After being the surprise team of the season a year ago with a conference tournament runner-up finish, league coaches have definitely not overlooked the Southeastern women this year.
Coach Darin Grover’s club enters the 2025-26 basketball campaign with a host of youth but a handful of key players that has the Savage Storm tabbed fourth in the preseason league poll after starting with a seventh place selection last season.
Veteran guards will lead the charge, spurred by second-team All-Conference choice Kenzli Warden who exploded for 21 points per game in the league tournament after averaging 14.2 for the season.
The junior stalwart is back along with Abbie Barr, who tossed in 6.5 points an outing and Stevie Stinchcomb with 2.7 assists and 4.5 rebounds per game. Stinchcomb will miss the first part of the season with injury but is expected back.
“We have a really good core of returnees and we are going to lean heavily on Kenzli to put up numbers that she is fully capable of,” Grover commented. “There have been days in practice that she has just dominated. But we are going to need others to step up, especially with Stinchcomb out for a while.”
Two of those are expected to be first-year freshmen Halli Hyatt and Tori Kilburn that have excelled in early workouts and are penciled in the starting lineup to begin the season. Hyatt is a 5-foot-6 guard from Weatherford, Texas while Kilburn checks in at 5-10 from Hartshorne.
Those are only two of an eightplayer freshman class that Grover thinks may be one of the most talented they have brought in during his tenure.
“Hyatt and Kilburn have shown up well in our scrimmages but we feel we have several others in that freshman class that could contribute but it’s still too early to tell,” Grover said. “It is a very talented crew but bringing in that many freshmen is a challenge. What’s great about them though is they have hit the ground running and showed no fear. They have all been very well coached. They’re not scared to shoot, play hard or rebound and have picked things up quicker than most freshmen we have had. We are really excited about our youth.”
Other returnees for the Southeastern women that are expected to make big contributions this year are sophomores Akiera Hawk, Brenna Howard and Mackenzie Espinosa. Grover also pointed to freshman Katie Allen, another stalwart from Hartshorne.
Hawk averaged eight minutes of playing time a season ago, but at 6-foot-1 is expected to be a major key as they look to replace the inside production of four-year starter Caitlin Kobiske, who is currently playing professionally in Switzerland.
“It’s going to be tough to replace a player like Kobiske,” the Southeastern coach said. “We are definitely going to have to do it by committee and hopefully Hawk and Kilburn can combine and help fill some of that void. Hawk has come in this year with a totally different mentality. She has been much more aggressive offensively as well as defensively, which is what we are going to need.”
Grover knows that the Savage Storm are going to struggle with growing pains early while the youngsters adjust to the college game in live competition. He does feel that scoring at the basket should be a strength with many solid penetrators on the rosters.
The challenges will come early on a trek to Winona State this weekend where they will also face Minnesota- Duluth. Non-conference battles with Cameron, Arkansas-Fort Smith, Midwestern State and Northeastern are on the November slate before the conference opener December 4 at Henderson State.
“We have scrimmaged three times but still don’t have a full idea where we are at,” Grover added. “I am sure we’re going to have our ups proved tremendously and just has a knack for rebounding. We are expecting more from all that group with some experience now under their belts.”
Major transfer additions to the Savage Storm lineup will be sharp-shooting junior guard Ethan Scott from Oklahoma Baptist as well as 6-3 junior slasher Deondre Dunn from Southwestern Christian.
Scott tallied eight points per game and was one of the top three-point shooters in the league last season at over 45 percent. Dunn led his team with 17.7 points per game as well as a team-best 74 three pointers.
The talented freshman duo of Saxon McWilliams out of Australia and Jamal Drewery from Baton Rouge, Louisiana will be vying for minutes at the point guard position with solid athletic ability.
“Scott was a very good shooter at OBU and Dunn was the leading scorer at Southwestern Christian and is very athletic,” Green said. “Those two guys and some of the freshmen will need to contribute a lot for us. It’s going to be tough to judge with the freshmen for a while. We are just looking for more consistency from that group. Some of them are obviously going to need to play for us to be successful.”
Depth should be extremely evident early in the season with Green expected to rotate in 10 players or more.
There won’t be much time to fit in with a lot of big challenges early on, including a home opening pair with Minot State and Minnesota-Duluth coming up this weekend.
“Some days our shooting looks pretty good and others not so much,” the Southeastern coach added. “We haven’t had individual separation yet with this team. It’s tough to tell who needs to be on the floor at the moment.
“We could play five for five just to find the right mix. It changes every day. I wish it was more consistent but that’s where we are at right now. I wouldn’t be surprised to play 10 to 12 players until we find a group that shows they can play well together.”