BILLINGS, Mont. – There's always a sense of buzz that surrounds the Montana State University Billings women's basketball team at the beginning of a new season. But that excitement takes a different shape compared to previous seasons for the Yellowjackets; one of opportunity and a bit of mystery.
 
"It's been an enjoyable start," said MSUB head coach Kevin Woodin, who heads into his 22nd season at the helm of the program. "There's been more teaching going on than the last few years, with some many new players."

 
Under Woodin over the past few seasons, the Yellowjackets have enjoyed an impressive run of sustained success. From the 2021-22 season and onward, MSUB has won 95 total games. The team has appeared in four GNAC Championships, and made three trips to the NCAA West Regionals. Last season the Yellowjackets finished with their third season of 25+ wins, appearing in both postseason competitions once more. Key to those teams were last season's group of fourth- and fifth-year seniors; Dyauni Boyce, Kortney Nelson, Aspen Giese, and Chloe Williams. But with that quartet gone, along with their combined 4,486 career points, 2,384 rebounds, 1,204 steals, and 518 career games played. Alongside them departs Chenoa Louie, who made an impact in the rotation for MSUB in her lone season with the program. The 'Jackets are looking to replace both their experience and production as they look to keep their run of successful seasons going.
 
"Only Layla and Kaitlin are really our only two players returning who got a lot of playing time in the second half of the season," said Woodin. "We graduated between 80-90% of our scoring and rebounding, and it's hard to replace a senior class full of multi-year starters. But every so often that's going to happen, and this has been a really fun and refreshing next step."
 
Returning Talent
 
Despite the departures, the cupboard is hardly bare for MSUB. External expectations remain high for the 'Jackets, who were selected to finish fourth in the GNAC Preseason Coaches Poll, and received one first place vote.
 

"I think being picked fourth in the GNAC after the past couple of years we had showed that we've really solidified ourselves in the conference," said MSUB associate head coach Alisha Breen. "Ten years ago when I was playing after a big year, we didn't get that same recognition always. With that comes expectations, but our expectation is to give our best every time we step on the court. The ball's not always going to bounce our way, but we have to do what we do best and show up every day, because the GNAC is competitive from top to bottom."
 
Kaitlin Grossman, the Yellowjacket's lone returning starter from last season, will return for her senior season. Averaging 24.0 minutes a game last season, Grossman averaged 6.6 points per game on offense. Grossman also proved to be a tone setter for the Yellowjackets emphasis on defense and rebounds, with the Billings native averaging 5.5 boards per game, along with 1.1 steals and finishing second on the team in blocks with 26. Alongside her is fellow Billings West alum Layla Baumann, who took a leap forward as a key bench piece for MSUB the previous season, scoring 7.0 points per game while shooting 40.3% overall, and 36.6% from three-point range. The two will look to lead the charge for the 'Jackets this season, with both receiving Preseason All-GNAC selections from the conference.
 
"I think it just motivates me more," said Grossman when asked about the honor. "Obviously it's a big honor, but it just means you have to keep showing up and working hard to be the best you can be for your team."
 
 "I don't think it adds a whole lot of pressure," shared Baumann, a junior guard. "I think it's just a lot of motivation for the two of us to show up for our team and show the GNAC who we are and what we're capable of."
 
Both players received the opportunity to flex their abilities in their expanded roles during the preseason, with Baumann dropping 31 points in a victory over MSU-Northern, while Grossman collected double-doubles in both the 'Jackets games against the Skylights, and it's final preseason victory over Carroll College. In addition to their responsibilities as players, Woodin entrusted both Baumann and Grossman as the program's team captains this season, a testament not only to their skills, but the qualities they show as teammates and leaders.
 
"They just do a great job in everything," Woodin said in praise of the duo. "We want our players to be great academically, we want them to work hard on the court, we want them to be positive leaders and great teammates, and they've been doing that year after year already. They've accepted that role. To be a captain in this program is a lot of responsibility, it's really easy to be caught up in your own game and your own things, but then to also have to worry about 14 other players, and meeting with coaches, making sure all the little things are going well on and off the court. They're both very mature people I have great trust in, and it's because of that trust that they are our captains."

 
Behind Baumann and Grossman, there sits a number of returners hungry for the opportunity to take their place in the rotation for the Yellowjackets this season. After seeing time in 15 games last season, junior Avery Burkhart will continue to provide size, with the 6-1 forward capable of creating mismatches on both ends of the floor. Indie Browning will look to build upon her first season with the program, which saw her play more than any other freshman on the roster. Now a sophomore, the Portland, OR native will look to expand upon that role after playing seven minutes a game last season. Alongside her, fellow rising sophomores Alli Ligocki, Camryn Koester, and Katelyn Hamilton will look to break in after seeing more limited minutes as freshman, gaining valuable experience to prepare for this year. Each have had their opportunities in preseason, alongside a redshirt freshman in Brooklynn Brennan an aggressive guard who finished the preseason with a nine point, five steal effort against Carroll College last Thursday.
 
"We are notorious for having program players, and I think when we recruit that's something we key in on," Breen shared. "We have kids that come in and learn the process from upperclassmen. These two (Grossman and Baumann) learned a lot from the four that we lost last year, and I think they are stepping into the mentor role nicely. It's the same with our sophomores this year; we had a big freshman class last season and those now sophomores are doing the same thing for our freshman this year. Biggest thing is making sure that our upperclassmen is that each grade is doing what we expect from them from top to bottom, whether that be on the court, in the classroom, in the community, the expectation is there."
 
Fresh Faces
 
Joining MSUB's eight returners from last season are an expansive group of newcomers, including two transfers, and six incoming freshmen.
 
"I'm really pleased with our newcomers that we have coming in," Woodin said. "They are very competitive, and we have a lot of depth. It's just a lot of learning, and that's a process we have to go through, and I fully expect that we'll continue to get better as the season goes on."
 

Coming into the program with three seasons of action at Montana Western, NAIA transfer Kyla Momberg will provide the Yellowjackets with an experienced option at guard.  Momberg was a key role player for the Bulldogs, starting 27 of 30 games played as a sophomore and averaging 4.7 points and 3.4 rebounds. In the front court, the Yellowjackets add a premier player from the JUCO realm in Allison Kunze, who spent two seasons at Williston State before joining MSUB. Kunze is coming off a season in which she earned MonDak Conference MVP and NJCAA All-American Third Team honors, averaging 17.8 points and 8.9 rebounds per game while leading NJCAA Division I in shooting percentage with a 65.2% clip.
 
Of the Yellowjacket's freshmen this season, three hail from Montana high schools, and two played their high school ball in the Billings area. A 1,000-point career scorer at Lockwood High School, Tailey Harris joins the program after earning All-Conference honors in each of her four high school seasons, including First Team All-Conference and Second Team All-State nods as a senior. Harris featured in each of MSUB's preseason contests, including a ten-point effort against Montana State Northern, as did Billings Skyview grad Rae Smart. A multi-sport athlete also competing in track & field, Smart earned multiple All-State and All-Eastern AA selections with the Falcons, and was the league's Co-Most Outstanding Offensive Player as a senior. Following a preseason in which she made an impact on both ends of the court, Smart will look to nail down a rotation spot in her first season. Also from Montana is Whitewater, MT local Shelbi LaBrie, a Class C standout who led Saco-Hinsdale-Whitewater to a pair of state titles while earning four years of All-State honors.
 
Coming from outside the Big Sky State, the 'Jackets added more size in the form of Cassie Chesnut, a 6-2 forward from Lake Forest Park, Washington. In four seasons of basketball at Shorecrest High School, Chesnut was a three-time All-League selection, and averaged 22.6 points, 11.5 rebounds, and 2.8 blocks in a senior season that saw her named to the All-Area Starting five and Wesco 3A/2A South Co-MVP. Rounding out the Yellowjacket's newcomers are a pair of high school teammates in Lauren Kuhbacher and Kaylie Neary. Both from Gillette Wyoming and attending Campbell County High School, Kuhbacher earned All-State and All-Conference honors in two seasons, along with the Wyoming 4A Defensive Player of the Year award as a senior. Meanwhile, Neary was named to the Class 4A All-State and All-Conference teams alongside her as a senior, coming off a year where she averaged 11.4 points, 3.4 assists, and 2.4 steals per contest.
 
"I think while our team this year is super young, we have a lot of talent," said Baumann of her teammates "There's lots of people that are stepping into these big roles, and everyday our goal is just to get better at practice. We've seen improvements over the past two weeks, so I know we'll keep getting better and have a good season ahead of us."
 
A full detailed look at the 2025-26 MSUB women's basketball roster is available online here.
 
The Road Ahead
 
After opening the year with the team's annual Alumni Game, MSUB opened the season with three exhibition games. The 'Jackets opened their preseason slate with a loss to Montana Tech, before rebounding with an emphatic 87-62 win over MSU-Northern, and rounded the preseason out with a scrappy 48-45 win against Carroll College.
 
"Those games are great tests for us," Woodin said. "Those against great teams. The level that you play at isn't important, whether it be DII or NAIA. Those are great teams and well coached programs. We use those games to try and get a measure of how we're going to be heading into the regular season. Just being able to be in close games before starting regular season is important experience, but your record doesn't really matter in those games, they're just more opportunities for us to get better and get ready."

 
The Yellowjackets kick off regular season action by playing host to the D2CCA Tipoff Classic at the Trailhead, a 12-team, men's and women's combined tournament taking place from November 7-9 in Alterowitz Gym. MSUB opens the season on Friday against University of Mary at 7:30 PM, with games the following days against Colorado State University-Pueblo and Colorado School of Mines. It kicks off an early season slate that sees the Yellowjackets play in three tournament style events, with the team heading to California for a GNAC/PacWest Crossover where they'll take on Westmont and Vanguard University on November 14-15. Following a one-off road game at Minot State on November 18, MSUB will host the Yellowjacket Classic from November 21-22, where the team will face off against Jamestown and Adams State.
 
"The tipoff tournament has become a great event for us," Woodin said. "It'll be the fourth time that we've had it now. We get great programs from across the nation and region to come in, and provide them with a quality tournament. I think it's important for us to get those kinds of games early in the season. We treat it like a preseason conference tournament or regional, which are goals of ours. To play in three games consecutive games is rare to get to do it at home is special."
 
Following their early slate, the 'Jackets will then play host to their first of two Rimrock Rivalry matchups against Rocky Mountain College, with the Battlin' Bears coming to Alterowitz on November 25. The team will then jump into conference play with home games versus Western Washington and Simon Fraser on December 3 and 5 respectively, before playing their final home game of 2025 on December 13 against Lethbridge Polytechnic. Then following the rematch against Rocky, MSUB will head to Las Vegas, NV for the Holiday Hoops Classic, squaring off against University of Tampa and Daemen University on December 20 and 21.
 
"Nine of our first 12 games in the regular season are at home," noted Woodin about the 'Jackets early season schedule. "We have a very difficult schedule with a lot of games in a short period of time, but with a lot of them at home I think it gives us an opportunity to get some momentum and figure out our rotation. We have a lot of depth this year, but there are still so many unknowns, and that kind of competition is what's going to make us better in the long run."
 
Following the turn of the year, MSUB will march full steam ahead with 16 consecutive GNAC games, with the team playing it's final home game of the year on February 21 against Alaska Fairbanks, and rounding out conference play with a rematch against Western Washington on February 28. From there, the Yellowjackets will stay in Bellingham if they qualify for the GNAC Championships, which will be hosted by the Vikings from March 5-7.
 
"Our conference is so spread out that a lot of people, especially for our Montana kids, you don't know all the ins and outs of it," Breen noted. "But we told our girls to tune in and watch these GNAC teams play early. Our goal is to be the best we can every day, but at the end of the day we want to make the postseason, and the postseason for us the last few years has been making the regional tournament where we've won some games. We have big goals and a young crew, but giving them the understanding that the season is a grind, and that every game matters is important. Every time you step on the court you have to be at your best, and we might not come out on top every single time, but you have to show up every game and play your best."
 
A full list of the Yellowjacket's 2025-26 schedule with details is available online here.
 
How To Follow MSUB Women's Basketball
 
All Yellowjacket home games will be streamed exclusively on the GNAC Network. Subscription options to watch the 'Jackets can be viewed and purchased online here. Live statistics for all MSUB home games can be found online here. Meanwhile, both season and single-game ticket options for all MSUB home games can be purchased online here. Admission to games remains free for all MSUB students and staff, along with children 8^th grade and under.
 
To stay in touch with everything MSUB women's basketball, make sure to follow the Yellowjackets on Instagram, Facebook, and X.