“The most difficult thing in college sports today is roster management,'' says a longtime coach.
WEST DES MOINES — Bill Fennelly often jokes about how long he's been coaching girls basketball. Though his self-deprecating riffs are peppered with humor, Fennelly's longevity in the profession is no laughing matter. He is in his 30th season as Iowa State's head coach, and his experience has helped navigate the murky waters of the transfer portal, where potential prizes and pitfalls seem to lurk around every corner. It helps you manipulate it skillfully.
“Roster management is the most difficult thing in college sports right now,” Fennelly said. Fennelly has added four talented transfers to a Cyclones team that is poised to be in the top flight heading into the 2024-25 season. “What we've changed is, as you would hope, an All-Star team. Let's get a bunch of guys here, yeah, you've got to have a team at some point, and that's what I That's the world we live in. And if you look, it's not just us. It's all the programs. It's the way it is.”
Players come and go at a sometimes dizzying pace, but winning programs calm the chaos by taking a collective deep breath and calmly identifying and addressing needs. That's what Fennelly and his staff have built this offseason around up-and-coming stars Audi Crooks and Addie Brown, as well as experienced and skilled point guard Emily Ryan. The Cyclones also return key players such as Arianna Jackson and Kelsey Jones, so Fennelly is expected to compete for a Big 12 title and has an advantage in his quest to assemble an “All-Star team” that could potentially push for a top spot. We got off to a great start. in the NCAA Tournament.
“Expectations are what people think they should or can do,” Fennelly said. He surprised many during the 2023-24 season by leading his team to the second round of the tournament before losing to Stanford in overtime on the Cardinal's home floor. “Well, you've got to show it. You've got to do it. And literally, before our four (returning sophomores) Kelsey, Addie, AJ and Audi left (this week), I We all sat down in the office and talked about it. They understand it and I think it's fun.”
But outside expectations for the ISU program this winter depend not only on who returns, but also on who is added. Fennelly and his staff plucked Kenzie Hare (Marquette), Sidney Harris (TCU), Lilly Hansford (Oregon State) and Lilly Taurelei (Massachusetts) from the transfer portal, adding size and skill to the 3-point line. Added snipers from. interior.
Hare averaged 14 points per game and shot 42.5 percent from 3-point range for the Golden Eagles last season. Harris shot 40 percent from beyond the arc for the Horned Frogs, while Hansford hit 44.9 percent from 3-point range in limited duty with the Beavers. Taureley adds depth in the post, as does former LSU transfer Alyssa Williams, and both can spell out Crooks (who won the National Player of the Year award as a freshman) when needed.
“It's like draft night,” Fennelly said. “Everyone is excited about what we've got. We're going to have 12 people in our building, which is probably the most we've ever had. And like I said, I've been here a long time and this is the best 12 people, players, staff, collective group that I've ever had at Iowa State. We're looking forward to seeing if we can find a team.”
To that end, Fennelly has already begun considering the challenge of distributing playing time this winter, but even that onerous approach is welcome in the era of the transfer portal. This means there are countless options and, as always, real competition will determine the best initial rotation.
“Thanks to the portal, we will have rosters of 10, 12, 15 players. “It will be,” Fennelly said. “That's just the way it is. So, again, I hope the same thing, that we identified the right talent for Iowa State, but I don't think we could have done a better job.”
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