Louisville Women's Basketball 2025-26 Roster Outlook 3.0

The 2025-26 roster for the Louisville women's basketball program is slowly rounding into form, and getting closer to completion - if not already there.

It's been roughly a week since our last update, but in that time, the Cardinals added another player to the fold at an area of need. As a result, Louisville now sits at 13 scholarship players - two below the NCAA-allotted maximum of 15 scholarship players in women's basketball.

UofL is still actively recruiting the portal to fill those final two spots, but in recent seasons, head coach Jeff Walz has been perfectly fine with putting together a roster might not fill every single open spot. With that being said, let's take a look at how this team currently shakes out.

Departures and Arrivals

This past Friday, Louisville landed a massive addition from out of the portal. Saint Joseph's transfer forward Laura Ziegler, who was a a finalist for the Becky Hammon Mid-Major Player of the Year Award, committed and officially signed with the Cardinals. Starting all 34 of the Hawks' games this past season, Ziegler averaged 17.5 points, 10.4 rebounds and 4.3 assists, while shooting 42.5 percent from the field and 31.5 percent on three-point tries.

Ziegler is one of three transfers to commit to Louisville so far this offseason, joining Arizona guard/forward Skylar Jones and Oklahoma guard Reyna Scott. The Cardinals are also bringing in a pair of in-state players from the high schools ranks in Danville (Ky.) Christian forward Grace Mbugua and Brandenburg (Ky.) Meade County guard Peyton Bradley - the latter of which officially signed a couple hours after Ziegler did.

These five addition make up for the fact that UofL is also seeing seven players depart the program. Olivia Cochran, Jayda Curry, Merissah Russell and Ja'Leah Williams all graduated; while Izela Arena, Nyla Harris and Eseosa Imafidon hit the portal.

Projected Depth Chart

Given all that we know now about the current state of Louisville's roster, below is an early look into what the depth chart next year could look like:

*Mobile users can scroll left & right on the table*

The dynamic of next season's team is going to look a lot different, if for anything else, simply for the fact that Louisville is losing their starting backcourt in Jayda Curry and Ja'Leah Williams. That being said, the Cardinals are actually in a great spot when it comes to their guard play. Tajianna Roberts was by far the best of the incoming freshmen, not only establishing herself as one of UofL's top scoring options, but over time becoming a great player overall, flashing high-end potential as a rebounder, facilitator and defender as well. As far as the primary ball handling duties, that will likely go to Imari Berry so that Roberts can handle the scoring load. Berry will have to take a step forward and become more consistent to maintain this role, but she certainly has the capability to do it. While Reyna Scott's stat line from last season might not stand out, she provides Louisville with a good amount of experience for a depth piece. In turn, younger players like Reagan Bender, Peyton Bradley and Rebekah Graves won't be tasked with taking on massive roles, and they can continue to develop.

While the wing for Louisville isn't super deep, they have two good options here at their disposal, and they have unique playing styles. Skylar Jones is a slashing wing type of player, who is not only a three-level scorer, but a decent playmaker as well. Then you have Mackenly Randolph. She's someone who plays a similar style to her NBA veteran father, Zach, and got much better as last season progressed. While Louisville could still scout the portal for another wing, it would be mainly for depth purposes, as Jones and Randolph will allow Jeff Walz to exploit more matchups.

Following the end of the year, with Olivia Cochran graduating, the front court for Louisville arguably had the biggest question mark. That being said, while Laura Ziegler is more of a stretch four and not a true back-to-the-basket post, she will be the answer to a lot of those questions. She not only takes contact well and is great around the rim, she has a very good midrange shot and can be an option from deep at times. Throw in the fact that she is a phenomenal rebounder, a very good passer and an underrated defender, Ziegler is a double-double machine - who also has two career triple-doubles. However, the front court overall still has some questions. While Elif Istanbulluoglu was a key part of the rotation this season and played well in spurts, her overall game still needs a little more development. Isla Juffermans played more than eight minutes just once from mid-December onwards, Anaya Hardy barely played at all, and Grace Mbugua - while very talented - is a true freshmen. If Louisville does add another transfer, it will more than likely be a true center.

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