For a second straight season, the Kutztown University women’s basketball team needs to incorporate a large group of newcomers to its roster.
The success the Golden Bears had meshing returning players and freshmen last season has them optimistic for 2025-26.
Kutztown starts this season with heightened expectations after winning the first PSAC title in program history in 2024-25. The Golden Bears were recently picked by the league’s coaches to finish second in the PSAC East.
That grabbed the attention of Kutztown senior Leila Hurley, a Jim Thorpe graduate, and her teammates.
“We already know we have a target on our back for this year,” Hurley said by phone Monday. “I think there’s kind of been a fuel in us the last few days at practice. I think that fuel will be carried all the way onto the end of the season.”
Hurley is Kutztown’s top returning scorer (10.7 points per game) and one of three returning starters. She shot 36.3% from 3-point range last season.
Hurley, fellow senior Olivia Smelas (Jim Thorpe) and sophomore point guard Bella Quinn form the core of the Golden Bears’ roster. Hurley and Smelas are both captains who have earned one all-PSAC East second-team selection during their careers.
Kutztown will count on them more than ever after losing Naia Pulliam, the 2024-25 PSAC East athlete of the year, and two other rotation mainstays, Abbey Hearn and Shannon Remolde.
“Leila’s one of our best shooters, and Liv is one of our toughest defenders and rebounders,” Kutztown coach Janet Malouf said. “She can score in her own right. “They’re going to lead this team. They’re doing a great job every day in practice talking to the new people and making sure we mesh really well. So, we’re expecting huge things from them.
“I’m hoping they both have all-conference years. They certainly work hard enough for it, and they’ve put in the time over the last four years to make this the best year yet.”
While Kutztown will again look to incorporate a large number of newcomers, not all of them are freshmen. The Golden Bears have several transfers who joined the program.
Junior center Ariana Smuda, senior wing Danae Ellzy, sophomore guard Jadyn Brenneman, and junior wing Josephine Vourliotis all have a chance to crack the Kutztown rotation.
Sophomore forward Madison Siggins, a Parkland grad, will also be in her first season playing for the Golden Bears. She transferred to Kutztown last season after starting the year at East Stroudsburg University.
“She’s going to do a really nice job for us in the post position,” Malouf said. “She’s playing really well right now, and we’re looking forward to having her. I think she’s going to be one of our better defenders as well as get some opportunities to shoot the ball.”
Malouf said it’s on her and assistant coach Justin Hallman to find the right combinations among the talented players on the roster. That could take time.
They at least have last season to use as a blueprint. Kutztown was four games under .500 in mid-January before ripping off a 12-game winning streak, the longest in program history.
The Golden Bears don’t expect an exact repeat of 2024-25 this season. They’re ready for whatever challenges 2025-26 brings.
“We need to keep taking it one day at a time with this group, but I do think that we see ourselves in a very similar position as last year,” Hurley said. “The girls that have watched us that were recruits that now are freshmen are also hungry to be in that position.”
The polls are in
Below is how each local team was picked to finish in its league’s preseason poll.
DeSales — fourth in the eight-team MAC Freedom Conference
East Stroudsburg — sixth in the nine-team PSAC East
Kutztown — second in the nine-team PSAC East (three of nine first-place votes)
Lafayette — ninth in the 10-team Patriot League
Lehigh — fifth in the 10-team Patriot League (one of 10 first-place votes)
Moravian — N/A; Landmark Conference poll released Friday
Muhlenberg — eighth in the 11-team Centennial Conference
Where are the now?
Division I
American
Molly Driscoll, sophomore, Allentown Central Catholic
Lafayette
Talia Zurinskas, sophomore, Parkland
Mercyhurst
Cici Hernandez, sophomore, Bethlehem Catholic
Cameron Horning/Mercyhurst Athletics
Bethlehem Catholic graduate Cici Hernandez averaged 6.2 points per game as a freshman for Mercyhurst. (Cameron Horning/Mercyhurst Athletics)
Rutgers
Antonia Bates senior, Notre Dame-Green Pond and Rutgers Prep (Easton native)
Abbie Parr/Associated Press
Rutgers’ Antonia Bates, 4, a former Notre Dame-Green Pond star, plays defense against Minnesota’s Amaya Battle during a game last season at Target Center in Minneapolis. (Abbie Parr/Associated Press)
St. Joseph’s
Gabby Casey, junior, Lansdale Catholic (Quakertown)
St. Joseph’s guard Gabby Casey drives against Richmond during a game last season. Casey is a Quakertown native and graduate of Lansdale Catholic. (Photo courtesy of Sideline Photos)
Toledo
Evalyse Cole, sophomore, Easton
Division II
Bloomsburg
Kelly Leszcynski, redshirt junior, Nazareth
Kim Madrid, senior, Executive Education
Kash Santos, sophomore, Bethlehem Catholic
Chestnut Hill
Kourin Carew, freshman, Easton
East Stroudsburg
Peyton Long, freshman, Nazareth
McKayla Strunk, freshman, Stroudsburg
Embry-Riddle Aeronautical
Anye’ Staton, junior, Easton
Holy Family
Skyler Searfoss, senior, Jim Thorpe
Kutztown
Leila Hurley, senior, Jim Thorpe
Madison Siggins, sophomore, Parkland
Olivia Smelas, senior, Jim Thorpe
Mercy
Grace Lesko, junior, Northampton
Division III
Centenary
Vatijah Davis, junior, Pocono Mountain West
DeSales
Emma Pyne, senior, Pennridge
Aubrey Pollard, sophomore, Northern Lehigh
Moravian
Jayda Cartagena, senior, Dieruff
Mallory Elias, sophomore, Easton
Megan Elias, sophomore, Easton
Emma Pukszyn, sophomore, Liberty
Allie Sena, sophomore, Freedom
Ellie Wallbillich, sophomore, Pen Argyl
Muhlenberg
Emma Altmire, junior, Notre Dame-Green Pond
Susquehanna
Delany Chilcote, freshman, Parkland
Avery Nelson, freshman, Bangor
Julia Roth, senior, Allentown Central Catholic
Renee Wells, freshman, Nazareth
Stephen Miller is a freelance writer