And Mitchell saw a foundation.<\/p>\n
\u201cI learned how important it is to stay connected to the process of building a championship program and keeping your attitude in control \u2014 your attitude and your effort,\u201d Mitchell told reporters in early June.<\/p>\n
Throughout Mitchell\u2019s first season, Houston struggled to score consistently, and he realized early in non-conference play that wins may be hard to find. The challenge became continuing to improve without allowing the results to define the work.<\/p>\n
Mitchell called it \u201can extremely valuable year,\u201d one in which Houston learned to recognize improvement without attaching it entirely to their win-loss record.<\/p>\n
King doesn\u2019t need to be convinced. She\u2019s one of only three players returning from last season\u2019s roster, along with Jemma Hunter<\/a> and Jorynn Ross<\/a>. After the struggles of last season, King could have joined the wave of players seeking a fresh start through the portal. Instead, she stayed because she believed the work being done behind the scenes would eventually show.<\/p>\n \u201cDespite the wins and losses last year, they developed my game in so many ways that people haven\u2019t even been able to see,\u201d King told The IX Basketball. \u201cThey believe in me, and I believe in them.\u201d<\/p>\n As a freshman, King began learning to play both on and off the ball and says Mitchell gave her a better understanding of how to play either guard position. The experience also gave her something few players on Houston\u2019s reconstructed roster possess: knowledge of Mitchell\u2019s standards.<\/p>\n \u201cNow that that base and that structure is laid down, especially as somebody returning, I have a voice,\u201d King said. \u201cI know the standard now, so I can hold everybody else to it.\u201d<\/p>\n Recruiting players who wanted to build<\/p>\n Mitchell did not have the luxury of making minor adjustments after his first year. <\/p>\n Graduation and the portal forced Houston to rebuild most of its roster for a second straight year. This time, however, Mitchell had a full recruiting cycle to find players who fit what he wanted to build. He looked for shooting, size, versatile defenders and players ready to fill bigger roles.<\/p>\n He also looked for players who wanted to remain long enough to build something.<\/p>\n \u201cWe\u2019re going to try to create some stability in our roster, and we\u2019re going to try to serve these players at a level where they\u2019re not looking to move,\u201d Mitchell said. \u201cThen, sign the right players that are wanting to stay in the program.\u201d<\/p>\n That approach helped Houston attract players who had more established options.<\/p>\n Carlton arrived after playing meaningful minutes for a Texas team that reached the Final Four. McCowan became one of the country\u2019s most productive scorers at Western Illinois before a dislocated elbow ended her 2025-26 season. She also drew interest from several high-level programs, including Iowa. Both had individual reasons for choosing Houston.<\/p>\n Carlton wanted to return to her hometown, play with her sister and assume a bigger role before pursuing a professional career. McCowan wanted to challenge herself at the Big 12 level.<\/p>\n Both said Mitchell\u2019s vision mattered.<\/p>\n Carlton was drawn to his history of turning Kentucky into a consistent national contender and the opportunity to help begin a similar transformation in Houston. \u201cI wanted to be a part of something bigger than myself,\u201d Carlton said. \u201cCoach Mitchell was telling me about the plan that he has the next couple of years, and I just wanted to help him get that started, especially in my home city.\u201d<\/p>\n Mitchell didn\u2019t recruit Carlton simply as Madison Carlton\u2019s older sister. He presented a plan for her to become a go-to player and more vocal leader after spending three seasons surrounded by established stars at Texas.<\/p>\n Listen now to The IX Sports Podcast and Women\u2019s Sports Daily \u201cMy responsibility to them is their individual game and what we can do to maximize their individual game,\u201d Mitchell said of the sisters. \u201cJustice said she had a desire to have an expanded role in how the team operated. I tried to paint the picture about how that could happen.\u201d<\/p>\n That expanded role is not limited to taking more shots. Carlton is learning how to become one of the public faces of a program and how to lead teammates who may view her differently because of her experience at Texas.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s hard, honestly, keeping that balance on the team,\u201d Carlton said. \u201cBeing able to step into that vocal leader role has been something that the coaches have talked to me a lot about. There are things that I\u2019ve never really had to worry about before that I\u2019m now having to step into. But it\u2019s a challenge that I\u2019m willing to take on because this was something I was looking for when I transferred.\u201d<\/p>\n A different kind of environment<\/p>\n Carlton immediately noticed another difference after arriving at Houston.<\/p>\n At Texas and within the SEC, Carlton said, players were expected to be tough, avoid excuses and move quickly past mistakes. She described Houston\u2019s staff as more openly encouraging while still demanding improvement.<\/p>\n \u201cEverybody is just super supportive and genuinely wants to see everybody win,\u201d Carlton said. She described a staff that gives players room to learn from mistakes rather than fear them.<\/p>\n McCowan heard Mitchell\u2019s emphasis on culture throughout the recruiting process. After arriving in Houston, she found the environment matched what he had described. \u201cHe holds us all to a higher standard every day,\u201d McCowan said. \u201cI think he did a really, really good job recruiting all the girls that he did here. All of us are of high character, and we all get along so great. He really focused on the culture aspect, and that\u2019s something he wasn\u2019t willing to give up in his recruiting process.\u201d<\/p>\n Culture, support, accountability and family have come up repeatedly during Houston\u2019s first few weeks together. The players don\u2019t always use the same language, but they describe the same environment.<\/p>\n King said this is the fastest she has ever connected with a new group. \u201cI feel like some of the teammates I\u2019ve known for years, and I just met them not even that long ago,\u201d she said. \u201cEverybody is positive. Everybody lifts you up.\u201d<\/p>\n Sisters together again<\/p>\n No relationship illustrates that connection more literally than the one between Justice and Madison Carlton.<\/p>\n Mitchell first began recruiting Madison, a 6\u20191 forward from Seven Lakes High School, without realizing she was Justice\u2019s younger sister. Madison committed to Houston early in the process, telling Mitchell during her official visit that she had already made her decision.<\/p>\n Justice entered the portal months later.<\/p>\n Madison made sure her sister knew Houston was available but said she tried not to pressure her. Justice ultimately chose to come home, in part because it allowed her to play with Madison and remain close to their mother and two younger sisters.<\/p>\n The significance of the reunion struck Madison during an offseason pickup game. \u201cI got emotional because I was like, \u2018Oh my goodness, it\u2019s high school again,\u2019\u201d Madison said. \u201cI just love playing with her. She makes everything so easy for me.\u201d<\/p>\n They already appear to have retained some of their old chemistry.<\/p>\n McCowan played on the sisters\u2019 team during an open gym and watched Justice find Madison with a pass near the basket. \u201cI thought to myself, \u2018Yeah, that was definitely a mind-to-mind telepathy type thing,\u2019\u201d McCowan said.<\/p>\n Their relationship also comes with a challenge.<\/p>\n Justice wants to help Madison adjust to college without becoming a second coach or parent. Madison appreciates the guidance but knows she must learn to handle some things on her own. \u201cI think she\u2019s trying to get into that role of understanding that she doesn\u2019t need to babysit me or look after me,\u201d Madison said. \u201cShe has to realize I have to do some things on my own.\u201d<\/p>\n Madison has also drawn lessons from watching Justice play at Texas. The biggest is confidence. \u201cThere are so many people who want to look at you and be like, \u2018She\u2019s not that good,\u2019 or, \u2018So-and-so is better than her,\u2019\u201d Madison said. \u201cYou need to really be confident in yourself.\u201d<\/p>\n More than good feelings<\/p>\n Houston\u2019s early chemistry does not guarantee anything once the season begins.<\/p>\n The Cougars remain a program coming off consecutive last-place Big 12 finishes. Most of the roster hasn\u2019t played together in a college game, and several players are making significant jumps in competition.<\/p>\n Mitchell also has not settled on precisely how Houston will play. He intends to use the summer to learn how the pieces fit rather than forcing the roster into a predetermined system. He believes the Cougars have enough versatility to become \u201cmultidimensional\u201d and difficult to guard.<\/p>\n Carlton gives Houston a proven scorer with size on the perimeter. McCowan can play multiple positions and scored at all three levels at Western Illinois. Tarleton State transfer Elodie Lutbert<\/a> provides a mobile 6\u20196 presence around the basket. Esmeralda Enriquez<\/a> shot nearly 50% from 3-point range in junior college, while freshman Alyvia McCorkle<\/a> brings the kind of full-court ball pressure Mitchell values defensively.<\/p>\n King has already noticed the difference during summer workouts. \u201cI feel like everybody can shoot the ball,\u201d she said. \u201cEverybody is really gritty and grimy on the defensive end, too. We have bucket-getters.\u201d<\/p>\n McCowan sees the same combination of pieces. \u201cI think we have a lot of people who can score the ball,\u201d she said. \u201cWe have great point guards. I\u2019m super excited. I think all the pieces are there.\u201d<\/p>\n Mitchell isn\u2019t ready to decide where all those pieces belong. He\u2019s more interested in establishing principles: honesty, discipline, effort and an understanding that the work must continue regardless of immediate results.<\/p>\n That was the lesson of Year One.<\/p>\n \u201cWe learned a lot about staying the course,\u201d Mitchell said. \u201cWe learned a lot about showing up and working hard every day, even though you\u2019re not getting the results that you want competitively.\u201d<\/p>\n \u2018Rare Gems\u2019 is out now! If you enjoy Megdal\u2019s coverage of women\u2019s basketball every Wednesday at The IX Sports, you will love \u201cRare Gems: How Four Generations of Women Paved the Way for the WNBA.\u201d <\/p>\n A championship goal<\/p>\n The Cougars have not formally established their team goals for the season, but that hasn\u2019t stopped the players from identifying one.<\/p>\n McCowan didn\u2019t hesitate when asked what a successful season would look like. \u201cGoing out and winning a Big 12 championship,\u201d she said. \u201cWe\u2019re not going to settle for anything less than that. I don\u2019t think that\u2019s out of the realm for us to complete.\u201d<\/p>\n King also talked about competing for a Big 12 title. Madison went even further, saying she wants this group to win the conference, reach the NCAA Tournament and change the way people think about Houston women\u2019s basketball.<\/p>\n That is a bold vision for a program coming off a seven-win season, and the players understand that. King described the Cougars as underdogs \u2014 but also as \u201csome dogs\u201d who are hungry for a comeback season.<\/p>\n Summer chemistry is one thing. Houston still has to see how this group responds when the rotation tightens, playing time shrinks, and a demanding Big 12 schedule starts testing their confidence.<\/p>\n But something has already changed.<\/p>\n Last year, Mitchell was trying to convince his players that progress could exist without wins. Now, those who stayed believe him. Those who just arrived can see it. And several members of a team that won a single conference game last season are openly talking about winning the Big 12.<\/p>\n The victories haven\u2019t come yet, but the belief has.<\/p>\n \n\tRelated<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Seven-win seasons don\u2019t tend to create much belief. They tend to produce frustration, roster turnover, and promises that…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":355598,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[7],"tags":[126499,315,126500,56,58,57,126501,126502,34577,126503,126504,103601,86711,126505,513],"class_list":["post-355597","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-houston","tag-alyvia-mccorkle","tag-big-12","tag-esmeralda-enriquez","tag-houston","tag-houston-headlines","tag-houston-news","tag-jemma-hunter","tag-jorynn-ross","tag-justice-carlton","tag-kayla-king","tag-madison-carlton","tag-matthew-mitchell","tag-ncaaw","tag-raegan-mccowan","tag-university-of-houston"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/355597","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=355597"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/355597\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/355598"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=355597"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=355597"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=355597"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}![\"A](\"https:\/\/www.theixsports.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/Kayla-King-1024x683.jpg\")
Kayla King brings the ball up during offseason workouts (Photo credit: University of Houston)<\/p>\n![\"A](\"https:\/\/www.theixsports.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/Justice-Carlton-1024x683.jpg\")
Justice Carlton runs during offseason workouts (Photo credit: University of Houston)<\/p>\n
We are excited to announce the launch of TWO new podcasts for all the women\u2019s sports fans out there looking for a daily dose of women\u2019s sports news and analysis. Stream on Spotify, Apple Podcasts or anywhere you listen to podcasts, and make sure to subscribe!<\/p>\n![\"A](\"https:\/\/www.theixsports.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/Raegan-McCowan-1024x683.jpg\")
Raegan McCowan runs during offseason workouts (Photo credit: University of Houston)<\/p>\n![\"A](\"https:\/\/www.theixsports.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/UH-Womens-Basketball-1024x768.jpg\")
The Houston women\u2019s basketball team gathers with head coach Matthew Mitchell during the offseason (Photo credit: University of Houston)<\/p>\n![\"Two](\"https:\/\/www.theixsports.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/Madison-Carlton-1024x683.jpg\")
Madison Carlton plays defense during offseason workouts (Photo credit: University of Houston)<\/p>\n
Howard Megdal, founder and editor of The IX Basketball and The IX Sports, wrote this deeply reported book. \u201cRare Gems\u201d follows four connected generations of women\u2019s basketball pioneers, from Elvera \u201cPeps\u201d Neuman to Cheryl Reeve and from Lindsay Whalen to Sylvia Fowles and Paige Bueckers.<\/p>\n