Katie Gearlds Says 2025-26 Purdue Squad is 'Built Different'
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Purdue women's basketball coach Katie Gearlds is excited about the team she has assembled in West Lafayette. She says this new group of Boilermakers brings something to the court that the progam has been missing in recent season.
The Boilers went through a bit of a roster overhaul in the offseason, retaining just three players from last year's roster — Kendall Puryear, Lana McCarthy, and McKenna Layden. Purdue added six players via the transfer portal and three freshmen recruits. Additionally, Madison Layden-Zay returned to the program after missing the 2024-25 campaign.
"We haven't been easy on them. They've embraced it," Gearlds said of the team. "They always seem to want a little more. We've been missing that. This group is naturally built a little different."
This group is built different ✊ pic.twitter.com/g0acf63ARh
— Purdue Women's Basketball (@PurdueWBB) September 11, 2025
Purdue is hoping to bounce back after a 10-19 campaign a year ago. Gearlds is entering her fifth season in West Lafayette, having led the Boilermakers to two WNIT appearances and a trip to the NCAA Tournament.
The Boilermakers' 2025-26 season gets underway on Nov. 3, when they host Fairleigh Dickinson at Mackey Arena.
Purdue WBB goes through ROTC training
Part of the intense training Gearlds mentioned when talking about this year's team included an early-morning session with the Purdue Army ROTC. The program released video of the Boilermakers going through some drills to help with physical and mental toughness, communication, leadership, and team-building.
It certainly wasn't an easy session, but the Boilers made it through.
Communication 🤝 Leadership
— Purdue Women's Basketball (@PurdueWBB) September 9, 2025
Thank you to the Purdue Army ROTC for having us out for an early morning workout! pic.twitter.com/hvaWycxrXB
Purdue 2025-26 WBB roster
- #2 Taylor Henderson, 5-foot-11 junior guard
- #3 Nya Smith, 5-foot-9 sophomore guard
- #5 Taylor Feldman, 5-foot-8 senior guard
- #8 Hila Karsh, 5-foot-8 freshman guard
- #11 McKenna Layden, 6-foot-2 junior forward
- #13 Saige Stahl, 6-foot-1 junior forward
- #22 Kendall Puryear, 6-foot-3 sophomore forward
- #23 Kiki Smith, 5-foot-7 junior guard
- #33 Madison Layden-Zay, 6-foot-1 fifth-year senior
- #35 Lana McCarthy, 6-foot-4 sophomore forward
- #44 Tara Daye, 5-foot-10 junior guard
- #55 Avery Gordon, 6-foot-7 freshman forward
Related stories on Purdue women's basketball
PURDUE WBB GOES THROUGH ROTC TRAINING: With the 2025-26 women's basketball season creeping closer, Purdue went through some ROTC training early in the morning to get out of its comfort zone. CLICK HERE
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Dustin Schutte is the publisher of Purdue Boilermakers on SI and has spent more than a decade working in sports journalism. His career began in 2013, when he covered Big Ten football. He remained in that role for eight years before working at On SI to cover the Boilermakers. Dustin graduated from Manchester University in Indiana in 2010, where he played for the men's tennis team.
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