As Marc Mitchell begins his third season as Indiana State's women's basketball coach, he anticipates his largely rebuilt 2026-27 Sycamores to be stronger defensively and have a deeper bench.
Last season, the women improved over his first year, as the Sycamores beat Southern Illinois in the first round of the Missouri Valley Conference tournament.
ISU finished last season 10-22 overall and 5-15 in MVC play. The Sycamores were defeated in the second round of the conference tournament by eventual back-to-back champion Murray State.
Only two players from last season's roster return this year — 5-foot-10 fifth-year guard/forward Jayci Allen and 6-2 junior forward Amerie Flowers. Allen averaged 9.4 points and 4.1 rebounds per game last season while Flowers averaged 7.9 ppg and 5.9 rpg.
Mitchell has seen more vocal leadership from Allen and Flowers going into this season.
"[They're] really trying to be an extension of what I'm trying to do here," Mitchell said of the duo.
"They try to let everybody know where I'm coming from." Mitchell said of the duo.
Mitchell said he has a big heart and is well-intentioned coach; he believes Allen and Flowers are helping communicate that with their new teammates. Mitchell rebuilt the roster after the rest of last season's potential returnees entered the NCAA transfer portal. In total, the roster includes 13 newcomers — one freshman, seven junior-college transfers and five four-year college transfers from 10 different states.
Mitchell said his team is going to be better defensively. He said associate head coach Donchez Graham came in and has really emphasized some defensively principles and things like that.
ISU ranked last in the MVC in team defense in 2025-26. The Sycamores yielded an average of 83.7 points per game. Opponents also hit 43.8% from the field against ISU's defense, 10th-best in the 11-team league. However, the Sycamores ranked second in team offense with 74.6 points per game, trailing only Murray State's 85.6 ppg.
Mitchell thinks the bench will be a little bit better than last year, and believes the added depth will help the Sycamores. Reserves played a key role in ISU's scoring offense last season. The Sycamores ranked third in the nation in bench scoring, averaging 31.8 ppg; only LSU and Louisville got more scoring from backup players in 2025-26.
When asked about newcomers that have made an impact so far, Mitchell cited 6-foot forward Saroiya Ajomale, 5-4 guard Eanae Dagons, 5-8 Ashley Singhateh and 5-10 Karsen Marshall.
"I think it's going to be different kids every single night," Mitchell said.
The starters could likely include Allen and Flowers, along with Dagons, 5-8 Aaliyah Youngblood and Ajomale.
The Sycamores practice against males, and Mitchell said he tells those guys not to hold back.
"I think we're going to execute our plays," Mitchell said. "We're definitely going to want to defend and get out and transition and run."
Mitchell said he and his players talk a lot about mentality. "We want to have a winning mentality, particularly when things are going bad," Mitchell said. "You want to flip that switch in your head and say, 'OK, bring it on.'"
He wants his team to embrace the challenges and fight through adversity.
With the almost new roster, Mitchell said he, Allen and Flowers have explained to the new players that the Missouri Valley Conference is extraordinary from top to bottom. The most recent NCAA NET power rankings for women's basketball conferences rates the Missouri Valley 17th out of 31 leagues.
"It starts with the coaching; you have so many great coaches in this league," Mitchell said. "Then the players here are so gritty, hard nosed and smart."
Mitchell expects his own team to score as strongly as last season. Defensively, though, ISU struggled and hopes to improve.
"So, we're going to pick it up on the defensive side, and I think we're going to score the ball a little bit better this year," Mitchell said.
ISU tips off its regular season at 7 p.m. EDT Monday at Northern Illinois. Following that, the Sycamores head to Mitchell's stomping grounds in New Jersey as they take on Seton Hall of the Big East Conference and Rutgers of the Big Ten. He said he wanted the team to face some adversity early.
"You're going to get faced with some tough times on the road and it's about your response to it," Mitchell said. "I want to see what we're going to be made of."
Another tough non-MVC contest will come Dec. 6 at Miami (Ohio), the defending Mid-American Conference champion and an NCAA tournament team last season. The Sycamores' nonconference schedule includes five home games in Hulman Center and seven road contests. Five of the road games fall within a four-hour radius of Terre Haute.
Indiana State opens its 20-game MVC schedule with a Dec. 18 home game against Murray State, the defending Valley tournament champ. The 2027 version of that event will be played in St. Louis, simultaneously with the MVC men's tournament, beginning March 3.
Mitchell expressed optimism as opening day approaches.
"I think we have a group of young women that are smart and they are really caring for each other and I think that's half the battle," Mitchell said.
