2025–26 Middle Tennessee Blue Raiders women's basketball team

2025–26 Middle Tennessee Blue Raiders women's basketball
2025–26 Middle Tennessee Blue Raiders women's basketball
WNIT
Conference	Conference USA
Record	16–15 (11–7 C-USA)
Head coach	Rick Insell (21st season);
Associate head coach	Matt Insell
Assistant coaches	Kim Brewton; Nina Davis; Tom Hodges; Shelby Davis;
Home arena	Murphy Center

2025–26 Conference USA women's basketball standings
	Conf.				Overall
Team	W		L	PCT	W		L	PCT
Louisiana Tech	17	–	1	.944	26	–	7	.788
FIU	12	–	6	.667	21	–	12	.636
Middle Tennessee	11	–	7	.611	17	–	15	.531
Sam Houston	11	–	7	.611	18	–	13	.581
Liberty	11	–	7	.611	18	–	13	.581
Missouri State †	11	–	7	.611	23	–	13	.639
Jacksonville State	9	–	9	.500	16	–	16	.500
Delaware	6	–	12	.333	13	–	19	.406
Kennesaw State	6	–	12	.333	13	–	17	.433
UTEP	5	–	13	.278	13	–	17	.433
New Mexico State	5	–	13	.278	9	–	21	.300
Western Kentucky	4	–	14	.222	8	–	21	.276

† 2026 CUSA tournament winner

The 2025–26 Middle Tennessee Blue Raiders women's basketball team represents Middle Tennessee State University during the 2025–26 NCAA Division I women's basketball season. The Blue Raiders, led by 21st-year head coach Rick Insell, play their home games at Murphy Center in Murfreesboro, Tennessee, as members of Conference USA.

Previous season

The Blue Raiders finished the 2024–25 season 26–9, 16–2 in C-USA play, to finish as C-USA co-regular season champions, alongside Liberty.^[1] They defeated Kennesaw State^[2] and Western Kentucky,^[3] before falling to top-seeded Liberty in the C-USA tournament championship game.^[4] They received an at-large bid to the WBIT,^[5] where they would be defeated by eventual tournament runner-up Belmont in the first round.^[6]

Preseason

On October 9, 2025, Conference USA released their preseason poll. Middle Tennessee was picked to finish third in the conference, with two first-place votes.^[7]

Preseason rankings

Conference USA Preseason Poll
Place	Team	Votes
1	Louisiana Tech	128 (5)
2	Liberty	125 (5)
3	Middle Tennessee	123 (2)
4	Missouri State	107
5	Western Kentucky	96
6	FIU	74
7	Sam Houston	59
T-8	UTEP	57
T-8	Kennesaw State	57
10	New Mexico State	51
11	Delaware	36
12	Jacksonville State	23
(#) first-place votes

Source:^[7]

Preseason All-CUSA Team

Preseason All-CUSA Team
Player	Position	Year
Alayna Contreras	Guard	Senior

Source:^[7]

Roster

2025–26 Middle Tennessee Blue Raiders women's basketball team

Players

Coaches

Pos.	#	Name	Height	Year	Previous school	Hometown
G	0	Gracie Hamby	5 ft 8 in (1.73 m)	RS Jr	Blackman High School	Murfreesboro, Tennessee
G	1	Yu Han Lin	5 ft 9 in (1.75 m)	Fr	Jinou Girls High School	Hualien, Taiwan
G	3	Alayna Contreras	5 ft 6 in (1.68 m)	Sr	Kansas City	Minneapolis, Minnesota
G	5	Carsyn Swaney	6 ft 0 in (1.83 m)	Fr	Heritage High School	Maryville, Tennessee
G	10	Kirston Verhulst	5 ft 8 in (1.73 m)	Fr	Bishop Miege High School	De Soto, Kansas
G	11	Emily Monson	6 ft 1 in (1.85 m)	Jr	Purdue	Murfreesboro, Tennessee
G	12	Blair Baugus	6 ft 1 in (1.85 m)	Fr	Wayne County High School	Waynesboro, Tennessee
F	13	Jenna McClendon	6 ft 4 in (1.93 m)	Fr	Prattville Christian Academy	Deatsville, Alabama
G	14	Savannah Davis	5 ft 10 in (1.78 m)	So	McKenzie High School	McKenzie, Tennessee
C	15	Nicole Dominguez	6 ft 10 in (2.08 m)	Fr	Segle XXI	Santa Cruz de Tenerife, Spain
G	21	Nora Ahamadi	5 ft 10 in (1.78 m)	Fr	INSEP	Salon-de-Provence, France
G	22	Macie Phifer	6 ft 1 in (1.85 m)	Fr	Ingomar High School	New Albany, Mississippi
G	23	Jada Harrison	5 ft 8 in (1.73 m)	RS So	Westview High School	Martin, Tennessee
F	42	Stanislava Kabernick	6 ft 1 in (1.85 m)	RS So	Olympic Reserve School Number 1	Saint Petersburg, Russia

Head coach

Rick Insell (Middle Tennessee)

Assistant coach(es)

Legend

(C) Team captain
(S) Suspended
(I) Ineligible
(W) Walk-on

Injured
Current redshirt

Roster
Last update: February 6, 2026

Weekly Awards:^[8]

CUSA Player of the Week:
- Alayna Contreras (1: W15)
CUSA Freshmen of the Week:
- Blair Baugus (7: W1, 2, 5, 7, 9, 12, 13)
- Yu Han Lin (1: W10)
- Macie Phifer (3: W6, 15, 16)

Schedule and results

Date time, TV	Rank^#	Opponent^#	Result	Record	High points	High rebounds	High assists	Site (attendance) city, state
Exhibition
October 26, 2025* 1:00 pm		Fisk	W 94–39	–	–	–	–	Murphy Center Murfreesboro, TN
October 28, 2025* 6:30 pm		Life	W 76–42	–	–	–	–	Murphy Center Murfreesboro, TN
Non-conference regular season
November 3, 2025* 10:30 am, ESPN+		Tennessee State	W 59–53	1–0	16 – Davis	12 – Baugus	3 – Lin	Murphy Center (5,876) Murfreesboro, TN
November 6, 2025* 4:00 pm, ESPN+		at Saint Louis	W 73–55	2–0	23 – Contreras	11 – Baugus	3 – Baugus	Chaifetz Arena (376) St. Louis, MO
November 11, 2025* 6:00 pm, ESPN+		at Tennessee Tech	L 54–63	2–1	17 – Lin	12 – Baugus	2 – Contreras	Hooper Eblen Center (1,126) Cookeville, TN
November 15, 2025* 2:00 pm, ESPN+		at Rice	L 59–66	2–2	22 – Baugus	7 – Baugus	2 – Tied	Tudor Fieldhouse (738) Houston, TX
November 20, 2025* 6:30 pm, ESPN+		No. 15 Tennessee	L 41–85	2–3	18 – Davis	7 – Baugus	2 – Contreras	Murphy Center (10,212) Murfreesboro, TN
November 24, 2025* 11:00 am, FloSports		vs. Providence Emerald Coast Classic Bay Bracket semifinals	W 54−48	3−3	22 – Contreras	13 – Baugus	4 – Verhulst	Raider Arena (1,026) Niceville, FL
November 25, 2025* 1:30 pm, FloSports		vs. Mississippi State Emerald Coast Classic Bay Bracket championship	L 47−69	3−4	13 – Phifer	9 – Phifer	4 – Verhulst	Raider Arena (750) Niceville, FL
December 3, 2025* 6:30 pm, ESPN+		Belmont	L 65–71	3–5	21 – Baugus	8 – Verhulst	3 – Lin	Murphy Center (3,378) Murfreesboro, TN
December 7, 2025* 1:00 pm, ESPN+		Memphis	W 60–51	4–5	20 – Lin	14 – Baugus	2 – Tied	Murphy Center (3,637) Murfreesboro, TN
December 14, 2025* 2:00 pm, ESPN+		at Southern Indiana	L 59–76	4–6	20 – Phifer	10 – Tied	7 – Lin	Liberty Arena (1,019) Evansville, IN
December 16, 2025* 6:30 pm, ESPN+		Auburn	L 52–68	4–7	12 – Contreras	7 – Phifer	4 – Contreras	Murphy Center (3,012) Murfreesboro, TN
December 20, 2025* 2:00 pm, ESPN+		at Wichita State	W 46–45	5–7	10 – Davis	12 – Baugus	3 – Lin	Charles Koch Arena (953) Wichita, KS
C-USA regular season
January 2, 2026 6:00 pm, ESPN+		at Kennesaw State	W 60−47	6−7 (1–0)	25 – Baugus	10 – Baugus	5 – Contreras	VyStar Arena (577) Kennesaw, GA
January 4, 2026 2:30 pm, ESPN+		at Jacksonville State	W 69–52	7–7 (2–0)	21 – Contreras	10 – Baugus	6 – Verhulst	Pete Mathews Coliseum (753) Jacksonville, AL
January 8, 2026 6:30 pm, ESPN+		UTEP	W 86–43	8–7 (3–0)	18 – Lin	11 – Baugus	3 – Baugus	Murphy Center (3,072) Murfreesboro, TN
January 10, 2026 12:00 pm, ESPN+		New Mexico State	W 88–51	9–7 (4–0)	18 – Contreras	10 – Phifer	4 – Tied	Murphy Center (3,605) Murfreesboro, TN
January 15, 2026 6:30 pm, ESPN+		at Louisiana Tech	L 48–61	9–8 (4–1)	14 – Lin	6 – Tied	4 – Phifer	Thomas Assembly Center (1,405) Ruston, LA
January 17, 2026 1:00 pm, ESPN+		at Sam Houston	W 68–67	10–8 (5–1)	22 – Contreras	9 – Baugus	4 – Tied	Bernard Johnson Coliseum (525) Huntsville, TX
January 22, 2026 6:30 pm, ESPN+		Delaware	L 48–61	10–9 (5–2)	14 – Contreras	9 – Phifer	2 – Phifer	Murphy Center (3,605) Murfreesboro, TN
January 23, 2026 6:30 pm, ESPN+		Liberty	W 63–54	11–9 (6–2)	22 – Baugus	8 – Baugus	4 – Verhulst	Murphy Center (3,411) Murfreesboro, TN
January 31, 2026 12:00 pm, ESPN+		Western Kentucky	W 81–58	12–9 (7–2)	25 – Contreras	17 – Baugus	6 – Contreras	Murphy Center (4,006) Murfreesboro, TN
February 5, 2026 6:30 pm, ESPN+		at Missouri State	L 54–60	12–10 (7–3)	21 – Contreras	5 – Tied	3 – Contreras	Great Southern Bank Arena (2,088) Springfield, MO
February 7, 2026 12:00 pm, ESPN+		at FIU	L 58–60	12–11 (7–4)	17 – Contreras	8 – Tied	6 – Contreras	Ocean Bank Convocation Center (157) Miami, FL
February 12, 2026 6:30 pm, ESPN+		Jacksonville State	W 57-48	13-11 (8-4)	17 – Baugus	16 – Baugus	4 – Baugus	Murphy Center (3,572) Murfreesboro, TN
February 14, 2026 4:00 pm, ESPN+		Kennesaw State	W 71-53	14-11 (9-4)	28 – Contreras	8 – Phifer	4 – Verhulst	Murphy Center (3,812) Murfreesboro, TN
February 21, 2026 2:00 pm, ESPN+		at Western Kentucky	L 65-70	14-12 (9-5)	21 – Phifer	12 – Baugus	4 – Lin	E. A. Diddle Arena (1,083) Bowling Green, KY
February 26, 2026 6:00 pm, ESPN+		at Liberty	L 37-65	14-13 (9-6)	18 – Contreras	10 – Baugus	1 – Tied	Liberty Arena (1,035) Lynchburg, VA
February 28, 2026 4:00 pm, ESPN+		at Delaware	W 67-53	15-13 (10-6)	22 – Phifer	11 – Baugus	4 – Baugus	Bob Carpenter Center (1,216) Newark, DE
March 5, 2026 6:30 pm, ESPN+		FIU	L 78-80 ^2OT	15-14 (10-7)	22 – Contreras	7 – Phifer	4 – Contreras	Murphy Center (3,434) Murfreesboro, TN
March 7, 2026 2:00 pm, ESPN+		Missouri State	W 86-75	16-14 (11-7)	31 – Contreras	10 – Baugus	3 – Contreras	Murphy Center (3,807) Murfreesboro, TN
C-USA tournament
March 12, 2026 2:00PM, ESPN+	(3)	vs. (6) Missouri State CUSA Tournament Quarterfinals	L 66-69	16-15 (11-7)	24 – Contreras	11 – Baugus	2 – Tied	Propst Arena (3,528) Huntsville, AL
WNIT
March 23, 2026 6:30PM, ESPN+		St. Bonaventure WNIT Second Round	W 69–50	17–15	20 – Baugus	14 – Baugus	5 – Verhulst	Murphy Center (4,070) Murfreesboro, TN
March 26, 2026 6:30PM, ESPN+		Cleveland State WNIT Third Round						Murphy Center Murfreesboro, TN
*Non-conference game. ^#Rankings from AP Poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses. All times are in Central.

Sources:^[9]^[10]

References

^ "2024–25 Women's Basketball Standings". Conference USA. Retrieved February 6, 2026.
^ "How MTSU women's basketball advanced to Conference USA Tournament semifinals". The Daily News Journal. Retrieved February 6, 2026.
^ "Live coverage: MTSU women's basketball vs Western Kentucky". MTSU Sidelines. Retrieved February 6, 2026.
^ "CUSA Women's Championship: Liberty tops MTSU 53-48". WSLS. Retrieved February 6, 2026.
^ "WBIT 2025 schedule, bracket: Game times, TV, streaming for women's tournament". USA Today. Retrieved February 6, 2026.
^ "Belmont women's basketball beats MTSU to advance to the WBIT second round". The Tennessean. Retrieved February 6, 2026.
^ ^a ^b ^c "WBB: 2025-26 CUSA Preseason All-Conference Team and Poll Announced". Conference USA. Retrieved February 6, 2026.
^ "WBB: February 23 Players of the Week". conferenceusa.com. February 23, 2026. Retrieved March 1, 2026.
^ "2025–26 Women's Basketball Schedule". Middle Tennessee State University Athletics. Retrieved February 6, 2026.
^ "Middle Tennessee Blue Raiders 2025–26 Regular Season NCAAW Schedule". ESPN. Retrieved February 6, 2026.

[1] "2024–25 Women's Basketball Standings". Conference USA. Retrieved February 6, 2026.

[2] "How MTSU women's basketball advanced to Conference USA Tournament semifinals". The Daily News Journal. Retrieved February 6, 2026.

[3] "Live coverage: MTSU women's basketball vs Western Kentucky". MTSU Sidelines. Retrieved February 6, 2026.

[4] "CUSA Women's Championship: Liberty tops MTSU 53-48". WSLS. Retrieved February 6, 2026.

[5] "WBIT 2025 schedule, bracket: Game times, TV, streaming for women's tournament". USA Today. Retrieved February 6, 2026.

[6] "Belmont women's basketball beats MTSU to advance to the WBIT second round". The Tennessean. Retrieved February 6, 2026.

[poll-7] "WBB: 2025-26 CUSA Preseason All-Conference Team and Poll Announced". Conference USA. Retrieved February 6, 2026.

[8] "WBB: February 23 Players of the Week". conferenceusa.com. February 23, 2026. Retrieved March 1, 2026.

[9] "2025–26 Women's Basketball Schedule". Middle Tennessee State University Athletics. Retrieved February 6, 2026.

[10] "Middle Tennessee Blue Raiders 2025–26 Regular Season NCAAW Schedule". ESPN. Retrieved February 6, 2026.

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Middle Tennessee Blue Raiders women's basketball
Venues	Murphy Center (1975–present)
People	Head coaches
Seasons	1975–76 1976–77 1977–78 1978–79 1979–80 1980–81 1981–82 1982–83 1983–84 1984–85 1985–86 1986–87 1987–88 1988–89 1989–90 1990–91 1991–92 1992–93 1993–94 1994–95 1995–96 1996–97 1997–98 1998–99 1999–2000 2000–01 2001–02 2002–03 2003–04 2004–05 2005–06 2006–07 2007–08 2008–09 2009–10 2010–11 2011–12 2012–13 2013–14 2014–15 2015–16 2016–17 2017–18 2018–19 2019–20 2020–21 2021–22 2022–23 2023–24 2024–25 2025–26