Louisville Women's Basketball 2025-26 Roster Outlook 1.0

There were plenty of highs and lows for the Louisville women's basketball program during the 2024-25 season.

Year 18 under head coach Jeff Walz started out rough, as the Cardinals began the season at 6-5. That was then followed that up with a stretch where they won 14 games in a 15-game span, before alternating wins and losses over their final seven to finish at 22-11 overall.

While we're just one week removed from the end of their season, but it's never too early to take a glimpse into the future and break down the projected 2025-26 roster for the Louisville women's basketball program.

It's very early in the offseason, but there has been some player movement, and Walz's squad for next year is be far from being completely set. There's a very good chance we could see some more moving pieces in the coming days and weeks, but for now, let's take a look at how this team currently shakes out.

Departures and Arrivals

As previously referenced, there have been a handful of moving roster pieces for Louisville. For starters, the Cardinals are set to lose four players to graduation: Jayda Curry, Olivia Cochran, Merissah Russell and Ja'Leah Williams. Additionally, Izela Arenas and Nyla Harris entered the transfer portal after the season came to a close.

While Louisville doesn't have a massive incoming high school recruiting class like last offseason, they are bringing in a pair of in-state stars. Both Brandenburg (Ky.) Meade County guard Peyton Bradley and Danville (Ky.) Christian forward Grace Mbugua are joining the Cardinals for next season's team.

Put it all together, and as of this writing, that puts Louisville at an 11-man scholarship roster for the 2025-26 season. While the scholarship roster size caps at 15 in women's basketball, Walz has noted in the past that he has no issue keeping a team just under the cap. For instance, this year's team had 14 players, and his 2023-24 team featured just 11.

Projected Depth Chart

Given all that we know now about the current state of Louisville's roster, below is an early look into what the depth chart next year could look like:

*Mobile users can scroll left & right on the table*

The dynamic of next season's team is going to look a lot different, if for anything else, simply for the fact that Louisville is losing their starting backcourt in Curry and Williams. That being said, the Cardinals are actually in a good spot when it comes to their guard play. Tajianna Roberts was by far the best of the incoming freshmen, not only establishing herself as one of UofL's top scoring options, but over time becoming a great player overall, flashing high-end potential as a rebounder, facilitator and defender as well. As far as the primary ball handling duties, that will likely go to Imari Berry so that Roberts can handle the scoring load. Berry will have to take a step forward and become more consistent to maintain this role, but she certainly has the capability to do it.

Then you have Mackenly Randolph. She's someone who plays a similar style to her NBA veteran father, Zach, and got much better as the season progressed. Slide her into Nyla Harris' old role and start her alongside Roberts and Berry, and you have very good three-man backcourt. The only question here is the depth behind them. Reagan Bender played minimal minutes, Rebekah Graves didn't play at all, and Peyton Bradley is an incoming freshman.

The majority of the questions for next year's roster, as of right now, are in the front court. With Olivia Cochran running out of eligibility, Louisville's top post option at present moment is Elif Istanbulluoglu. While she was a key part of the rotation this season and played well in spurts, her overall game still needs a little more development. Especially since she'd be going from eighth-woman to likely starting.

Not to mention that there isn't a lot of experience in this area of the floor overall. Isla Juffermans played more than eight minutes just once from mid-December onwards, Eseosa Imafidon and Anaya Hardy barely played at all, and Grace Mbugua is a true freshmen. While therein lies the potential for each front court player to take massive offseason strides, realistically, this is an area that is likely to be addressed in the coming days and weeks via the portal.

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