Xavier Musketeers 2025‑26 Season Review

Season Record

The 2025‑26 Musketeers finished 11‑19 overall and 4‑16 in Big East play, placing last in the conference just one game behind DePaul. Their NET ranking landed at #201, while Her Hoop Stats placed them at #250 and BartTorvik.com rated them #151. Xavier’s lone postseason win came against St. John’s in the Big East tournament’s first round, after which the team lost eight straight games to close the year.

The 2024‑25 squad managed double‑digit win totals for the first time since 2018‑19, thanks to a 71‑61 home victory over DePaul on January 13 and a 63‑59 defeat of Butler on February 1. Those two wins lifted the program to an 11‑game total, but the season unraveled with losses in 12 of the final 13 contests. The 2025‑26 campaign marks Xavier’s third consecutive season below the #230 threshold in either offense or defense per Her Hoop Stats.

Key Departures

Almost the entire roster shuffled out of Cincinnati. Savannah White, a fourth‑year senior, led the team in rebounding (7.3 rpg) and blocks (1.4 bpg) and posted 7.0 points per game while starting 29 of 30 games. Petra Oborilova appeared in every game but posted modest numbers of 4.1 points and 2.5 rebounds per contest. Mariyah Noel, Xavier’s top scorer from Ole Miss, averaged 14.9 points, 6.3 rebounds and 2.4 assists per game.

MacKenzie Givens, a former Cincinnati guard, contributed 12.1 points and 4.5 rebounds as a starter and was highlighted by BartTorvik.com as the most efficient producer relative to her usage. Vivien Nejasmic, a 6‑foot guard, logged 22.2 minutes and posted 6.9 points and 3.7 rebounds before moving to La Salle. Audia Young, who saw limited minutes at Auburn and Xavier, transferred to Charlotte.

Incoming Freshmen & Transfers

Xavier added five newcomers, four from overseas and one U.S. signee who pledged in November. The overseas players arrived after mid‑April, while the American freshman is the lone early commitment. The most controversial addition is Kejia Ran, a 6‑foot guard from China who was the 43rd overall pick in the 2026 WNBA Draft but opted for college with the Musketeers instead of joining the Atlanta Dream.

Three transfers will bolster depth: Maria Anais Rodriguez, a 6‑foot‑one junior from Barcelona, spent her first season at Oklahoma State and saw a rotation role at Arkansas, averaging 5.4 points and 3.0 rebounds in 16.5 minutes. Diawna Carter‑Hartley, a 6‑foot‑one senior from Cincinnati, has repeatedly earned starting minutes at Stetson and South Alabama, posting 8.8 points and 6.3 rebounds last year. Hila Karsh, a 5‑foot‑eight sophomore guard from Rishon LeZion, started the first half of her freshman season at Purdue before moving to the bench, where her production fell from 9.8 to 3.9 points per game.

Coaching & Outlook

Billi Chambers entered her fourth year at the helm, compiling an overall record of 160‑223 and a 19‑70 mark in Cincinnati. Her career winning percentage sits at .418, a figure that raises questions about her ability to turn the current roster around. The 2025‑26 squad features only one verified starter, Meri Kanerva, a 5‑foot‑nine Finnish guard who led Division I in minutes per game (38.3) and posted 10.1 points, 2.5 rebounds and a team‑high 3.8 assists.

The returning class is thin; four alumni from last year have combined for just 45 minutes, with three seeing no game action. Seven of the 13 players on the roster have never competed at the Division I level, underscoring the rebuilding nature of the program.

What Lies Ahead

Xavier is set to chase a 12‑win season for the first time since 2016‑17, a goal that feels daunting given the limited experience on the roster. The team’s recent history includes no winning campaigns since 2015‑16 (17‑13) and no conference‑schedule winning record since a 14‑0 A10 run in 2010‑11. Even if the Musketeers break the 12‑win barrier, they will likely remain below the national ranking thresholds that have plagued the program since 2016‑17.

Chambers’ .418 win percentage suggests a pattern of inconsistency, and the current roster offers few proven assets to reverse that trend. The upcoming season will serve as a litmus test for whether the new class of freshmen and transfers can fill the void left by the massive turnover, or whether the Musketeers will remain in rebuilding mode for another year.