West Virginia and Northwestern: Showing Us How To Build

Putting together a team in your first season as a head coach in college athletics is a tough feat. When a new staff comes in, they take over teams that are shells of their previous selves. Many players who were on the last team transfer out, others graduate, and very few stay. 

So, how does a new staff build their team? Some take a high-speed approach, bringing in all transfers to immediately try to contend. One example of this is Arizona State this season. JJ Van Niel took over a team with eight players transferred out and immediately worked the transfer portal, brought in almost an entirely new team, and led them to one of their best seasons in program history. That is one approach, although it is tough to succeed with because the lack of chemistry often hurts teams built that way. 

Some choose the good old-fashioned way: “They Build It.” They start over with larger signing classes for future years with players the staff recruited. Northwestern and West Virginia are doing just that. 

In February, Northwestern hired former Grand Canyon head coach Tim Nollan to take over a program that hasn’t finished above .500 in Big Ten play since 2005. Nollan finished 95-36 in his eight years as head coach at GCU. That included a 23-8 season last year that led the Lopes to their first NCAA Tournament appearance in school history. Before Nollan arrived, Northwestern had four girls enter the portal, two top commits in 2025 decommitted, leaving them with only one 2025 commit, and were only bringing in two freshmen. 

When Nollan arrived, he immediately got to work. He kept some crucial pieces in Evanston, including starting Setter Alexa Rousseau. Rousseau is the only returning who started every game for the Wildcats in 2023. He also kept Junior Kennedy Hall, who was second on the team in blocks and started 24/30 games last season. Nollan then brought four transfers: Lily Wagner from Liberty, Sophia Summers from the University of Washington, Buse Hazan from South Florida, and Rachel Johnson from Holy Cross. He also brought one GCU 2025 commit, Kayla Kauffman from NORCO, with him. 

That leads us to the 2026 class, where Nollan has shined. Through August, Northwestern already has six commits, tied for first in the country. It’s not just quantity over quality; they have landed great players like Sports Performance’s Ellie Stiernagle (PPV 139) and Athena’s Hayley Schaaf. Also, Clara Schramm (AZ Sky), Simone Huarte (SynergyForce), Maya Stillwell (SCVC), and Kaitlyn Bodnar (VCNebraska) fill the rest of this deep class. 

West Virginia also made a head coaching change. In December this past year, they hired Jen Greeny, formerly of Washington State. Greeny is taking over for a Mountaineers team coming off a 9-22 season and has only made one NCAA Tournament in team history (2021). Greeny went 235-175 in 12 years at Pullman but is coming off three straight 20-win seasons. She recently led the Cougars to the Round of 16 in the 2023 NCAA Tournament. 

Before Greeny’s arrival, West Virginia was not in a great position. Ten girls announced they were entering “The Portal,” which included nearly their entire 2023 rotation. Northwestern is also hampered by a small incoming Freshman class, and their two early 2025 commits both reopened their recruiting. Greeny was going to have to completely rebuild this team. 

She didn’t waste any time. She kept a few veteran pieces out of the portal in Senior OH Hailey Green, Sophomore Middle Maddy McGath, and Graduate Setter Lauren DeLo. She then went to the transfer portal and focused on adding girls with NCAA Tournament experience. She landed Sydney Reed, a Grad Libero who was on Wisconsin’s NCAA Championship run in 2021. She got Alexis Finnvold, who was part of Louisville’s deep tournament runs the last two years. She brought in Cassidy Stanton, an Outside on Auburn’s tournament team last season. Finally, she brought in MEAC defensive standout Laila Ibrahim, who broke the Coppin State school record in blocks last season and helped lead them to their first-ever MEAC championship and NCAA Tournament bid. 

After adding the names in the transfer portal, she revived her 2025 class by adding Carolina Union OH Brooke McCall, TAV Setter Sarah Pfiffner, and Sky Elite Middle Abby Tucker. Finally, she hit the 2026 class early and often. Wasting no time, West Virginia already has five commits, including top KS OH Suttyn Harris and OTVA OH Camden Rahn. They also grabbed The Academy OH Macie Smith, Team Indiana Libero Reagan Turk, and Lower Alabama MB Cami Huff. 

Rebuilding isn’t easy; credit goes to the 'Cats and the Mountaineer staff as they take a similar approach.  Make a dent in the transfer portal to fill immediate needs, but bring in large 2026 classes of “their athletes.” A complete rebuild is never overnight, but you undoubtedly see the foundation being put down. 

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