Illinois women’s basketball begins practice with a bigger, deeper roster and a top-10 freshman class as coach Shauna Green eyes another overachieving season.
CHAMPAIGN, Ill. — The Illinois women’s basketball team officially opened practice this week, joining programs across the country in preparing for the upcoming season. Head Coach Shauna Green, a former Clinton River Queen, entering her fourth year with the Illini, has a roster that looks far different from the one fans saw last season. This year’s group is deeper, taller, and filled with promise for the future.
Illinois’ marketing department is one of the best in the country. This week, they showcased clips and feedback from Green. The Sleepers Podcast, hosted by Carter Elliott and Greg Waddell, praised the Illini for their outstanding media department. Waddell said, “Illinois does one of the best jobs in college basketball when it comes to showing clips of workouts. Not a lot of schools show what they do, we like it.”
Gone from last year’s 22-10 squad are veterans Genesis Bryant, Adalia McKenzie, Kendall Bostic, Brynn Shoup-Hill, and Makira Cook, players who were the glue of the program and absorbed most of the minutes in Green’s first three years in Champaign.
Green spoke about her approach with a new, talented roster and the foundation she expects her players to build during a team meeting.
“Accountability to the standard, so what does that mean? OK, so accountability to each other and then self-accountability, making sure you’re doing the right thing because you’re supposed to be doing the right thing. My goals are to win every single day. That’s my goal for us, to win every day, and then whatever happens from there, it happens. So we’re all here to win at a high level, right? So in order to do that it’s gonna take accountability. So yes, if I’m getting on Jasmine (Brown-Hagger), she has to understand she has to be able to take it because I just want her to be the best version of herself.”
Green also stressed discipline, noting that success comes from effort and truth-telling within the program.
“I wanna win, right, and that goes for all you guys. Do it in your own way, but remember to take the message, not the tone. We don’t wanna know the truth? No, the truth is helping you. Accept the truth, because we’re all just telling the truth so we can all be the best versions of ourselves, which is being elite. Discipline to do what you’re supposed to do when you’re supposed to do it, even when you don’t feel like doing it. Discipline in our work ethic and how we go about it. You can always be the hardest worker, that doesn’t take any talent, right?”
This year’s roster is notably bigger and stronger. The group is long, athletic, and more versatile than in years past. Green acknowledged there will be growing pains early, especially with a large freshman class, but said they are not typical first-year players. ESPN ranked Illinois’ 2025 class No. 9 nationally, the highest among Big Ten programs.
No. 29 PG Destiny Jackson
No. 40 F Cearah Parchment
No. 48 F Manuella Alves-Fernandez
No. 96 F Naomi Benson
G Erica Finney (Australia, not ranked)
Illinois also added proven talent from the transfer portal. Former Peoria standout Aaliyah Guyton transferred from Iowa after being ranked the No. 57 overall prospect by ESPN HoopGurlz. Maddie Webber, a transfer from Villanova, was an All-Big East second-team performer and gives Green another scorer and leader.
The Illini return former McDonald’s All-American Berry Wallace, who emerged as a starter late last season, along with sharpshooter Gretchen Dolan, who is recovering from a knee injury. Jasmine Brown-Hagger, praised by Green for her defensive ability, returns as one of the team’s top on-ball defenders.
Size will be a noticeable advantage. Baylor transfer Lety Vasconcelos, a 6-foot-7 post player, is working back from a knee injury, while 6-foot-6 sophomore Hayven Smith provides another strong inside presence.
“We gotta stay locked into the day, locked into the moment, and again day by day by day. But it’s time. We are going to be very together. We’re gonna be very disciplined. We’re gonna hold each other accountable. We’re gonna communicate at an elite level. We’re gonna work at an elite level, and we’re just gonna worry about one day at a time. Everything is done with purpose; everything is done with a mindset to attack. Every moment you step on those lines or you’re in this building, it matters.”
Illinois continues to be overlooked during the preseason media circles, but that hasn’t fazed Green’s program before. In each of her first three years, the Illini surpassed expectations, and with this group, she believes the ceiling could be higher at the end of the season.
After a recent workout, Green left her players with a message about embracing the grind and learning how to win.
“You have to learn how to win, learn how to impact winning. How can you make winning plays? You have to understand that you have the feeling of losing, even in one of these drills. Be upset that you lost a drill, because then you will find ways to impact winning the next time,” Green said.
Illinois may not carry the preseason spotlight, but the combination of elite freshmen, proven transfers, and returning talent suggests this could be one of the most intriguing seasons yet in Champaign.
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