Kent State University
Troy
11/1/2026 3:45:00 PM | Women's Basketball
The Kent State women's basketball program will take the court for the first time under the leadership of first-year head coach Fran Recchia on Monday, as Troy visits the M.A.C. Center for a MAC-Sun Belt Challenge contest to open the 2026-27 season. Tip is scheduled for 7 p.m. and the first 250 fans will receive a free clear Kent State-branded fanny pack.
Recchia, who was the Golden Flashes' top assistant coach for the past decade, was able to retain the majority of the personnel from last season. Assistant coaches Mary Dunn, Alexa Golden and Paige Salisbury remain on staff, and former director of basketball operations Alison Seberger returns as an assistant coach after gaining valuable experience coaching at three other schools over the past seven seasons. Additionally, the roster includes seven student-athletes who have combined to play in 333 games in a Kent State uniform.
Redshirt junior Janae Tyler is the most decorated of the returners having earned All-MAC honorable mention accolades in 2025. Tyler enters the year with career averages of 10.5 points and 4.4 rebounds per contest and has converted 54 percent of her shots as a Flash. Senior Riley Rismiller and junior Emory Klatt join her to provide Kent State with one of the top interior trios in the Mid-American Conference. Rismiller averaged 8.2 points and a team-high 5.9 rebounds per game last season, while Klatt was named MAC Sixth Player of the Year with 6.3 points per contest on 59.7 percent shooting and 4.5 boards per game.
Fifth-year Corynne Hauser provides a veteran presence in the backcourt and boasts career averages of 9.1 points and 3.0 assists per game. Sophomore Anna Campanelli (4.7 ppg) averaged 6.2 points per game and shot better than 40 percent from three-point range after moving into the starting lineup for the final 11 last season. Junior Journey Hildebrand (5.2 ppg) and sophomore Caitlyn Holmes (3.6 ppg) were also part of the perimeter rotation a year ago.
Two of the Flashes' six newcomers have previous NCAA Division I experience. Junior Talia Harris made 25 starts and averaged 5.8 points per contest over two seasons at Mercer, while sophomore Da'Nia McClain averaged 2.2 points per game last season at Robert Morris.
Scouting Troy
The Trojans enter the season at No. 18 in the Mid-Major Top 25 and were picked second in the Sun Belt preseason poll. Troy tied its program record with 25 wins last season and has led the nation in rebounds per game each of the past nine seasons.
Guards Shakirah Edwards and Saniya Jackson and forward Detavia Salter are the lone returners and accounted for just 11.8 percent of the Trojans' scoring production a season ago. Guard Aniya Hubbard was voted to the Preseason All-Sun Belt Second Team. Hubbard last appeared in a game on March 9, 2024 and averaged 15.5 points and 5.4 rebounds per game over two seasons at Florida Atlantic. She earned C-USA Freshman of the Year, all-conference second team and all-defensive honors as a freshman in 2023. Forward Aniya Finger also brings Division I experience, appearing in 63 games over the past five years at NC Central. Finger earned HBCU All-America Second Team honors last season and posted averages of 11.8 points and 6.1 rebounds per contest.
KSU in Season Openers
• Kent State is 25-26 all-time in season openers after setbacks to Sun Belt champion James Madison each of the past two years.
• The Golden Flashes have gone 5-5 in openers over the past 10 seasons while first-year head coach Fran Recchia has been on the staff.
• Only three of the last 10 openers have been played at the M.A.C. Center, beginning with a 77-52 victory over Bradley in 2016 and followed by losses to Florida State (71-80) in 2022 and James Madison (56-67) in 2024.
KSU in MAC-Sun Belt Challenge Games
• Kent State is 3-3 all-time in MAC-Sun Belt Challenge play, which began during the 2023-24 campaign.
• The Golden Flashes are 1-2 in challenge games played at the M.A.C. Center, beating App State, 68-63, in February for the lone win at home.
Series History
• The teams have split the two previous matchups, which both occurred over the past decade.
• Kent State went down to Troy and posted an 84-73 victory in a MAC-Sun Belt Challenge contest in the most recent meeting on Feb. 8, 2025. Janae Tyler scored a career-high 26 points in the victory.
• Troy won the first meeting between the programs, 71-64, in a matchup on a neutral floor as part of the Las Vegas Holiday Hoops Classic on Dec. 20, 2019. Kent State led for more than 33 minutes and was outscored 9-0 over the final 50.4 seconds.
Broadcast Info
Matt Kiraly and Jacki Windon will call the action on ESPN+, while Cam Manna will be on the call on the Kent State Radio Network.
Next Up for Kent State
The Golden Flashes will be back in action at Northern Kentucky on Saturday, Nov. 7.
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