Competitiveness defines the 2026-27 Mizzou women’s hoops roster

COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)

The Mizzou women's basketball team hosted local media members to preview the 2026-27 season, on Monday, and one word found its way into just about every conversation: competitiveness.

Second-year head coach Kellie Harper said that is what excites her most about this roster, which is comprised of four returners, three transfers and five freshmen.

"Right now, nothing's been hard. Okay, conditioning is hard, practices are hard, but you haven't lost a game, somebody hasn't been pulled out of the lineup, somebody hasn't not played. You know, none of those really hard things have happened yet. But, from everything that we've seen thus far, this is a team that wants to attack adversity, this is a team that will pull together and this is a team that is going to be united in their goal on the court of winning," Harper said. "I've got cold chills saying that. I mean, they really do want to compete and win, and I think that is what unites them. There are a lot of a lot of players on this team that have won consistently prior to getting here, and so we expect when they step out here and they're going to bring that winning mentality to our program."

According to Coach Harper, this year's roster set the tone in the very first summer practice, specifically the three transfers: guards Nevaeh Caffey, McKenzie Mathurin and Tanyuel Welch.

"Nevaeh came out like first possession and were doing rebounding drill and she came out and dove on the floor. Then I came out next possession I came out and dove on the floor, so we're just all over the place, but we're we're just dogs. We were working so hard, so it was just so fun," Mathurin said. "Every single day we come in and we just compete and it's just fun. Like, it's fun to play basketball. It's fun to be in this environment, fun to be coached by these great coaches, like it's just great."

"The first practice was like very intense," freshman forward Khloe Ford said. "Like, we were constantly moving, we were moving like doing box-style drills where, you know, we have to fight to box each other out. So, diving for the ball, it was like very intense. Like, I'll probably say it's very rough, like we were getting on the floor and everything."

From that practice, throughout the entire summer and now into the preseason that competitiveness has been at the center of each and every practice for the Tigers. And it's resulted in a culture where players aren't afraid to speak up.

Coaches always say that coaches on the floor are just as important as the coaches on the sideline. Well, it seems like Mizzou has a bevy of on-the-floor coaches, heading into this season.

"We all want what's best for each other. We're all pushing each other every single day and off the court, we know that we're doing it to make each other better. It's not like a like a thing like we're mad at each other or anything. It's just kind of like we want what's best for each other," freshman forward Ellie Muller said.

Although the newbies have been a big piece of driving that competitive culture, it's clear how much returners Grace Slaughter, Abbey Schreacke and Averi Kroenke mean to the program. Each player has been at Mizzou for their entire career and have stepped up into an even larger leadership role, this season.

But, that's a role that comes naturally to Slaughter. The guard has consistently been a centerpiece of this Tiger team, as she now enters what could be her final year in the black and gold. She said that the experience that herself, Schreacke and Kroenke bring are what can really help this team the most.

"I just feel like the SEC, you won't really understand it until you're there. Just the physicality, the quickness, toughness, all of those things, but then just getting to say we've been here in this program for three to four, Averi for five years, you know, is a really big deal. I'm just super thankful that we have that core group," Slaughter said. "I think that's been a big deal for our freshmen, for our transfers and just really helping everyone gel well."

Mizzou is hoping that what its built in the offseason will result on wins on the court come November.

In her first season at the helm, Coach Harper built a strong foundation for what she's hoping to do in Columbia. The team ended up with three more wins than the season prior, going 17-17 on the year and logging the program's first postseason win 2023 in the WBIT.

When asked about what the goal are for the 2026-27 campaign, she said the NCAA Tournament will always be at the forefront.

"I think for us, you know, still the postseason is a big deal," she said. "I think, you know, we've got to set our eyes there and as we get a little bit further in, I think we can dial in what those goals are. Last year, we had goals throughout the season. We would make goals and then get to a point and then make new goals. So, we'll probably do something similar. I think to have your players involved in your goal-setting is really important. They have to have the buy in. But, you know, it's not what anybody here wants to hear, but we want to max out. How can we be our best? That doesn't give you anything quantitative for you know, 'Kellie said, we're going to do this', but that's what we want to do. We want to be the best possible team we can be, and as a staff, we have to figure out what do we need to give them, how do we need to push them? How do we need structure this to help make that happen?"

Harper said there's a lot more comfort now in her second season in Columbia, as far as how things are done, daily operations and the over philosophy of the team.

And that comfortability has stretched to the returning players, as well.

"It's been really nice having a year under my belt with Coach Harper,"Schreacke said. "Just knowing what she expects of me and of our team and so that way I can help the other new players know what to expect. We're really excited to have a good year this year. We've been super competitive in practices and even in conditioning, all the above, on and off the court. If I had to say it all in one word, we were really competitive and that's a quality you really want in your team."

Mizzou women's hoops will hit the court together for the first in exhibition against Lincoln University on Thursday, Oct. 29. That game will be played at Mizzou Arena at 6:30 p.m.