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

American college basketball season From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

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.

ConferenceConference USA
Record17–16 (11–7 C-USA)
Headcoach
Associate headcoachMatt Insell
Quick facts Middle Tennessee Blue Raiders women's basketball, WNIT, Super 16 ...
2025–26 Middle Tennessee Blue Raiders women's basketball
WNIT, Super 16
ConferenceConference USA
Record17–16 (11–7 C-USA)
Head coach
Associate head coachMatt Insell
Assistant coaches
Home arenaMurphy Center
Seasons
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More information Conf., Overall ...
2025–26 Conference USA women's basketball standings
Conf.Overall
TeamW L PCTW L PCT
Louisiana Tech17–1 .94426–7  .788
FIU12–6 .66721–12  .636
Middle Tennessee11–7 .61117–16  .515
Sam Houston11–7 .61118–13  .581
Liberty11–7 .61118–13  .581
Missouri State †11–7 .61123–13  .639
Jacksonville State9–9 .50016–16  .500
Delaware6–12 .33313–19  .406
Kennesaw State6–12 .33313–17  .433
UTEP5–13 .27813–17  .433
New Mexico State5–13 .2789–21  .300
Western Kentucky4–14 .2228–21  .276
† 2026 CUSA tournament winner
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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

More information Place, Team ...
Conference USA Preseason Poll
Place Team Votes
1Louisiana Tech128 (5)
2Liberty125 (5)
3Middle Tennessee123 (2)
4Missouri State107
5Western Kentucky96
6FIU74
7Sam Houston59
T-8UTEP57
Kennesaw State
10New Mexico State51
11Delaware36
12Jacksonville State23
(#) first-place votes
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Source:[7]

Preseason All-CUSA Team

More information Player, Position ...
Preseason All-CUSA Team
Player Position Year
Alayna Contreras Guard Senior
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Source:[7]

Roster

More information Players, Coaches ...
2025–26 Middle Tennessee Blue Raiders women's basketball team
PlayersCoaches
Pos.#NameHeightYearPrevious schoolHometown
G 0 Gracie Hamby 5 ft 8 in (1.73 m) RS JrBlackman High School Murfreesboro, Tennessee
G 1 Yu Han Lin 5 ft 9 in (1.75 m) FrJinou Girls High School Hualien, Taiwan
G 3 Alayna Contreras 5 ft 6 in (1.68 m) SrKansas City Minneapolis, Minnesota
G 5 Carsyn Swaney 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m) FrHeritage High School Maryville, Tennessee
G 10 Kirston Verhulst 5 ft 8 in (1.73 m) FrBishop Miege High School De Soto, Kansas
G 11 Emily Monson 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) JrPurdue Murfreesboro, Tennessee
G 12 Blair Baugus 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) FrWayne County High School Waynesboro, Tennessee
F 13 Jenna McClendon 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) FrPrattville Christian Academy Deatsville, Alabama
G 14 Savannah Davis 5 ft 10 in (1.78 m) SoMcKenzie High School McKenzie, Tennessee
C 15 Nicole Dominguez 6 ft 10 in (2.08 m) FrSegle XXI Santa Cruz de Tenerife, Spain
G 21 Nora Ahamadi 5 ft 10 in (1.78 m) FrINSEP Salon-de-Provence, France
G 22 Macie Phifer 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) FrIngomar High School New Albany, Mississippi
G 23 Jada Harrison 5 ft 8 in (1.73 m) RS SoWestview High School Martin, Tennessee
F 42 Stanislava Kabernick 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) RS SoOlympic Reserve School Number 1 Saint Petersburg, Russia
Head coach
Assistant coach(es)
Legend
  • (C) Team captain
  • (S) Suspended
  • (I) Ineligible
  • (W) Walk-on

Roster
Last update: February 6, 2026

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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

More information Date time, TV, Rank# ...
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 Super 16		 L 56–66  17–16
  17 – Tied  6 – Baugus  5 – Contreras  Murphy Center (3,986)
Murfreesboro, TN
*Non-conference game. #Rankings from AP Poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses.
All times are in Central.
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Sources:[9][10]

References

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