WVU Women's Basketball Reveals 2026 Big 12 Conference Matrix

The Mountaineers will look to defend their Big 12 crown this season.

WVU Athletics

The West Virginia women’s basketball team is coming off one of its most historic seasons in program history. The team not only captured the Big 12 Tournament title for the first time in nine seasons, but also hosted its first and second-round NCAA Tournament games for the first time in over thirty years.

After a heartbreaking loss to Kentucky in the final moments of the second round of the NCAA Tournament, the Mountaineers now enter a season with a lot of new faces and transfers. Head coach Mark Kellogg sent a clear message that he wants to continue to win year in and year out by being aggressive in the transfer portal like he has throughout his tenure in Morgantown.

On Thursday, the program announced its 2026-27 Big 12 conference schedule as they look to defend its crown. Here is how the conference schedule looks this year for the Mountaineers. Dates and times will be announced at a later date.

Home Opponents

BYU

Utah

Colorado

Iowa State

Kansas

Kansas State

Away Opponents

Arizona

Arizona State

Oklahoma State

Baylor

Houston

UCF

Home and Away Opponents

Texas Tech

TCU

Cincinatti

The most intriguing matchup on the schedule is the home and away games against TCU. The Horned Frogs edge out the Mountaineers for the Big 12 regular season title, beating them twice in the regular season. The two are set to meet twice again in the regular season. Both teams figure to be competitive again this season, but they will look quite different.

Of the four players who averaged 10 or more points per game last season for WVU, the Mountaineers lost three of them to graduation in Jordan Harrison, Meme Wheeler, and Sydney Shaw. More importantly, WVU was able to retain its leading scorer, Gia Cooke. The guard flashed true game-changing scoring ability from everywhere on the floor. Cooke played nearly 30 minutes per game last season, but figures to have an even more expanded role with more scoring opportunities for the player who led the way in scoring in her redshirt junior season.

Kellogg also added Marquette’s Skylar Forbes and George Mason’s Zahirah Walton. Forbes and Walton averaged 15 and 18 points per game last year, respectively, and figure to slot into impact starting roles for the Mountaineers. Despite losing a good chunk of scoring production, expectations should be sky-high for the Mountaineers in 2026 as they continue to win games in bunches under Kellogg.