Conference USA Crystal Ball: 5wins Conference Previews
All 12 teams latest broken down here!
The 2025-26 Conference USA women's basketball season features a new 12-team lineup and dozens of unique storylines to follow. Adding Delaware and Missouri State, conference play will tip off on January 2, 2026, with an 18-game slate culminating in the CUSA Tournament from March 10-14 in Huntsville, Alabama. Last season's champion, Liberty, claimed the automatic NCAA bid, but several programs are poised for breakthroughs.
No need for a long introduction, 5wins has put together a complete rundown of (almost) everything a fan would need to know below. Some teams will get the full dossier treatment before Conference Play tips off around the holidays. So, let’s unpack this beast of a read, shall we?
Delaware Blue Hens [<- Click for the Full Breakdowns]
5wins Crystal Ball Call: Early non-conference games against Navy and Old Dominion will test their mettle. Expect Delaware to flirt with the top-4 spot but fall just short in their first CUSA season. The travel alone is going to wear down one of the smaller, shorter squads on the circuit. Johnson’s return from a season-ending injury is a success that screams championship or bust in 2026-27.
Florida International Panthers
5wins Crystal Ball Call: Burks-Wiley recreates some of that 2021 magic (21-12; 11-5) that led to a second CUSA Coach of the Year award. FIU makes a CUSA tourney run, but falls just short of the finals. Astrid Mukulumpe, a 6-foot-4 French international coming over from Mercer, makes it all possible with a breakout season.
5wins Crystal Ball Call: The question for Jacksonville State is one of chemistry. How quickly can the seasoned Barnes meld with this new global talent? If Pietri, the proven program-builder, can fuse this group into a cohesive unit, the Gamecocks have the pieces to be a surprise package in Conference USA. They may speak a few different languages, but the language of winning is universal. Watch for senior María Sánchez-Ponce (5-10, Spain) to swing a few games, for better or worse. Better gets Jacksonville State to a .500 CUSA record. Worse, they wind up with a handful of wins and another offseason full of what-ifs.
5wins Crystal Ball Call: Shania Nichols shreds some nets (10 points per game) and is downright defensive (50 steals) about it. Kaelyn Flowers snatched 24 steals last season as a freshman and will strike fear in opponents come February. These two keep the frontcourt out of foul trouble and everyone happy with transition buckets. Kennesaw St. wins multiple postseason tournament games as an underdog as a result.
5wins Crystal Ball Call: Liberty enters as the team to beat in Conference USA, unless you ask the official preseason poll. That second-place slight is merely fuel for the locker room. With the depth and experience to make another NCAA Tournament run, Sherard's continuity plus the Mills-Stout buzzsaw could torch CUSA for 15-plus wins. They were one point away (79-78) from upsetting Kentucky in the first round for a reason.
5wins Crystal Ball Call: Louisiana Tech should be among the conference's top contenders with their combination of talent and tradition. Dean Baramore is not walking through that door, though, to spin the old phrase. Forget those five First Place votes in the preseason poll. It’s nothing. This group must go out and earn new respect for Ruston, Louisiana hoops. No pressure to go get that first NCAA berth since 2011 at all…
5wins Crystal Ball Call: Missouri State will immediately compete for the conference championship in its first C-USA season. Their conference debut at FIU on January 2 sets the tone. Will the new conference bring too much chaos to match last year's squad? They ranked 53rd nationally in scoring (73.8 PPG) while holding opponents to 63.7 PPG (161st).
5wins Crystal Ball Call: Middle Tennessee will have trouble keeping up in regular-season standings, which speaks to CUSA’s growing status and depth. However, there are a few young players who could catch fire in time for a serious tournament run. Freshmen Nicole Dominguez and Jenna McClendon might even start the season in the starting five just to figure out what might work later on when the CUSA titles are on the line.
5wins Crystal Ball Call: Losing Fanta Gassama's 8.7 RPG hurts, but JUCO additions like Lucia Lara (7.0 RPG, 38.2% 3PT) and Iyana Beh (5.1 RPG) plus returning Lucia Yenes (2.5 RPG) project a +3 RPG boost. Last year's 29.5 team RPG ranked 200th nationally; improved glass work will flip at least two conference games that NMSU would have lost last season.
5wins Crystal Ball Call: The core of this team won a game in the CUSA tournament last season, giving them a taste of postseason success to build upon. Expect at least two wins in the tournament and some flirting with a winning record down the stretch. Home-court advantage at Bernard G. Johnson Coliseum, where they went 8-6 last season, could propel them past projected mid-tier foes like FIU and UTEP, exceeding the preseason poll by climbing to a top-5 finish.
5wins Crystal Ball Call: UTEP will be motivated to have a strong farewell season and should compete for a top-half finish. Delma Zita's playmaking (3.6 assists), alongside 5.4 points and 2.7 rebounds, will help SHSU pull off at least one upset. As a grad transfer from New Mexico JC, her 83.3% free-throw shooting and international experience from Mozambique give the coaching staff that one extra piece to punch a ticket to The Dance.
5wins Crystal Ball Call: WKU will be a top contender for both the regular season and tournament championships. Well, if the three-pointers are going in more than 35% of the time.
5wins Conference USA Top 5 Predictions
(Top 4 get CUSA Tournament Byes)
Liberty - The defending champions have the talent and experience to repeat
Western Kentucky - Consistent program with strong coaching and depth
Middle Tennessee - Rick Insell's squad will be in the title hunt again
Missouri State - New member makes an immediate impact
Louisiana Tech- Legacy program finds footing in NIL era