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Déjà vu? TCU women's basketball follows last year’s blueprint into March
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- Déjà vu? TCU women's basketball follows last year’s blueprint into March
FORT WORTH, TX — As TCU women's basketball prepares for its second consecutive NCAA Tournament appearance, some can't shake the feeling of déjà vu in the air.
The Horned Frogs secured the Big 12 regular-season championship for the second straight season and are one victory away from back-to-back 30-win seasons with a team built almost entirely from the transfer portal. Olivia Miles , a senior guard who's made an instant impact in her first season in purple and white, has led the charge.
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Does that sound familiar? It's the same playbook TCU used last year, when senior transfers Hailey Van Lith and Sedona Prince led the Horned Frogs to their first Elite Eight appearance in program history.
Junior guard Donovyn Hunter, one of five returning players, credited head coach Mark Campbell's ability to "put together pieces of a puzzle and build a program." Consider Campbell a puzzle enthusiast because he's found the perfect match yet again.
"To have sustainability, you have to be able to rebuild each year," Campbell said ahead of TCU's first-round game against No. 14 UC San Diego on Friday. "We've just put together really good teams the last two years out of the portal.
"We've done a really good job of that."
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MORE: How transfer-heavy TCU has bonded, set a goal for first Final Four
TCU is riding a NCAA-leading 42-game home win streak into Friday's matchup at Schollmaier Arena. The streak dates back to Feb. 24, 2024, highlighting the program's continuity year after year.
Campbell has made reloading his program look effortless with TCU's second March Madness appearance in his third season, but Hunter assured "it's not as easy as he makes it look."
"Being able to play last year, make it to March (Madness) and then continue that this year," Hunter added, "I think (Campbell's) just done a great job putting together pieces of a puzzle and making sure that we all fit together, making sure that the culture is right, that our consistency as a team is put together well."
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Their culture starts and ends with one of the best dynamic passers in women's college basketball.
Campbell landed Miles, a former Notre Dame guard, in the transfer portal after she bypassed the 2025 WNBA Draft to further develop her skills in college. Miles is the cornerstone of the Horned Frogs' offense and has generated over 40% of the team's total points with her playmaking and scoring abilities. Miles was named the Big 12's Player of the Year and Newcomer of the Year, just like Van Lith in 2025.
Miles formed a one-two punch with Cal transfer Marta Suárez, the team's second-leading scorer with 17.2 points a game. Kentucky transfer Clara Silva added length and size under the basket and leads TCU with 7.3 rebounds a game. Olivia, Suárez and Silva join returners Taylor Bigby and Hunter in the starting lineup.
"We have 10 players on this year's roster that had never played a game for TCU," Campbell said. "Two big returners, (Donovyn Hunter) and Taylor Bigby, have done a tremendous job with their leadership."
Marta Suárez transferred to TCU from Cal.
Although the 2026 Women's NCAA Tournament marks the first March Madness run for this collective unit, TCU's players are individually experienced. Nine players on the team have appeared in a combined 37 NCAA Tournament games, led by Bigby (10), Hunter (8) and Miles (6).
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"The people coming from last year, like (Donovyn Hunter) ... she knows what it takes. They had a great run," Suárez said. "Then Olivia (Miles) has been very successful during her career. So just having that experience all together and bringing it to the team, to this new team, I think it matters. And I think it's a big part of the tournament. That's why mature teams and experienced teams usually are the most successful."
Miles said "experience wins games" in March, adding the stakes are higher because each time she laces up her sneakers could be the last game of her college career: "When you get into some adversity, maturity always helps you to get over that hump."
TCU experienced adversity earlier this month. The Horned Frogs suffered a 62-53 loss against West Virginia in the Big 12 Tournament final. The loss not only denied TCU a second-consecutive title, it likely bumped them from the Fort Worth regional. Instead of potentially playing the first four rounds in Fort Worth, TCU will host the first two rounds at home before playing in Sacramento if the team advances to the Sweet 16 and Elite Eight.
Campbell said the loss was a reminder TCU must show up if they want to keep their season alive. He hammered the point home by having all players wear a jersey with No. 40 on the front and back during practice to signify "the only thing we're promised right now is 40 more minutes of basketball," he said.
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"Everything happens for a reason. Who knows, it may be a blessing in disguise for us. Just grateful that we heard our name called," Miles said on Selection Sunday, adding on Thursday, "We would have loved to have that win (at the Big 12 Tournament) in Kansas City, but it taught us a lot more than maybe it would have if we won the game."
It doesn't matter where TCU plays, as long as it's on "a hardwood court," Miles added, poking fun at the Big 12 Tournament's controversial LED glass court that was switched out during the men's tournament after the women's Big 12 Tournament had concluded. TCU intends to leave it on the line for their seniors.
"A year ago we were one of the oldest teams in the country, and this year we're one of the oldest teams in the country. So these players understand what's at stake," Campbell said. "They understand March. And they have big goals and things that they want to accomplish."
Although this roster has a lot of similarities to last year, it is up to the Horned Frogs to forge their own legacy in March.
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Reach USA TODAY National Women's Sports Reporter Cydney Henderson at chenderson@gannett.com and follow her on X at @CydHenderson .
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This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: TCU women's basketball follows last year's blueprint into March
