Central Michigan aims to rebound with new faces and new energy
The anticipation has reached its peak for Central Michigan women’s basketball, with the season’s opening tip-off at McGuirk Arena quickly approaching.
Head coach Kristin Haynie has entered her fourth year as head coach and the team has reached higher win totals in each passing season under her guidance.
CMU finished the 2025 season 18-12 overall and fourth in the Mid-American Conference with a 12-6 record against conference opponents. However, the Chippewas were eliminated in the first round of the postseason tournament, losing to Ohio 89-88.
Haynie refuses to let the frustration from this outcome linger, expressing optimism for the season ahead.
“We’re excited about the team this year,” Haynie said. “Just overall, we’re happy that we finally have a game coming up.”
Central Michigan will see a variety of new faces take the court in 2026, with new faces already making an impact following the loss of numerous starters.
Madi Morson and Ayanna Sarai-Darrington, who led the team in points per game in 2025, transferred to Arizona State during the offseason. Morson was the Chippewas’ first MAC Player of the Year since 2020.
Additionally, the team will be without Taylor Anderson and Demetria Prewitt, both graduating after seeing significant time on the court last season.
Despite CMU losing these experienced names, Haynie expects returning players such as Lilah Turnbull, Riley Smith, Jayda Mosley and Taylor Johnson to take over as leaders for the program.
“They’ve stepped up in different roles,” Haynie said. “It really helps integrate the new players when they have leadership, bringing the new players in and the team chemistry is good. That can go a long way when we’re integrated and we’re together.”
Central Michigan welcomes six new players in 2026, with four joining
Among those are twin sisters Summer Davis and Indya Davis, both guards who have come to CMU after a stint at Georgetown.
“Having the opportunity to play for our home state is an honor … it just felt right,” Indya said.
The Davis twins hail from Detroit, winning the Division I State Championship twice as members of West Bloomfield High School’s roster.
“You don’t see twins playing together a lot, it’s rare,” Summer said. “I’m very fortunate to be in a position to be able to do that.”
Haynie said she has known Summer and Indya since her time as an assistant coach at Michigan State.
“When twins are playing together, you automatically have good chemistry,” Haynie said. “We were excited to have them come because they have a really high ceiling.”
Neveah Williams also joins the Chippewas, transferring from Davenport University. Williams started 23 games at Davenport in 2025, leading the team with an average of 13 points per game.
“She’s an animal on defense, that’s what we really liked about her,” Haynie said of Williams. “She can go defend, and then she can score multiple ways. She’s really worked on her three-point shot … and she has a really good midrange game.”
“We’re looking forward to just seeing her develop from last year to this year.”
Two freshmen, Audrey Parker and Jawelle Daquin, will don the maroon and gold as well. Daquin is an international player with roots in Marseille, France.
“We thought maybe the language barrier would be a little difficult, but it’s not,” Haynie said. “She’s just a sponge. Her ceiling’s high, she has a midrange, she can shoot for three, and so when we can get that to be consistent then she’s going to be a really great player for us.”
With all the pieces of the puzzle assembled, Haynie has already seen a strong work ethic from her team.
“The carryover from the film room to practice has been awesome, and to me that means they’re bought in and they’re trusting the process,” Haynie said. “I think we have a special team where we have multiple players that can step up and score double figures, whereas last year we kind of had two scorers.”
CMU has also focused on paying attention to detail, believing that decisions from daily life can impact game-day preparation.
“We have 13 awesome human beings on our team right now,” Haynie said. “We say, ‘How you do one thing is how you do everything.’ … If we’re great off the court, we’re going to be great on the court, and so we’re continuing to win a little bit every day.”
The Chippewas have emphasized a playstyle built on strong defense with
“The defensive rebounding needs to always be there, that just what I like,” Haynie said. “At this point in the season the best thing we’ve had so far is just communicating to each other on both ends of the floor, that’s really encouraging to get to see.”
CMU’s athletes have already begun to see this play out on the court.
“Defensive rebounding, that’s going to be our identity,” Indya Davis said. “To win games, we need to play defense. The offense will come eventually but rebounding and defending will be one of our strengths.”
With a reworked roster in place, Central Michigan must begin to prepare for a difficult non-conference schedule.
In the 2026 season, the Chippewas will face five programs in the Power Four. Three have been ranked in the NCAA Top 25 coming into the season.
CMU will visit Ohio State for its first game on the road, along with trips to Minnesota and Purdue later in the non-conference slate.
Additionally, the University of Michigan will pay a visit to McGuirk Arena Nov. 16 for the Wolverines’ first visit to Mount Pleasant since the 2021 season.
Haynie sees this slate of difficult opponents as a chance for the team to grow.
“We were able to beat Purdue on our own floor last year,” Haynie said, referring to CMU’s 57-55 victory over the Boilermakers last December. “That’s why we play the game. Anything can happen, and we’re looking forward to the challenge.”
The Chippewas’ MAC schedule opens Jan. 2 on the road against Ball State, the projected No. 1 team in the conference according to the MAC Preseason Coaches Poll.
Haynie believes Central Michigan will be well-equipped for continued success following the non-conference schedule.
“If anything, it helps us get ready for the MAC,” Haynie said. “If we can defend and score on players that are pretty good defenders, top in the nation and top teams in the nation, then we know we can score on anybody.”
Central Michigan opens its season at home Monday, Nov. 2 at 11 a.m. against Old Dominion for the first matchup of the MAC/Sun Belt Conference Challenge in 2026.
However, the team already has its eyes set on a bigger picture.
“We were picked ninth in the preseason, and those are just rankings,” Haynie said. “It’s hard to rank teams … when there’s new players coming in and you don’t know how they’re going to play together. You might have the most talented team, but do they gel when they play together? You really don’t know until they do work.”
CMU’s players have already set their expectations high for the season ahead.
“We’re doing a lot of the little things … I think we’re going to be able to win a lot of games this season,” Indya Davis said.
Her sister Summer shared a similar vision.
“I think we can win a MAC Tournament championship.”
