Louisville Women's Basketball 2025-26 Roster Outlook 4.0

LOUISVILLE, Ky. - The Louisville's women's basketball program's roster for the 2025-26 season is one step closer to being complete, and is quite possibly all wrapped up.

It's been a quiet few weeks on the roster construction front for the Cardinals since our last update. That being said, Louisville recently welcomed one more player into the fold.

As a result, Louisville now sits at 14 scholarship players, one below the NCAA-allotted maximum of 15 scholarship players in women's basketball. While there is one available spot, in recent seasons, head coach Jeff Walz has been perfectly fine with putting together a roster might not fill every single open spot. With that being said, let's take a look at how this team currently shakes out.

Departures and Arrivals

This past Monday, Louisville once again went the international route, signing Ukrainian forward/center Yevheniia Putra. The 6-foot-3 post played this past season in Slovakia for MBK Ruzomberok, averaging 8.5 points, 6.2 rebounds, 1.0 assists, 1.7 steals and 0.7 blocks in 32 games.

While the 20-year-old Putra will not be a true freshman, she is one of three additions for the Cardinals in the Class of 2025, joining Danville (Ky.) Christian forward Grace Mbugua and Brandenburg (Ky.) Meade County guard Peyton Bradley. Louisville is also bringing in three transfers in Arizona guard/forward Skylar Jones, Oklahoma guard Reyna Scott and Saint Joseph's forward Laura Ziegler.

These six additions make up for the fact that UofL is seeing seven players depart the program. Olivia Cochran, Jayda Curry, Merissah Russell and Ja'Leah Williams all graduated; while Izela Arena, Nyla Harris and Eseosa Imafidon hit the portal.

Projected Depth Chart

Given all that we know now about the current state of Louisville's roster, below is an early look into what the depth chart next year could look like:

*Mobile users can scroll left & right on the table*

PG	SG	G/F	PF	C
Imari Berry	Tajianna Roberts	Skylar Jones	Laura Ziegler	Elif Istanbulluoglu
Rebekah Graves	Reyne Scott	Mackenly Randolph	Yevheniia Putra	Isla Juffermans
	Peyton Bradley	Reagan Bender	Anaya Hardy	Grace Mbugua

The dynamic of next season's team is going to look a lot different, if for anything else, simply for the fact that Louisville is losing their starting backcourt in Jayda Curry and Ja'Leah Williams. That being said, the Cardinals are actually in a great spot when it comes to their guard play. Tajianna Roberts was by far the best of the incoming freshmen, not only establishing herself as one of UofL's top scoring options, but over time becoming a great player overall, flashing high-end potential as a rebounder, facilitator and defender as well. As far as the primary ball handling duties, that will likely go to Imari Berry so that Roberts can handle the scoring load. Berry will have to take a step forward and become more consistent to maintain this role, but she certainly has the capability to do it. While Reyna Scott's stat line from last season might not stand out, she provides Louisville with a good amount of experience for a depth piece. In turn, younger players like Reagan Bender, Peyton Bradley and Rebekah Graves won't be tasked with taking on massive roles, and they can continue to develop.

While the wing for Louisville isn't super deep, they have two good options here at their disposal, and they have unique playing styles. Skylar Jones is a slashing wing type of player, who is not only a three-level scorer, but a decent playmaker as well. Then you have Mackenly Randolph. She's someone who plays a similar style to her NBA veteran father, Zach, and got much better as last season progressed. While Louisville could still scout the portal for another wing, it would be mainly for depth purposes, as Jones and Randolph will allow Jeff Walz to exploit more matchups.

The front court for Louisville has the most question marks, but it also had a lot of potential. That being said, while Laura Ziegler is more of a stretch four and not a true back-to-the-basket post, she will be the answer to a lot of those questions. She not only takes contact well and is great around the rim, she has a very good midrange shot and can be an option from deep at times. Throw in the fact that she is a phenomenal rebounder, a very good passer and an underrated defender, Ziegler is a double-double machine - who also has two career triple-doubles. Yevheniia Putra is a wild card in the fact that she has a plethora of international experience and some versatility. Sure, her bread and butter is playing around the basket, whether that's rebounding or playing through contact. But she moves very well for a post player, and does have a bit of an outside game. It just remains to be seen how she will handle the transition to the states. That being said, the front court overall still has some questions. While Elif Istanbulluoglu was a key part of the rotation this season and played well in spurts, her overall game still needs a little more development. Isla Juffermans played more than eight minutes just once from mid-December onwards, Anaya Hardy barely played at all, and Grace Mbugua - while very talented - is a true freshmen.

Departures and Arrivals

Projected Depth Chart

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