more prepared for whatever their role turns out to be.”
KU returners Britany Harshaw (23), Sania Copeland (2) and Laia Conessa (6) could be in line to provide the Jayhawks with the best bench they've had in a while this season. [Chance Parker photos]
One possible starting lineup/depth chart for 2025-26:
PG - S’Mya Nichols — Laia Conessa
SG - Libby Fandel — Brittany Harshaw
3G - Elle Evans — Keeley Parks — Sania Copeland
F - Jailya Davis — Tatyonna Brown
F - Regan Williams — Lilly Meister — Nadira Eltayeb
That trio that Schneider mentioned combined to start 61 games last season, when the Jayhawks were plagued by injuries and a short bench.
Heading into the 2025-26 season, those Jayhawks, if they don’t start, will add quality depth to a KU team that suddenly looks to be as deep as any in recent memory.
The newcomers will have to pan out for that to be the case. And there is plenty of reason to think they will. But, much in the way KU men’s coach Bill Self has done for years, Schneider and his staff appear to have done a great job of blending new talent with quality returners, creating a good mix of young and old talent to take into the season.
At the top of that list, of course, is junior-to-be S’Mya Nichols, who led the Jayhawks in scoring (18.6 points per game) and assists (4.7 per game) during a strong follow-up to her stellar freshman season.
Nichols didn’t always have the help she needed last season, but she certainly appears to have it in Year 3 with all of the battle scars from her fellow-returners pairing nicely with that elite group of newcomers.
“S’Mya continued to be one of the best players in the country,” Schneider noted, when asked what his team got out of last season. “Elle Evans came in and had a terrific year (and 2024-25 freshman forward) Regan Williams probably exceeded expectations.”
When asked about the depth that the 2025-26 team appears to have, Evans said simply, “Oh wow,” before adding, “I’m very excited.”
“It’s really comforting to know that when people off the bench can come in or people get in foul trouble, the team and the game won’t filter down in competition,” Evans said. “Obviously, it’ll be super-exciting to have multiple people contributing in different aspects. We have a great team and we’re excited to see what everyone can do.”
They also have their eyes set on a big bounce-back season.
“I think we have really high expectations,” Schneider said. “I think our administration has continued to invest and increase investment in the program, which has allowed us, in this new climate, to recruit perhaps as well as we ever have.”
Added Evans: “I think we dealt with a lot of adversity throughout the whole entire year (last season), and I think our team chemistry was a big thing that helped go through (that). We might not have been winning games, but we still had a great environment in the locker room and I think that’ll carry over this year, even though we have five new people.”
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