We’re roughly halfway through the season. A few DII women’s basketball teams are beginning to separate themselves from the pack, building their tournament resumes as March approaches. Several freshmen are helping to make that happen.
👀 5 under-the-radar DII women’s basketball teams to watch in 2026 👀
There are a lot of freshmen having standout seasons; however, we are going to narrow the focus to those on teams that are trending in a positive direction. Some are point-scoring machines, while others are making their presence felt in the paint. However you choose to look at it, they are all making a big difference in DII women’s basketball.
9 DII women’s basketball impact freshmen
(Note: All stats and records through Sunday, Jan. 11)
Eliana Sheplee (23) gets congratulated by teammates.
Eliana Sheplee, Embry-Riddle. Sheplee, a redshirt-freshman from Northern Iowa, is coming off her second SSC player of the week honor to go with a SSC defensive player of the week she earned in mid-December. The 5-foot-10 guard is leading the Sunshine State Conference in scoring with 19.1 points per game. She has recorded four double-doubles and adds 6.9 rebounds per game, tied for the team lead. Defensively, she is averaging 2.2 steals per game and has recorded at least three steals in a game four times this year. Embry-Riddle is ranked No. 18 and climbing, sitting at 11-2 and third in the SSC. The Eagles are looking like a contender in the South Region.
Kilah Dandridge, West Virginia Wesleyan. The Bobcats are 7-3 and right in the MEC hunt, sitting in third in the conference. After a six-point performance back on Dec. 3, Dandridge has been on fire with seven-straight games of 15 or more points with a career-high 30 on Dec. 10, her first game in the starting lineup. A 5-foot-7 guard, Dandridge is highly efficient from the floor, shooting 59.5 percent since becoming an everyday starter. She is third in the MEC in scoring and, along with Emma Witt, powers the second-best scoring offense in the MEC at 86.7 points per game.
Logan Young
Logan Young, Arkansas Tech. The Golden Suns were 7-19 a year ago and currently sit at 10-2 and tied for second place in the GAC. They have the top scoring offense in the conference and Young, a 5-foot-10 forward, is a large reason why. Young is fifth in the GAC in scoring and leads the Golden Suns with 16.4 points per game on a very effective 56.8 percent shooting. She’s been red-hot out of the break, scoring a career-high 31 points on Jan. 3, only to set a new career-high in her very next game, scoring 32 points. That earned her the first GAC offensive player of the week award of her young and promising career.
Jenna Slates, Ashland. The Eagles lost a lot of talent this offseason and got off to a shaky start. However, since the calendar turned to 2026, the Eagles are soaring once again, a perfect 4-0 in the new year. Slates, a 6-foot forward, has been one of the more dominating presences in the G-MAC thus far, and the Eagles will need her to get hot to stay in contention and turn things around. Slates leads the G-MAC in rebounding with 10.9 per game. She also adds 14.5 points per game on an impressive 52.5 percent field-goal shooting. Slates leads all freshmen with eight double-doubles and is proving to be a much-needed addition for the Eagles this year.
Jordyn Smith
Jordyn Smith, Cal Poly Humboldt. The Lumberjacks are another vastly improved team, already eclipsing last year’s win total halfway through January. Smith has been the driving force, second among freshmen in double-doubles with seven. Smith is fifth in the CCAA in scoring (14.6) and leads the conference in rebounding with 10.8 per game. She’s had at least 10 rebounds in seven straight games with three straight double-doubles. The 6-foot-2 center is also fifth in DII with 3.15 blocks per game. The Jacks are 8-0 in the CCAA and have a huge test this week with a home/away weekend against Chico State. We’ll see what Smith can do against the red-hot Wildcats.
Brielle George, Belmont Abbey. The Crusaders were a DII tournament team a year ago and, at 10-4, look to be trending that way again. Their 6-foot forward, who was recently bumped into the starting rotation, can help make that happen. George’s numbers don’t pop off the page, but what she provides is a steady presence that brings a lot to the table. She is averaging 7.0 points and a team-high 7.8 rebounds per game. She became a starter five games ago and double-doubled in her first chance in the lineup. George is a player whose numbers could get better with more time on the court, so she is certainly one to watch.
Kaycee McCumber
Kaycee McCumber, Pittsburg State. The Gorillas love having a talented center down low, and McCumber continues that tradition. Listed at 6-foot-1, McCumber has been a steady presence for the 12-3 Gorillas as they look for a second-straight MIAA regular-season crown. McCumber leads the MIAA with 9.1 rebounds per game and has two double-doubles on the season. She also chips in 7.5 points per game on 44 percent shooting. The Gorillas are a team with the potential to go far, and having a big-time rebounder that clears the glass will help.
Aliyah Hawkins, King (TN). King is merely 7-6, but with two wins in a row, the Tornados have moved to 3-1 in the Northwest Division of Conference Carolinas. As the Tornados heat up, so has Hawkins. Heading into the break, the 5-foot-7 guard had nice numbers, averaging 11.0 points and 2.4 rebounds per game while leading the team in assists. Over the past two wins, she has been on an entirely new level, nearly triple-doubling in both games. Hawkins went for 22 points, 11 rebounds and nine assists in a win over North Greenville and followed that up with a 20/11/8 performance against Southern Wesleyan, registering the first two double-doubles of her promising career.
Kori Sanders
Kori Sanders, Harding. The Bisons made the tournament last year and were “one-and-done,” losing to Pittsburg State in the first round. They reloaded in the offseason, and their 5-foot-5 guard has been an instant leader in their successful 12-2 start. The Bisons have five players scoring in double figures, and Sanders leads them all with 12.4 points per game. She also leads the team in assists (54) and steals (32) while contributing 4.6 rebounds per game. She’s scored 21 and 22 points in her last two games, so she may just be getting started, and we may see what she is truly capable of in the second half of the season.
