Oct. 29—PULLMAN — For Washington State women's basketball coach Kamie Ethridge, the word continuity has a significant meaning this fall.
Two years removed from losing six players to the transfer portal and having to do a roster makeover, the Cougars welcome back all their starters and even a sixth who started 20 games.
The Cougars may not have the seasoning that Gonzaga's returning five starters possess, but they believe there will be significant improvement in 2026-27.
Washington State showed it was heading in the right direction at the end of last season, winning four of its final five to finish 9-25 — the worst season under the ninth-year coach.
Ethridge and the Cougars are focused on wiping the sour taste of last year out of their mouths.
"I really feel good about this team," Ethridge said. "The leadership of our older players has been unbelievably good."
Ethridge spent less time in the transfer portal last spring, bringing in one player — 6-foot-2 sophomore forward Elizaveta (Lizzie) Filchagina, who spent a year at SMU.
The quiet spring was a respite considering the chaos that was created with six departures the year before.
"Now it's so much about, can you get buy-in from your team and can you get players who are willing to just really live in the process," Ethridge said.
Ethridge said it will be interesting to see how the new 5-in-5 eligibility format plays out. In the past, coaches used redshirt seasons to allow new, raw players time to adjust and develop. Now the eligibility clock is running as soon as freshmen arrive on campus.
Players on rosters before the eligibility change get an extra year if they haven't used a redshirt season previously.
"The process may mean you don't get to play much your freshman year," Ethridge said. "The fear is still out there that they're not gonna wait and they're gonna be impatient and they're gonna leave after one year when they don't get exactly what they want. So it's still so much about, can we prove ourselves as coaches and as a program and that we really show we can develop players and that they're getting better year after year."
Ethridge has a different recruiting strategy, panning for players internationally. Nine of 12 players on WSU's roster are internationals. It has become a more attractive avenue to find players because of the name, image and likeness element.
She has no problem paying players within reason after they have proven their value. And if WSU can't match what players may acquire elsewhere then the door is open for them to do so.
Ethridge wants players who buy into her culture.
"We have to make sure our culture is growing in a real positive way to make sure people want to be in this program," Ethridge said.
Player retention in the offseason tells Ethridge her program is headed in the right direction after the hiccup two years ago.
Two of WSU's three seniors arrived as freshmen — guard Eleonora Villa from Lissone, Italy, and post Alex Covill from Missoula. The third senior, guard Mackenzie Chatfield, transferred from Western Kentucky last year. Her eligibility is over after this season because she used a redshirt after enrolling at WKU from Auckland, New Zealand.
WSU brought in three freshmen, one from Belgium and one from Argentina, and one from Oregon. A redshirt freshman hails from France.
Sophomores Malia Ruud, from Pasco, and Tanja Valancic, from Slovenia, arrived last year and earned starting time. Sophomore Malvina Haziri (Kosovo) saw limited minutes last year.
The lone junior, Charlotte Abraham (France), started last year.
The Cougars have commitments from two more internationals in the class of 2027. Ethridge continues to tap into that pipeline, something she hopes will serve WSU well in the rebuilt Pac-12.
