The 2025 season is set to begin soon for the Arizona Women’s basketball team, and this year will show how much head coach Becky Burke has built the team for success after a hectic offseason that saw former head coach Adia Barnes leave the program for SMU.
Barnes’s unexpected decision to leave the Arizona basketball team came as a shock to many after she and the program couldn’t find a middle ground in a contract dispute.
Mar 23, 2024; Storrs, Connecticut, USA; Arizona Wildcats head coach Adia Barnes with her team during a break in the action as they take on the Syracuse Orange at Harry A. Gampel Pavilion. Mandatory Credit: David Butler II-Imagn Images / David Butler II-Imagn Images
Becky Burke became Arizona’s head coach following the departure of Barnes. In her second year as the head coach for the Buffaloes, Burke led the team to a 19-win season and 10 wins in league play, which is a seven-game difference from the year before.
Now that she is with a program that is in a much bigger conference, she will look to make a name for herself with a completely new team that has been slated to finish amongst the bottom of the Big 12 by analysts.
Buffalo Bulls head coach Becky Burke works the sideline during the first half of the Mid-American Conference Tournament women’s championship game at Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse, Saturday, March 16, 2024, in Cleveland, Ohio. / Jeff Lange / USA TODAY NETWORK
In that almost completely made-over roster of players is a group of players that may make a difference on the Arizona team.
Here is a list of three players who could help the team make a run in a physical conference that is known for physicality and being aggressive.
Big birthday shoutout to @kamrynkitchen! 🎉 pic.twitter.com/YWNbJtoJDl
— Arizona Basketball (@ArizonaWBB) September 29, 2025
Kitchen on of of a handful of guards on the Arizona roster that could make a huge difference in the upcoming 2025-2026 season under Burke.
The 5-foot-9 sophomore out of Charlotte, NC began her career at West Virginia, but didn’t record any stats as she redshirted without playing in any games for the Mountaineers.
The Carolina sharpshooter @kamrynkitchen details her basketball journey in Behind The Bench 🎬#BDSU pic.twitter.com/41Di9UNi7O
— Arizona Basketball (@ArizonaWBB) August 11, 2025
Despite not playing at an elevated collegiate level of competition yet, she still carries a ton of potential with her, due to her being a dominant player in high school.
Kitchen showed that she can be a terrific perimeter shooter as she broke her high school record in 3-pointers made with 200. She then redshirted her first year in college before transferring.
Iowa State Cyclones’ center Audi Crooks (55) blocks the ball as Texas Tech Lady Raiders center Achol Magot (10) attempts to shoot during the first quarter in the Big-12 women’s basketball showdown at Hilton Coliseum on Sunday, Jan. 14, 2025, in Ames, Iowa. / Nirmalendu Majumdar/Ames Tribune / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images
Magot has the size and frame to be a true menace in the paint for the Wildcats and was a solid pickup for Burke.
The former Texas Tech transfer did not play too much for the Red Raiders, but could be a player who logs a lot of minutes for Arizona.
MONTAYA DEW’S 1st wildcat bucket 🔥#MadeForIt x #LeaveALegacy pic.twitter.com/t2G2xvYGTg
— Arizona Basketball (@ArizonaWBB) November 8, 2024
Dew is a talented forward and brings a big veteran presence to a team that is almost completely recreated by Burke.
In 29 games for the Wildcats, Dew started in four and averaged 2.5 points, three rebounds and 1.8 assists.
Expect those averages to go up as she might be asked to play much more and take on a leadership role for the Wildcats.
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