In building the roster for next season, Colorado women’s basketball coach JR Payne and her staff recruited transfers individually.
Yet, when the group was on campus together, there was a bond.
“Once we were able to sort of get them all on the same visit, it was really fun, and they really connected, as well,” Payne said. “I think they liked us, they liked the opportunity on the roster, they liked the system, all of those things. But then when they came here, they really liked who their teammates would be, and so I think that helped, as well.”
CU’s roster for the 2026-27 season is essentially set, with seven returning players, five transfers and one incoming freshman. There’s a chance the Buffs will add another transfer, but only if there’s a great fit.
The transfer portal opened April 6, and within a week the Buffs had signed four players: Aniya’ Foy (Kansas State), Mecailin Marshall (Tulane), Kira Reynolds (UT-Arlington) and Brooke Walker (Utah). Five days later, on April 18, the Buffs added a fifth transfer in Anete Adler (Boston).
“We really did a great job of targeting players that we believed would make us better, and areas that we needed to improve, and depth that we wanted to add,” Payne said.
While they all bring something different to the roster, Payne said the newcomers, as well as many of the returners, share a common trait.
“One of my favorite things about them is they’re workers,” she said. “All of these kids love to be in the gym, which we haven’t always had. We’ve had really good players, but some of our best players were not gym rats, and that’s OK.
“This is a group that really loves to be in the gym and wants to get better and wants to develop, and believes that they can develop, and likes the idea of having freedom within a structure of our system. I think it’s a group that’s going to really work, and very competitive kids.”
Another favorite thing for Payne about next year’s roster is that it won’t be so new.
In each of the past two seasons, the Buffs returned only four players and brought in 10 newcomers. Next year, the Buffs will have seven returners, five of which were in the regular rotation for all or part of this past season: seniors Maeve McErlane and Zyanna Walker, junior Kennedy Sanders, and sophomores Jade Crook and Logyn Greer.
“Oh my gosh, it’s huge,” Payne said of having seven players back from a team that went to the NCAA Tournament. “It’s going to feel like everybody’s back because we’re only used to having a couple. I think having seven, it’ll be amazing.”
Veteran Claire O’Connor, who missed most of the season with foot injuries, will also be back, along with developing sophomore Sophie Zadel. CU expects Crook and Zadel to both fill bigger roles in the frontcourt, while O’Connor can boost the Buffs’ perimeter shooting.
The five transfers will bring past success with them to Boulder.
Adler (15.4 points, 6.0 rebounds, 1.8 blocks per game), Marshall (10.5 points, 3.8 rebounds per game) and Reynolds (13.0 points, 7.9 rebounds, 2.4 blocks per game) were all full-time starters at their previous schools, while earning all-conference honors. Adler was on the Patriot League all-defensive team, Marshall was the American Conference freshman of the year, and Reynolds was on the WAC all-freshman team.
Walker (5.1 points, 3.2 rebounds) made 17 starts for Utah, while Foy averaged 10 minutes off the bench for a K-State team that made a late NCAA Tournament push. CU recruited both of them in high school.
Talented freshman Cail Jahnke also joins the mix this summer.
Overall, it’s a roster filled with players who have had success and have proven themselves at the collegiate level. Now, they’ve got to come together as a unit on the court and figure out how they fit together.
“It’s going to be hard to keep everybody happy,” Payne said of the challenge ahead.
