Katie Gearlds Talks Purdue's Offensive Identity With New Group
In this story:
Take a look around Purdue's locker room and you'll notice several new faces. The Boilermakers have 10 players on the roster who weren't with the team one year ago. With so many newcomers, it can be hard to establish an identity as a single unit, but coach Katie Gearlds believes this team is already building one.
Practice got underway on Monday for the women's basketball team, and the Boilermakers are hoping to bounce back from a tough 2024-25 campaign. They finished with a 10-19 overall record, which included a 3-15 mark in Big Ten play.
What has Gearlds seen from her team through the summer months and entering fall practice?
"Every team, every year, wants to play fast and run fast. That’s the idea for us here, to get out in transition," Gearlds said. "We have a lot of youthful legs and a lot of guards on the perimeter who can get out in transition, a lot of kids who can shoot the basketball, and a lot of kids who can put the ball on the floor. For us, on the offensive end, it’s kind of opened some things up."
Purdue has nine guards on the roster, only two of whom have experience in Gearlds' system. McKenna Layden is entering her junior season, and her sister, Madison Layden-Zay, is a fifth-year senior, but spent last season away from the team.
Through the transfer portal, the Boilermakers added five guards to the roster:
- Taylor Henderson (UNC-Wilmington)
- Nya Smith (UNC-Greensboro)
- Taylor Feldman (Northern Arizona)
- Kiki Smith (Arkansas)
- Tara Daye (St. John's)
Purdue also brought in freshman guards Hila Karsh and Carley Barrett as members of the 2025 recruiting class.
That group pairs well with a quartet of talented forwards, which includes returners Lana McCarthy and Kendall Puryear. Purdue added Indiana State's Saige Stahl via the transfer portal, and Avery Gordon was a four-star recruit from Brownsburg, Ind.
Gearlds said there's still a lot to work on before the start of the season, but she likes where her team stands from an identity standpoint. It's just a matter of growing into it.
“I like the identity that we have right now. I think it’s going to continue to grow," Gearlds said. "I think who we are trying to be right now is who we’re going to have to be to have some success.”
Related stories on Purdue women's basketball
WHY BIG TEN WBB TOURNEY REMAINS AT 15 TEAMS: The Big Ten Women's Basketball Tournament will remain at 15 teams while the men's field expands to 18. Why staying at 15 is the best move on the women's side. CLICK HERE
FAN DAY INFORMATION: Fan Day information has been released for the Purdue men's and women's basketball teams. Here's what you need to know about this year's event. CLICK HERE
TAKEAWAYS FROM PURDUE WBB BIG TEN SCHEDULE: The Purdue women's basketball schedule is set for the 2025-26 season. A few observations after the Big Ten slate was released for the upcoming year. CLICK HERE
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.
Follow SchutteDustin