2025–26 Alabama State Lady Hornets basketball team

2025–26 Alabama State Lady Hornets basketball
ConferenceSouthwestern Athletic Conference
Record17–14 (12–6 SWAC)
Head coach
  • Johnetta Hayes (1st season)
Associate head coachTerrence "TJ" Royals
Assistant coaches
  • Theo Howard
  • Janee'a Summers
  • Bianca Jackson
Home arenaDunn–Oliver Acadome
2025–26 SWAC women's basketball standings
Conf. Overall
Team W   L   PCT W   L   PCT
Alabama A&M 17 – 1   .944 22 – 10   .688
Alcorn State 14 – 4   .778 17 – 13   .567
Alabama State 12 – 6   .667 17 – 15   .531
Southern † 12 – 6   .667 19 – 13   .594
Jackson State 10 – 8   .556 12 – 19   .387
Grambling State 10 – 8   .556 13 – 19   .406
Arkansas–Pine Bluff 10 – 8   .556 15 – 16   .484
Florida A&M 7 – 11   .389 9 – 22   .290
Mississippi Valley State 6 – 12   .333 8 – 23   .258
Texas Southern 6 – 12   .333 10 – 21   .323
Bethune–Cookman 4 – 14   .222 7 – 26   .212
Prairie View A&M 0 – 18   .000 2 – 28   .067
† 2026 SWAC tournament winner
As of March 14, 2026

The 2025–26 Alabama State Lady Hornets basketball team represents Alabama State University during the 2025–26 NCAA Division I women's basketball season. The Lady Hornets, who are led by first-year head coach Johnetta Hayes, play their home games at the Dunn–Oliver Acadome in Montgomery, Alabama as members of the Southwestern Athletic Conference (SWAC).

Previous season

The Lady Hornets finished the 2024–25 season 6–24, 4–14 in SWAC play, to finish in eleventh place.[1] They failed to qualify for the SWAC tournament, as only the top eight teams in the conference qualify.

Freeman-Jackson announced her retirement from Alabama State on March 25, 2025, after 27 seasons.[2] Rutgers assistant coach Johnetta Hayes, who was previously head coach at Texas Southern and UMBC, was hired by the Lady Hornets on April 11.[3]

Preseason

On October 7, 2025, the SWAC released their preseason coaches poll. Alabama State was picked to finish ninth in the SWAC.[4]

Preseason rankings

SWAC preseason poll
Predicted finish Team Votes (1st place)
1 Southern 265 (14)
2 Alabama A&M 224 (5)
3 Jackson State 213 (1)
4 Texas Southern 202 (1)
5 Grambling State 186 (2)
6 Alcorn State 164
7 Bethune–Cookman 119
8 Florida A&M 111
9 Alabama State 98
10 Prairie View A&M 93
11 Arkansas–Pine Bluff 63
12 Mississippi Valley State 56

Source:[4]

Preseason All-SWAC Teams

Preseason All-SWAC Teams
Team Player Position Year
Second Kaitlyn Bryant Forward Senior

Source:[4]

Roster

2025–26 Alabama State Lady Hornets women's basketball team
Players Coaches
Pos. # Name Height Year Previous school Hometown
G 0 Amari Franklin 5 ft 8 in (1.73 m) Sr Bishop State Community College Pensacola, Florida
F 1 Alanah Pooler 5 ft 9 in (1.75 m) Jr Shelton State Community College Houston, Texas
G 2 Shamya Reid 5 ft 6 in (1.68 m) Jr Wabash Valley College Detroit, Michigan
G/F 3 Takya Walters-Norman 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m) Jr Bishop State Community College Montgomery, Alabama
F 4 Kaitlyn Bryant 5 ft 11 in (1.8 m) Sr Chipola College Opelika, Alabama
G 5 Meagan Scott 5 ft 9 in (1.75 m) Fr Monsignor Scanlan High School Bronx, New York
G 6 Ny'Keria Flowers 5 ft 4 in (1.63 m) Fr Northeast High School Fort Lauderdale, Florida
F 7 Kaia Ponder 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m) GS Kansas City Tulsa, Oklahoma
F 10 Charlese McClendon 5 ft 11 in (1.8 m) Jr East Georgia State College Waycross, Georgia
G 11 Caylee Simpson 5 ft 6 in (1.68 m) Jr East Georgia State College Columbus, Georgia
G 15 Ashley Gray 5 ft 10 in (1.78 m) Sr Washington County High School Washington, Georgia
F/C 22 Clearia Peterson 5 ft 9 in (1.75 m) So Miami Dade College Detroit, Michigan
G 23 Taylor Smith 5 ft 5 in (1.65 m) GS Alabama A&M Fosters, Alabama
F 24 Samiah Puckett 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) Jr East Tennessee State Griffin, Georgia
F 33 Talayah Hamilton 5 ft 11 in (1.8 m) Sr Strom Thurmond High School Johnston, South Carolina
F/C 34 Jaqueline Osei 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) Fr Monsignor Scanlan High School London, England
Head coach
  • Johnetta Hayes (Rice)
Assistant coach(es)
Legend
  • (C) Team captain
  • (S) Suspended
  • (I) Ineligible
  • (W) Walk-on

Roster
Last update: December 7, 2025

Schedule and results

Date
time, TV 		Rank# Opponent# Result Record Site (attendance)
city, state
Non-conference regular season
November 3, 2025*
4:00 pm, SECN+ 		at Georgia L 44–73  0–1
 Stegeman Coliseum (2,328)
Athens, GA
November 8, 2025*
1:00 pm, SECN+/ESPN+ 		at Auburn L 41–82  0–2
 Neville Arena (2,770)
Auburn, AL
November 10, 2025*
6:00 pm 		Talladega W 72–55  1–2
 Dunn–Oliver Acadome (381)
Montgomery, AL
November 13, 2025*
6:00 pm, ESPN+ 		at West Georgia L 61–64  1–3
 The Coliseum (414)
Carrollton, GA
November 16, 2025*
4:00 pm 		Faulkner L 71–77  1–4
 Dunn–Oliver Acadome (350)
Montgomery, AL
November 21, 2025*
11:00 am, SECN+/ESPN+ 		at No. 17 Vanderbilt L 38–92  1–5
 Memorial Gymnasium (3,733)
Nashville, TN
December 1, 2025*
6:00 pm 		Auburn Montgomery W 70–41  2–5
 Dunn–Oliver Acadome (332)
Montgomery, AL
December 9, 2025*
11:00 am, ESPN+ 		at No. 13 Baylor L 36–90  2–6
 Foster Pavilion (4,169)
Waco, TX
December 12, 2025*
6:00 pm 		South Carolina State W 59–53  3–6
 Dunn–Oliver Acadome (372)
Montgomery, AL
December 17, 2025*
6:30 pm, SECN+/ESPN+ 		at Mississippi State L 38–92  3–7
 Humphrey Coliseum (3,733)
Starkville, MS
December 28, 2025*
3:00 pm, SECN+ 		at No. 5 LSU L 41–109  3–8
 Pete Maravich Assembly Center (11,170)
Baton Rouge, LA
SWAC regular season
January 1, 2026
2:00 pm 		at Arkansas–Pine Bluff W 71-65 OT 4-8
(1-0) 		H.O. Clemmons Arena (278)
Pine Bluff, AR
January 3, 2026
3:00 pm 		at Mississippi Valley State W 83-50  5-8
(2-0) 		Harrison HPER Complex (236)
Itta Bena, MS
January 8, 2026
6:00 pm 		Alcorn State L 40-49  5-9
(2-1) 		Dunn–Oliver Acadome (355)
Montgomery, AL
January 10, 2026
1:00 pm 		Jackson State L 54-62  5-10
(2-2) 		Dunn–Oliver Acadome (500)
Montgomery, AL
January 19, 2026
3:00 pm 		vs. Alabama A&M
Bridge Builder Classic 		L 41-50  5-11
(2-3) 		Mitchell Center (1,425)
Mobile, AL
January 22, 2026
6:00 pm 		at Texas Southern W 82-74  6-11
(3-3) 		H&PE Arena 
Houston, TX
January 24, 2026
2:00 pm 		at Prairie View A&M W 76-58  7-11
(4-3) 		William Nicks Building 
Prairie View, TX
January 29, 2026
6:00 pm 		Florida A&M W 75-64  8-11
(5-3) 		Dunn–Oliver Acadome (842)
Montgomery, AL
January 31, 2026
1:00 pm 		Bethune–Cookman W 78-60  9-11
(6-3) 		Dunn–Oliver Acadome (575)
Montgomery, AL
February 5, 2026
6:00 pm 		at Southern W 61-57  10-11
(7-3) 		F. G. Clark Center (2,952)
Baton Rouge, LA
February 7, 2026
2:00 pm 		at Grambling State L 53-67  10-12
(7-4) 		Fredrick C. Hobdy Assembly Center (567)
Grambling, LA
February 12, 2026
6:00 pm 		Mississippi Valley State W 86-70  11-12
(8-4) 		Dunn–Oliver Acadome (538)
Montgomery, AL
February 14, 2026
1:00 pm 		Arkansas–Pine Bluff W 79-71  12-12
(9-4) 		Dunn–Oliver Acadome (1,222)
Montgomery, AL
February 19, 2026
3:30 pm 		at Bethune–Cookman W 61-60  13-12
(10-4) 		Moore Gymnasium (184)
Daytona Beach, FL
February 21, 2026
3:00 pm 		at Florida A&M W 62-59  14-12
(11-4) 		Al Lawson Center (1,001)
Tallahassee, FL
February 28, 2026
2:00 pm 		at Alabama A&M L 43-51  14-13
(11-5) 		AAMU Events Center (6,175)
Huntsville, AL
March 3, 2026
5:00 pm 		Southern W 65-63  15-13
(12-5) 		Dunn–Oliver Acadome (725)
Montgomery, AL
March 5, 2026
5:00 pm 		Grambling State L 50-68  15-14
(12-6) 		Dunn–Oliver Acadome (777)
Montgomery, AL
SWAC tournament
March 12, 2026
4:30 p.m., ESPN+ 		(3) vs. (6) Grambling State
Quarterfinals 		W 56-50  16-14
 Gateway Center Arena (1,025)
College Park, GA
March 13, 2026
4:30 p.m., ESPN+ 		(3) vs. (7) Arkansas-Pine Bluff
Semifinals 		Gateway Center Arena 
College Park, GA
*Non-conference game. #Rankings from AP Poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses.
All times are in Central.

Sources:[5][6]

References

  1. ^ "2024-25 Women's Basketball Standings". Southwestern Athletic Conference. Retrieved December 7, 2025.
  2. ^ Dunn, Graham (March 25, 2025). "ASU Women's Basketball Coach Freda Freeman-Jackson Set To Retire" (Press release). Alabama State Hornets. Retrieved March 25, 2025.
  3. ^ "Successful SWAC Coach Johnetta Hayes to Lead ASU Women's Basketball Program" (Press release). Alabama State Hornets. April 11, 2025. Retrieved April 11, 2025.
  4. ^ a b c "SWAC Announces Women's Basketball Preseason Selections". Southwestern Athletic Conference. October 7, 2025. Retrieved December 7, 2025.
  5. ^ "2025-26 Women's Basketball Schedule". Alabama State University Athletics. Retrieved December 7, 2025.
  6. ^ "Alabama State Lady Hornets 2025-26 Regular Season NCAAW Schedule". ESPN. Retrieved December 7, 2025.
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