Two top-100 national high school recruits are saddling up for their first Indiana women’s basketball season alongside numerous transfer portal additions and returners.
Forward Maya Makalusky and guard Nevaeh Caffey were both four-star recruits out of Indiana and Missouri, respectively. Both players logged significant minutes in Indiana’s exhibition victory Oct. 27 over Missouri University of Science and Technology.
Despite the many new faces inside Simon Skjodt Assembly Hall, both freshmen have made an early impact on the team and each other.
“She’s (Caffey) great to live with; she’s a great teammate to have,” Makalusky said in an interview Sept. 30. “Obviously, you know, we’re trying to figure it out together, day in and day out. I think it’s good to have somebody who understands the moment — just talking about practices, going over film, talking about plays, like ‘Is this the right play?’ And it’s nice to have somebody that can relate to you in actual time rather than like a vet that’s been here.”
For more on the Hoosiers’ two true freshmen:
Maya Makalusky
Makalusky was the top-ranked 2025 recruit from Indiana and ranked 35th in the country, according to ESPN. The Fishers, Indiana, native won both 2025 Indiana Miss Basketball and 2025 Gatorade Player of the Year in the state.
The 6-foot-3 Makalusky started four years at Hamilton Southeastern High School where she became the program’s all-time leading scorer with 1,913 points. She follows in guard Sydney Parrish’s footsteps as a Hamilton Southeastern graduate coming to Bloomington.
Parrish, who transferred to Indiana in her junior season after two years at Oregon, became the face of Indiana women’s basketball while averaging 11.6 points and 5.5 rebounds per game during her final season with the Hoosiers. Parrish graduated after the 2024-25 season.
In Indiana’s lone exhibition match against Missouri S&T, Makalusky played 20 minutes, snatching 11 points and nine rebounds. While she shot 2 for 6 from beyond the arc, her willingness to get physical and contest rebounds on both ends was noted by head coach Teri Moren.
“Maya came in and did a lot of really good things,” Moren said postgame. “She was a rebound away from a double-double, just really great energy, was physical. It’s great to see. She heard my message because I thought she came out from the jump and was really focused in defensively.”
When dealing with the mental aspect of the game, Makalusky relied on her sister. Riley Makalusky, her older sister and a junior forward for West Virginia University, transferred from Butler University after the 2024-25 season.
“At the end of the day, we’re humans,” Makalusky said. “Mental health does matter, so if that’s not okay then you’re not gonna achieve what you want on the court. And also just the effort. She’s always showed me how to work hard to get what you want.”
Nevaeh Caffey
Caffey, who stands at 5-foot-10, was the second ranked recruit out of Missouri and No. 42 nationally. The Warrenton, Missouri, native won four-straight Missouri Class 6 State Championships in four years at Incarnate Word Academy where she earned third team All-American honors, Class 6A All-State Player of the Year nomination and Class 6 first team All-State.
Caffey and her high school teammates set a national record with 139 straight wins, and she was named Miss Show-Me Basketball 2025 for Missouri. She averaged 16.9 points and 2.4 assists per game in her senior season.
Caffey was one of the first players Moren talked about in a press conference Sept. 30, highlighting the impact the freshman guard had produced early on. Moren claimed Caffey “jumped off the paper,” impressed with her athleticism and defensive prowess.
She took her time to acclimate after moving from Missouri to Indiana and worked on trusting herself instead of doubting. Caffey said she worked on her mental health in the offseason during a Sept. 30 interview.
“I feel like just staying focused, being confident and not being in my head,” Caffey said in an interview. “Being in the offseason, just knowing every position I’m going to win, and giving everything I can.”
In the Missouri S&T exhibition, Moren slotted Caffey into the starting lineup — a sign of trust not commonly seen with freshmen.
Caffey played 23 minutes, tied for the most on the team with senior guard Shay Ciezki and redshirt sophomore guard Lenée Beaumont. She logged nine points, five assists and two steals.
Experienced players including Ciezki and Beaumont have high hopes for Caffey, who was praised in a postgame press conference Oct. 27. They’re confident she’ll be a difference-maker this season.
“I believe she is our best on-ball defender, hands down,” Ciezki said. “If you’re a great defender, you’re gonna find time. And that’s exactly what she did, and she’s gonna prove it all year long.”
Follow reporters Savannah Slone (@savrivers06 and srslone@iu.edu) and Max Schneider (maxschn@iu.edu) and columnist Sean McAvoy (@sean_mc07 and semcavoy@iu.edu) for updates throughout the Indiana women’s basketball season.
