2025-26 Team Preview: Maryland

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Last Week’s Preview (Michigan)

Basket Under Review Post: The Marquette Anomaly

Table of Contents

• 2024-25 Overview

• Departures

• Returnees

• Incoming Players

• Outlook

2024-25 Overview

Maryland came into last season off the back of the team’s worst campaign since Brenda Frese’s first season as head coach in 2002-03. The Terps lost 14 games but still managed to get into the NCAA Tournament, falling in the first round for the first time in Frese’s career (previously 19-0).

The pressure was on for Maryland to return closer to the form that once dominated the ACC, then the Big Ten for most of the dozen prior seasons. That extra fuel was felt in the portal, where the Terps brought in seven transfers to push expectations right back to the norm.

In many ways, Maryland did get back to a lot of that prior success.

The offense was electric, finishing to efficient shooting across the board. This includes at the line, where the Terps finished 33rd nationally in percentage (76.6%), a rate that was crucial for Maryland’s 745 free throws over the course of the season, sixth-most in the NCAA.

It was another year of Maryland preferring to battle inside compared to a perimeter attack, but the Terps did lean into that strength more on the whole, finishing with a higher three-point rate (21.7 → 23.4%) than in 23-24.

Speaking of strengths, rebounding became a big one after finishing in the middle of the conference last season. Six Terps had 118 or more rebounds on the season, four of which were members of the new transfer class that was brought in. Frese knew it was an area Maryland could get better, and the results proved it.

Maryland made sure the first round exit wouldn’t become a streak with a 13-point win over Norfolk State before winning the game of the tournament over Alabama to get to the Sweet 16. There, the Terps had one of the other best games, giving South Carolina its toughest fight it would face up to the title game in a 71-67 defeat. It was a run that proved Maryland was still a program with plenty of juice left to stay among the nation’s best in the near future.

Here's last year’s Maryland roster, sorted by Her Hoop Stats win shares:

Departures

Seven players exit from last year’s roster, six of which were among the 11 players that saw game action. This may be a large number overall, but it is a relatively normal total for Maryland, and is even down from the nine exits the team saw in 2024. That comes with an improvement in the lack of transfers out, going from four down to two.

Losing Shyanne Sellers will make this current Maryland lineup feel different by default. She was a tremendous player for multiple seasons with the Terps and was equal parts great as a scorer and facilitator, and even found a true three-point shot in her final season. She will be a hard one to replace for just how much she contributed.

Christina Dalce, Allie Kubek and Sarah Te-Biasu were all starters for the majority of last season, and each of them led the team in key categories: Dalce in rebounds and blocks, Kubek in field goal percentage and Te-Biasu in made threes and free throw percentage. Kubek left via the portal, but all three depart with at least four years of collegiate experience which is a massive loss.

We didn’t get to see too much of Amari DeBerry’s potential last season, and the same for both Emily Fisher and Emma Chardon, the former of which the Terps will see again in conference play. DeBerry, Chardon, Dalce and Kubek make it four forwards exiting in total from last year’s roster.

Returnees

I predicted that Kaylene Smikle may be the prized jewel from the treasure chest that was the 2024 signing class, and for once I may have been onto something.

The Rutgers transfer, used to being a No. 1 option in an offense, immediately blended right into the Maryland identity and had the best season of her career. She was a two-way menace who constantly got to the line and converted at a high rate. Her three-point shooting starting out hot but fell below 30 percent against Big Ten foes, but it’s a continued area of progress that would only add to her incredible skillset.

I’m excited to see more of Smikle pairing with Bri McDaniel, because in theory it should cause opponents plenty of issues both ways. McDaniel is also a disruptor on defense and has been effective from three before (38.5% in 23-24). She tore her ACL in January so she may not return immediately, but when she does she is one of the most electric spark plugs in the conference.

Saylor Poffenbarger was a welcome addition for her rebounding prowess, but she’s also a capable facilitator, shot blocker and willing three-point shooter. She was also a terrific pairing with McDaniel: The duo had a +28.0 net rating in 217 minutes, via CBB Analytics, and were one of Maryland’s best rebounding and defensive sets.

Poffenbarger and Ava McKennie are both listed at 6-2, making them the tallest returnees who saw game action last season. McKennie was a strong rebounder in high school, and while neither is listed as a pure forward, they may be relied on for significant involvement on the glass.

McKennie had good bursts of game action with Mir McLean, who is 5-11 but a terrific rebounder. She has showcased it at every stop from UConn to Virginia before doing so again last season, and will see more opportunities in a second season with the Terrapins.

Isimenme Ozzy-Momodou, Kyndal Walker and Breanna Williams all redshirted last season and have yet to play at the Division I level. Ozzy-Momodou comes from the NJCAA level and put up big numbers there, so she may be ready to make an impact after getting to watch a season in the system recovering from a torn ACL. That being said, Walker and Williams were each Top 50 prospects and I’d love to see some serious action for them this season.

Incoming Players

In a reverse from last year’s class, Maryland’s emphasis moved to freshmen signees, five of them in total with just two transfers getting added to the fray.

Just two little, small, tiny, maybe some of the very best pickups of the entire conference, transfer signings.

Let’s start in familiar territory with Yarden Garzon. The former Hoosier is doing a in-conference move for her final season and is bringing to Maryland the best three-point shooter they have seen since I have covered the team. Garzon is a high-volume, extremely high-efficiency shooter who has continued to expand her game to be more of a focal point. She’s another tall guard (6-3) who brings plenty of rebounding and ball movement to the mix.

Okananwa came off the bench at Duke. When she was on the floor last season, the Blue Devils had a +27.2 net rating, had an offensive rebound percentage north of 44 and forced a turnover on 26.5% of opponents’ possessions. She made an impact for Duke both ways for a team that cherished grinding teams into dust, and she’s going to bring such a punch to Maryland’s defensive capabilities.

The five freshman are a fascinating bunch. Three of them have significant international experience, potentially led by Lea Bartelme from Slovenia. She’s put up real strong production overseas, with the assist totals standing out to me as something Maryland could use right away without Sellers running the offense.

Marya Boiko gives the Terps some more typical size at 6-4, while Nicole Fritea’s shot blocking stands out to me as a great skill to translate for Maryland off the bench. These two seem to be more directly competing with Ozzy-Momodou and Williams for spots in the rotation this season.

Rainey Welson is the big name of the freshman haul as a near-five-star with loads of production in high school. Addi Mack doesn’t have the same rating, but brings even more high school production, breaking Jalen Suggs’ high school scoring record for Minnehaha. Without players like Sellers, Te-Biasu and potentially McDaniel for some time, I expect Welson and Mack to get early opportunities to see what they can bring offensively to the table.

Outlook

Projected Starters

• Oluchi Okananwa - G

• Kaylene Smikle - G

• Saylor Poffenbarger - G

• Yarden Garzon- G

• Mir McLean - F

Big Ten Finish: 2nd

Maryland is going to look like a pretty new rendition of the same formula that has worked consistently for Frese, and I think it’s going to, again, be extremely successful.

This roster is loaded to the brim with talented guards and wings, each of which possess a ton of diverse qualities to help dampen the potential concerns at forward. The starting five I’m predicting is a four-guard lineup with a 5-11 wing at the five, and I think it can work because each of those guards has size, rebounding abilities and should be able to move the ball around extremely well.

Smikle should still be the lead scorer, but Garzon’s three-point shooting is going to open up so much for both her and players like Okananwa and Poffenbarger who can his deep shots on a less regular basis. This is all going to get even more dangerous whenever McDaniel is back in the picture.

The front end of this roster is already awesome and one I’m really looking forward to, and then there’s all this potential talent within their depth to utilize. Both last year’s incoming class and the incoming signees could be involved, and each of them feels like they have some star potential within them. I like Bartelme to come in as a true point guard option, and think Boiko, Welson and Williams should all see the floor in a big way for this team.

The top-end talent had to be replaced, but Frese once again did a tremendous job doing so, and it will all get to be worked in with a returning star in Smikle who may really thrive in her second season with the team.

Another year as first weekend hosts and Sweet 16 competitors feels like the floor of what this team should accomplish, with the ceiling depending on how much of a flash the new faces can bring. Not a new concept for that, but it feels like a particularly high ceiling when depending on players like Garzon and Okananwa who should add so much in expanding Maryland’s offense and defense with their respective skillsets.

Maryland hasn’t been to the Final Four since 2015, its first season in the Big Ten. This Terps roster absolutely could be the one to get back there if it’s healthy at the right time and the key pieces took the needed steps forward. It’s not a tall ask, which means Maryland truly may be right back at the level it has been for so much of its time under Brenda Frese.

Photo Credit: Maryland Women’s Basketball (@TerpsWBB), Twitter

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