HATTIESBURG, Miss. -Whitney Hart arrived at Southern Miss two years ago as one of the most accomplished players in Louisiana.
A four-year letterwinner at Liberty Magnet High School in Baton Rouge, Hart averaged 18 points, 12 rebounds and three assists per game. She was named the Advocate Female Basketball Player of the Year and All-Baton Rouge Metro MVP, earned Class 5A All-State First Team honors and led the Lady Patriots to the LHSAA Division I Select final in Hammond before falling to eventual champion John Curtis Christian. She came to Hattiesburg as the fourth-rated prospect in Louisiana's 2024 class.
Then, before she ever played a college game at Southern Miss as a true freshman, she suffered a season-ending injury in preseason practice and took a medical redshirt for the 2024-25 season. During her redshirt-freshman year last season, she appeared in 26 games, started in 15, and averaged 6.3 points and 5.7 rebounds while shooting 48.9 percent from the field in 18.8 minutes per game.
Now a redshirt-sophomore, Hart isn't just healthier than ever. She's being asked to up her game as a leader as the Lady Eagles look to take the next step.
Southern Miss Lady Eagles center Whitney Hart is ready to take the next step during his redshirt-sophomore season in Hattiesburg. | Josh House
Hart says her offseason was about more than adding moves in the post.
"When last season ended to now, I've just been in the gym all the time working on not just my game, but also just myself, I would say," Hart told Southern Miss Golden Eagles On SI . "Just trying to be a leader, trying to be somebody who's vocal and just working on consistency and just growing parts of my game that may have been OK last year, but just making sure that I'm even better this year."
That's exactly what head coach Missy Bilderback wants, too.
"She just really wants me to be vocal, be a leader. I mean, I have a big personality. She wants me to show that," Hart said. "A lot of the team is new people, so just kind of making everybody feel comfortable, welcoming everybody, just pouring into people and just making sure everybody's confident in what they're doing."
Southern Miss Lady Eagles Chrysta Narcisse and Whitney Hart are ready to make an impact as the team prepares for the 2026-27 basketball season under second-year head coach Missy Bilderback. | Josh House
In an era of college athletics where players come and go as the wind blows, Bilderback wants to build a program with continuity, where players grow together over multiple seasons. For a roster this new, Hart says that process is already happening on and off the court.
"It's a new team, so we definitely are doing things together, even on the court, outside the court, just to grow that chemistry," Hart said. "Every day we're getting better at playing together, just figuring out what everybody can do ... just being able to talk to each other, communicate with each other, play together well. It's going to be good."
Two of those newcomers are transfer guards Chrysta Narcisse and Kennedy Langham, and Hart needed just two words to sum them up: "dog mentality."
"If I had to pick a word, I'd say dog mentality. They're just dogs," Hart said. "Chrysta especially on defense is scary. Scary for real. And just Kennedy's ability to just see the floor and make the right passes, the right reads and stuff like that. ... I feel like it's going to be scary for whoever's in front of us."
Southern Miss Lady Eagles center Whitney Hart will play a big role in the 2026-27 team's success on the court. | Josh Hart
In what comes as no surprise for a Bilderback-led team, Hart says the defensive standard in the Lady Eagles' practices leaves no room for off days.
"One thing about this year is defense is the main thing for us now. I feel like everybody got to bring it every day. You can't have no lows," Hart said. "Like Chrysta said earlier, our defense is going to create our offense, so we're relying on that, making sure that we can finish plays with a box out, do things like that."
Southern Miss basketball, both men's and women's, has always prided itself on playing gritty, hard-nosed defense. That hasn't changed going into 2026-27.
Southern Miss Lady Eagles freshman guard Jada Gay was a massive recruiting get for head coach Missy Bilderback. | Southern Miss Athletics
Asked which teammate might pleasantly surprise Southern Miss fans this season, Hart went with freshman Jada Gay, who is an extremely talented guard whom Bilderback has also praised over the offseason.
"She's a freshman coming in, but she seems really, really comfortable," Hart said. "She's going to be a really exciting player to watch this year."
As for why this group might outperform expectations, Hart pointed to how her teammates respond to adversity.
"When stuff gets hard, we don't hold our heads down. We like stuff like that," Hart said. "We'll take that, and we want to have competition."
NCAA banners at Reed Green Coliseum. | Dalton Trigg, Southern Miss Golden Eagles On SI
Asked what would make this season a success, Hart didn't hedge. This year's Lady Eagles want to be the group to get the program back to March Madness.
"I want to win. I want to be able to win the conference, go to the NCAA tournament," Hart said. "I would say my goal, like I've been saying, just my leadership, just taking it up a notch, being comfortable in my voice, being able to talk to everybody, just knowing that I'm somebody that everybody just kind of looks up to, just owning that."
A look at Reed Green Coliseum with its newly-painted ceiling. | Southern Miss Golden Eagles On SI
Hart and the Lady Eagles open the 2026-27 regular season on Monday, Nov. 2, against Mississippi Christian at Reed Green Coliseum at 11 a.m. CT as Bilderback looks to elevate this program to the next level .
Stay tuned to Southern Miss Golden Eagles On SI for continued coverage of Lady Eagles basketball throughout the 2026-27 season.
This article was originally published on www.si.com/college/southernmiss as 'I Want to Win': Whitney Hart Ready to Lead New-Look Southern Miss Lady Eagles Roster .
