Northwestern Locks In 2025-26 Women's Basketball Roster
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Northwestern head coach Joe McKeown is set to coach his final season of women's college basketball this winter, and with offseason workouts already underway, the Wildcats have now filled their final open roster spot.
The program announced on Monday that it had signed combo guard Amparo López from Valencia, Spain, as an incoming freshman. The 5-foot-9 international recruit most recently played for Valencia B.C. and was a member of the U14 and U18 Spanish Women's National Teams.
"Our staff can't wait to get Amparo López on campus," McKeown said in a press release. "She is a true student of the game and plays with a maturity well beyond her years. Amparo is a combo guard, who can score at multiple levels. One thing that stood out to me is that she is all about winning, as evidenced by her success on both the regional and national levels in Spain. I could not be happier to welcome Amparo to our family!"
Last season, López averaged 12.3 points, 6.2 rebounds, 3.8 assists and 1.7 steals per game for Las Taronjas. She is the second incoming freshman in Northwestern's Class of 2025, joining New York guard Angelina Hodgens.
The addition of López solidifies Northwestern's 15-player roster for the 2025-26 season, barring any last-minute departures. The Wildcats signed three graduate transfers out of the portal in Furman guard Tate Walters, TCU forward DaiJa Turner and Northwestern lacrosse's Sammy White, who will be a guard.
Following a season in which the team went 9-18, including 2-16 in Big Ten play, Northwestern's rotation could be drastically overhauled. However, the experience that senior Caroline Lau and junior Casey Harter have within NU's system makes them shoo-ins to remain in their starting roles. Senior Grace Sullivan is the lone frontcourt holdover, leaving one more open starting spot if McKeown pairs one of the transfers alongside Lau and Harter in the backcourt.
Tayla Thomas is the most likely candidate to start at the center position after making 20 appearances as a true freshman last season, but Turner could provide size as well at 6-foot-3. Six other returners would then be battling for playing time in senior Lauren Trumpy, juniors Rachel Mutombo and Crystal Fuqu Wang and sophomores Xamiya Walton, Claire Keswick and Kat Righeimer.
The Wildcats are looking to attempt one last run with McKeown at the helm, but with a plethora of unexperienced players taking center stage, Northwestern will need its younger athletes to step up quickly if it wants to compete in a loaded Big Ten.
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Gavin Dorsey is the Lead Writer for Northwestern Wildcats On SI and covers a handful of other teams in the On SI network. Before joining On SI in February 2025, he wrote for the Star Tribune and Inside NU while broadcasting college sports for both radio and television. Dorsey is a graduate of Northwestern's Medill School of Journalism, where he also studied psychology. In his free time, he enjoys running and being outdoors. Dorsey is currently a freelance writer for the Associated Press, covering Chicago area sports teams.
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