For Indiana women’s basketball, the 2025-26 season was one of growing pains. The Hoosiers lost six players to the 2025 transfer portal and three players to graduation, retaining only one starter in senior guard Shay Ciezki.
To replace them, Indiana head coach Teri Moren brought in six transfers and two high school recruits in one of her largest roster overhauls across her 12 seasons.
Just five players remained with Indiana from the previous season. Of them, only Ciezki played significant minutes for the Hoosiers. Sophomore forward Faith Wiseman and sophomore guard Valentyna Kadlecova earned 3.5 and 3.4 minutes per game, respectively. Redshirt sophomore Lenée Beaumont and redshirt freshman forward Sydney Fenn missed the entire 2024-25 season due to undergoing knee surgery, with Fenn subsequently missing the 2025-26 season for further rehabilitation.
But the two incoming freshmen, forward Maya Makalusky and guard Nevaeh Caffey, may have been the most impactful additions to the Hoosiers’ roster. They’re why Indiana can be optimistic for next year despite this season.
Makalusky and Caffey were both four-star recruits and ranked in the top 50 nationally on the 2025 SportsCenter NEXT 100 when they arrived in Bloomington.
And after impressing Moren in the offseason, Caffey earned a starting spot in Indiana’s season opener against Lipscomb University on Nov. 4. From that point on, she started in every game of the season. Caffey’s on-ball defense immediately drew attention from Moren as she quickly became the Hoosiers’ best perimeter defender.
“I know that coach trusts me a lot to guard the best player,” Caffey said after the loss to Ohio State in the Big Ten Tournament on March 5. “That gives me the confidence knowing that I can guard the best player.”
However, Makalusky’s impact for the Cream and Crimson was not so immediate.
She gradually became more involved during Indiana’s nonconference schedule, often rotating with Kadlecova. However, following Kadlecova’s decision to return to her native Czech Republic on Dec. 15, Makalusky became a permanent fixture of the starting lineup.
Once Big Ten play started for Indiana, the hiccups came frequently. The Hoosiers started 0-10 in conference play but largely recovered to end the regular reason,, winning six of their last eight games to clinch a spot in the Big Ten Tournament.
“I’m really proud of our team and how we stuck together,” Caffey said. “In February, we had a way better season, and I feel like us just sticking together and trusting each other helped us a lot.”
As the team began to improve as a unit, so did Caffey and Makalusky individually. Caffey excelled from the start defensively, but she found her offense down the stretch, reaching double-digit points in eight of her last nine games. Makalusky proved to be a difference-maker on offense as the season went on and became one of Indiana’s main threats beyond the arc.
“It doesn’t happen without my teammates finding me and installing that confidence in me,” Makalusky said following the Ohio State loss. “My teammates throughout the year have been helping me continue to get more and more confident, to shoot those shots.”
Caffey exited nonconference play averaging 6.6 points per game, increasing her average to 8.5 by the end of the season. Makalusky averaged 3.9 points per game prior to her first start, upping her average to 9.7 points in the starting lineup. They will look to build on that growth next season as proven starters.
Despite likely falling short of the NCAA Tournament, Indiana managed to improve on its poor start to the conference schedule.
The Cream and Crimson will have to reload their roster in the offseason after losing two seniors to graduation and three players already to the transfer portal — Wiseman, sophomore guard Phoenix Stotijn and junior forward Jade Ondineme.
Indiana has already started finding replacements. Four high school recruits have signed their letter of intent, with center Zoe Jackson enrolling early with the Hoosiers. Next season, Makalusky and Caffey will already know Moren’s system and guide Indiana women’s basketball into the future.
“Having a team that’s very young and out of the portal, I think it shows the grittiness that coach Moren has installed in Indiana women’s basketball.” Makalusky said. “I’m proud of the team, I’m proud of the way that we continued to fight till the end.”
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.
