2025–26 Mid-American Conference women's basketball season

2025–26 Mid-American Conference women's basketball season
LeagueNCAA Division I
SportBasketball
Teams13
Regular season
2026 MAC tournament
Tournament
2025–26 Mid-American Conference women's basketball standings
Conf. Overall
Team W   L   PCT W   L   PCT
UMass 0 – 0   – 7 – 1   .875
Ball State 0 – 0   – 8 – 4   .667
Bowling Green 0 – 0   – 7 – 4   .636
Miami (OH) 0 – 0   – 7 – 4   .636
Ohio 0 – 0   – 5 – 3   .625
Central Michigan 0 – 0   – 6 – 4   .600
Eastern Michigan 0 – 0   – 6 – 4   .600
Kent State 0 – 0   – 5 – 6   .455
Toledo 0 – 0   – 4 – 5   .444
Western Michigan 0 – 0   – 3 – 6   .333
Buffalo 0 – 0   – 2 – 7   .222
Akron 0 – 0   – 2 – 8   .200
Northern Illinois 0 – 0   – 2 – 8   .200
† 2026 MAC tournament winner
As of December 18, 2025

The 2025–26 Mid-American Conference women's basketball season will be the season for Mid-American Conference women's basketball teams. It will begin with practices in October 2024, followed by the start of the 2025–26 NCAA Division I women's basketball season in November. Conference play will begin in January 2026 and conclude in March 2026. The 2026 MAC tournament will be held at Rocket Arena in Cleveland, Ohio for the 26th consecutive season.[1] This season marks the conference's first change in membership since 2005 with the addition of UMass.[2] It will also be the last MAC season for Northern Illinois, which will rejoin the Horizon League in 2026 after a nearly 30-year absence.[3]

Head coaches

Coaching changes

Buffalo

After a 30 win season, a WNIT Championship, and a 61–37 record at Buffalo over three seasons, Becky Burke was hired as the head coach at Arizona on April 14, 2025.[4] On April 18, Buffalo hired Kristen Sharkey, former Buffalo basketball player and assistant coach, as the school's 14th women's basketball head coach.[5]

Northern Illinois

Lisa Carlsen resigned from as the Northern Illinois women's basketball coach on March 10, 2025 after a 13–17 season and a overall 147-155 record over nine seasons with the Huskies.[6] On April 1, NIU hired Buffalo associate head coach Jacey Brooks as the new head coach.[7]

Western Michigan

Shane Clipfell announced his retirement from coaching on March 17, 2025 after 13 seasons and a 184–209 record as the head coach of Western Michigan University.[8] On March 28, Detroit Mercy head coach Kate Achter was named the seventh head coach in program history.[9]

Coaches

Team Head coach Previous job Years at school Overall record School record MAC record MAC titles MAC tournament titles NCAA tournaments NCAA Final Fours NCAA championships
Akron Ryan Gensler Illinois (Asst.) 3 20–38 (.345) 20–38 (.345) 9–25 (.265) 0 0 0 0 0
Ball State Brady Sallee Eastern Illinois 14 400–265 (.602) 264–155 (.630) 159–76 (.677) 1 1 1 0 0
Bowling Green Fred Chmiel South Carolina (Asst.) 3 34–28 (.548)† 34–28 (.548) 21–15 (.583) 0 0 0 0 0
Buffalo Kristen Sharkey Syracuse (Assoc. HC) 1 0–0 (–) 0–0 (–) 0–0 (–) 0 0 0 0 0
Central Michigan Kristin Haynie Michigan State (Asst.) 3 18–38 (.321) 18–38 (.321) 11–23 (.324) 0 0 0 0 0
Eastern Michigan Sahar Nusseibeh Canisius 2 34–87 (.281) 2–27 (.069) 1–17 (.056) 0 0 0 0 0
Kent State Todd Starkey Indiana (Asst.) 10 329–206 (.615) 164–111 (.596) 97–65 (.599) 0 1 1 0 0
Miami Glenn Box Indiana (Assoc HC.) 3 92–62 (.597) 28–31 (.475) 17–19 (.472) 0 0 0 0 0
Northern Illinois Jacey Brooks Buffalo (Assoc HC.) 1 79–32 (.712) 0–0 (–) 0–0 (–) 0 0 0 0 0
Ohio Bob Boldon Youngstown State 13 300–251 (.544) 202–161 (.556) 118–97 (.549) 2 1 1 0 0
Toledo Ginny Boggess Monmouth 2 78–51 (.605) 24–9 (.727) 13–5 (.722) 0 0 0 0 0
UMass Mike Leflar UMass (Assoc. HC) 3 22–42 (.344) 22–42 (.344) 0–0 (–) 0 0 0 0 0
Western Michigan Kate Achter Detroit Mercy 1 104–166 (.385) 0–0 (–) 0–0 (–) 0 0 0 0 0

Notes:

  • Appearances, titles, etc. are from time with current school only.
  • Years at school includes 2024–25 season.
  • MAC records are from time at current school only.
  • All statistics and records are through the beginning of the season.
  • †Chmiel's overall record does not include his coaching record at Feather River College and Lassen College because it is unknown to the author.

Source:[10][11][12][13][14][15][16][17][18][19][20][21][22]

Preseason

The MAC Men’s & Women’s Basketball Tip-Off was held on Tuesday, October 21, 2025. Each team had their head coach and a student athlete from both the men's and women's basketball team for interviews.[23]

MAC Women's Basketball Preview Coaches & Student-Athletes

  • Akron: Head Coach Ryan Gensler & Keiryn McGuff (Junior, Guard/Forward)
  • Ball State: Head Coach Brady Sallee & Grace Kingery (Sophomore, Guard)
  • Bowling Green: Head Coach Fred Chmiel & Paige Kohler (Junior, Guard)
  • Buffalo: Head Coach Kristen Sharkey & Gabby McDuffie (Grad., Guard)
  • Central Michigan: Head Coach Kristin Haynie & Zareia Chevre (5th, Forward)
  • Eastern Michigan: Head Coach Sahar Nusseibeh & Sisi Eleko (Senior, Forward)
  • Kent State: Head Coach Todd Starkey & Janae Tyler (Junior, Forward)
  • Miami: Head Coach Glenn Box & Amber Tretter (Junior, Forward)
  • Northern Illinois: Head Coach Jacey Brooks & Alecia Doyle (Senior, Guard)
  • Ohio: Head Coach Bob Boldon & Elli Garnett (Grad., Forward)
  • Toledo: Head Coach Ginny Boggess & Patricia Anumgba (Grad., Guard)
  • Western Michigan: Head Coach Kate Achter & Alli Carlson (Senior, Guard)

Preseason women's basketball coaches poll

Women's Basketball Preseason Poll
Place Team Points First place votes
1. Kent State 133 5
2. Toledo 118 2
3. UMass 115 3
4. Ball State 112 3
5. Central Michigan 105 --
6. Bowling Green 101 --
7. Miami 86 --
8. Akron 51 --
9. Western Michigan 48 --
10. Ohio 44 --
11. Buffalo 42 --
12. Eastern Michigan 36 --
13. Northern Illinois 23 --

MAC tournament champions: Kent State (5), UMass (3), Toledo (3), Ball State (1), Miami (1)

Source[24]

MAC Preseason All-Conference

Honor Recipient
Preseason All-MAC First Team Janae Tyler, Kent State, Junior
Kendall Carruthers, Toledo, Junior
Madi Morson, Central Michigan, Sophomore
Paige Kohler, Bowling Green, Junior
Sisi Eleko, Eastern Michigan, Senior
Preseason All-MAC Second Team Amber Tretter, Miami, Junior
Ayanna-Sarai Darrington, Central Michigan, Sophomore
Megan Olbrys, UMass, Senior
Mya Babbitt, Kent State, Junior
Yahmani McKayle, UMass, Sophomore

All-MAC awards

Mid-American men's basketball weekly awards

Source:[25]

Week Player(s) of the Week School
Nov 10[26] Bree Salenbien Ball State
Nov 17[27] Johnea Donahue Bowling Green
Nov 24[28] Bree Salenbien (2) Ball State
Dec 1[29] Sisi Eleko Eastern Michigan
Dec 8[30] Amber Tretter Miami
Dec 15
Dec 22
Dec 29
Jan 5
Jan 12
Jan 19
Jan 26
Feb 2
Feb 9
Feb 16
Feb 23
Mar 2
Mar 9

See also

References

  1. ^ Zarrella, Tony. "MAC Tournament staying in downtown Cleveland through 2030". Cleveland 19 News. Retrieved 2022-05-26.
  2. ^ Withers, Tom (February 27, 2024). "UMass will join Mid-American Conference as a full sports member in 2025, MAC commissioner says". APNews. Retrieved 2024-04-20.
  3. ^ "Horizon League Welcomes NIU" (Press release). Horizon League. February 27, 2025. Retrieved June 6, 2025.
  4. ^ Wohl, Ari (April 14, 2025). "'Bear down, baby': Becky Burke introduced as new Arizona Wildcats women's basketball coach". AZ Central]. Retrieved May 3, 2025.
  5. ^ "Buffalo women's hoops program hires former player Kristen Sharkey to replace Becky Burke". AP News. April 18, 2025. Retrieved May 4, 2025.
  6. ^ Leber, Scott (March 10, 2025). "Lisa Carlsen resigns as NIU women's head basketball coach". My State Line. Retrieved 2025-03-18.
  7. ^ Kreuzer, Jack (April 1, 2025). "Jacey Brooks Hired as NIU WBB Head Coach". Buffalo Toronto Public Media. Retrieved 2025-05-09.
  8. ^ "Shane Clipfell, winningest coach in WMU women's hoops history, is retiring". Detroit News. March 17, 2025. Retrieved 2025-03-18.
  9. ^ Paul, Tony. "Western Michigan women's basketball hires Kate Achter away from Detroit Mercy". The Detroit News. Retrieved 2025-03-29.
  10. ^ "Ryan Gensler". Sports Reference. Retrieved 2024-05-15.
  11. ^ "Brady Sallee". Sports Reference. Retrieved 2024-05-15.
  12. ^ "Fred Chmiel". Sports Reference. Retrieved 2024-05-15.
  13. ^ "Kristen Sharkey". Sports Reference. Retrieved 2025-05-09.
  14. ^ "Kristen Haynie". Sports Reference. Retrieved 2024-05-15.
  15. ^ "Sahar Nusseibeh". Sports Reference. Retrieved 2024-05-15.
  16. ^ "Todd Starkey". Sports Reference. Retrieved 2024-05-15.
  17. ^ "Glenn Box". Sports Reference. Retrieved 2024-05-15.
  18. ^ "Jacey Brooks". Sports Reference. Retrieved 2025-05-09.
  19. ^ "Bob Boldon". Sports Reference. Retrieved 2024-05-15.
  20. ^ "Ginny Boggess". Sports Reference. Retrieved 2024-05-15.
  21. ^ "Mike Leflar". Sports Reference. Retrieved 2025-05-09.
  22. ^ "Kate Achter". Sports Reference. Retrieved 2025-05-09.
  23. ^ "MAC Basketball x Field of 68 Tip-Off Show Live TODAY!". getsomemaction.com. Mid-American Conference. October 20, 2025. Retrieved October 21, 2025.
  24. ^ "MAC Announces 2025-26 Women's Basketball Preseason Poll & Teams". getsomemaction.com. Mid-American Conference. October 21, 2025. Retrieved October 21, 2025.
  25. ^ "Women's Basketball Players of the Week".
  26. ^ "Salenbien Earns Week 1 MAC Women's Basketball Player of the Week Honors".
  27. ^ "Donahue Named Week 2 Women's Basketball Player of the Week".
  28. ^ "Ball State's Salenbien Garners Player of the Week Honors".
  29. ^ "Eleko Garners Week 4 Player of the Week Accolades".
  30. ^ "Tretter Named Week 5 MAC Women's Basketball Player of the Week".
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