Given the current state of college basketball, conferences like the Mid-American Conference (MAC) experience a constant turnover of new players every season, with student-athletes looking to make the jump to a Power 4 conference or seeking to take a step down to find more playing time.
Every year, every team has new players looking to define their role with a new team, and this season is no different.
Here is a list of players from each MAC school who will look to have an immediate impact on their teams this season:
Ball State Cardinals – Bree Salenbien (senior forward)
Salenbien lands with the Cardinals after three seasons in Gonzaga. Although never being a starter, she was a consistent player off the bench. During her final year with Gonzaga, Salenbien appeared in 21 games, making two starts.
One of the biggest advantages for the 6-foot-2 forward is that she is a consistent threat from beyond the arc. Shooting 32.8% from 3-point range can help the Cardinals improve their Mid-American Conference (MAC) ranking of ninth in three-point percentage last season.
Joining a Cardinals roster with a lot of new faces, Salenbien has a chance to start and use her extensive three-point ability to help the Cardinals’ offense.
Buffalo Bulls – Gabby McDuffie (graduate guard)
The 5–foot–8 guard returns to her hometown of Buffalo after a season with Division II Edinboro, where she averaged 10.3 points and 6.3 rebounds.
Last season, McDuffie started 26 of the 32 total games and was third on the team in 3-pointers made with 34, landing her 25th in the Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) for three-point field goals per game.
Joining last season’s first-place offense in the MAC, the Bulls add an explosive guard who can add another layer to an already potent offensive system.
Toledo Rockets – Patricia Anumgba (graduate guard)
Anumgba lands in Toledo after being a full-time starter with Towson in the 2023-24 season, but misses the entire 2024-25 season after undergoing shoulder surgery.
During the 2023-24 campaign, Agumgba was voted to the Coastal Athletic Association Conference (CAA) Second Team, averaging 14.4 points in 34.4 minutes per game. Before last season was cut short, she was voted a preseason unanimous First Team All-CAA selection.
The Rockets add a veteran to a younger team, as there are no seniors and five juniors on the roster for this season.
Kent State Golden Flashes – Elmory Klatt (sophomore forward)
Klatt comes off a freshman campaign with the DePaul Blue Devils, where she saw sporadic playing time. Playing in 14 games off the bench and only getting 112 minutes of playing time last season, the forward has plenty of upside to showcase this season.
The biggest strength for Klatt is that she is a strong rebounder, as during last season, with only playing 14 games, she was able to grab 30 rebounds, with 17 of them being offensive. A high-level rebounder like that is a skill set that any team would like to have.
Last season, Kent State was one of the top rebounding teams in the MAC and has just added a high-motor rebounder for the upcoming season.
Miami (OH) RedHawks – Amber Scalia (senior guard)
The RedHawks are adding a guard who started 29 of 30 games last season with St Thomas and was second on the team in minutes played with 900.
Scalia was also second on the team in points per game at 14.8, but first in 3-point attempts and free-throw attempts. The score-first guard looks for any opportunity to make the defense pay.
Miami had a middle-of-the-pack MAC offense last season, but Scalia looks to add a potent punch to a new look offense this season.
Bowling Green Falcons – Joniyah Bland-Fitzpatrick (junior forward)
The junior lands with the Falcons after two seasons with the Seton Hall Pirates. Playing in 37 matches over her freshman and sophomore seasons, the Falcons added a player with a high motor to the roster.
In Bland-Fitzpatrick’s sophomore season, she totaled 40 rebounds in 22 games played off the bench, with 19 of those being offensive rebounds. Although she only got 12.2 minutes off the bench, she made the most of them.
Standing at 5-foot-10 forward has the height to fight on the offensive end and a soft touch at the rim to finish in the paint, shooting 49.2% last season.
Central Michigan Chippewas – Zareia Chevre (fifth-year forward)
Chevre spent the last two seasons with the Governor State Jaguars, where she became only the sixth 1,000-point scorer in program history. She now brings that scoring prowess to Central Michigan.
Averaging 18.8 points per game last season, the 5-foot-10 forward had shooting splits of 56/41/77 last season. Able to punish a defense from anywhere on the court, Chevre set a GSU single-game scoring record at 44 points.
An experienced scoring prospect that can pour it on in bunches, Central Michigan has added someone whom they can go to when they need a basket.
Western Michigan Broncos – Kailey Starks (sophomore forward)
Starks was on the Horizon League All-Freshman team last season with Detroit Mercy, after a season appearing in 30 games and starting five.
A constant presence for the Titans, Starks averaged 20 minutes a game and turned that into 5.2 points and 3.2 assists. Adding 28 steals, the freshman was fourth on the team in steals coming off the bench.
This season, Starks has plenty of room to grow with the Broncos on both the offensive and defensive end of the court.
Northern Illinois Huskies – Nadechka Laccen (graduate guard)
Laccen spent the last three seasons with St. Bonaventure and was averaging 6.7 points and 3.0 rebounds per game before going down with an injury. In her last full season, 2023-24, Laccen averaged 9.4 points and 4.3 rebounds.
It’s not just the offense Laccent can contribute to, but in every full season that she has played, she has recorded more than 30 steals. Clogging up the lanes to get teams into fast break opportunities is something the NIU will be looking to use this season.
NIU adds a veteran from the A-10 conference who can help to right the ship and keep the offense flowing the way they want.
Akron Zips – Natalie Johnson (senior guard)
After one season with Saint Francis University, the 5–foot – 8 guard looks to help bring the Zips back into the MAC tournament.
Coming off the bench for St. Francis, Johnson put up 10 points in 20.3 minutes of play in 29 games. Those 10 points led the team last season, but she also tallied 27 steals, which put her second on the team.
The leading score lands with Akron, with plenty of experience on a roster that just added four freshmen. Johnson has a great opportunity to lead the team and help the young Zips out.
Ohio Bobcats – Elli Garnett (graduate forward)
Landing at her fourth school in four years, Garnett brings a level of experience that every team can use. Standing at 6-feet tall, the forward spent all last season with Nicholes as a starter.
Averaging 8.3 points and 6.2 rebounds per game, the forward makes a living in the paint but has no problem stepping behind the arc to score. Last season, Garnett shot 23.4% from 3-point range on 3.4 attempts per game.
Adding a player who can stretch the court when needed is a way to add a new wrinkle to an offense, especially with a Bobcat offense that ranked 11th last season.
Eastern Michigan Eagles – Ainhoa Cea (senior guard)
Starting every game over the last three seasons for Lipscomb, 92 total, the Eagles are getting a veteran playmaker who can control the pace of the game.
Each season with Lipscomb, Cea’s points, assists, rebounds, and steals have gotten better. Although Cea does not shoot the three a lot, just like other stats, she has increased the attempts every year.
Adding someone who averaged 7.9 points, 4.7 rebounds and 4.6 assists per game, the guard helps bring a little of everything to the EMU roster.
Massachusetts Minutemen – Ayanna Franks (sophomore guard)
The sophomore came off the bench for Rhode Island in every game last season, 34 in total and averaged 3.1 points a game.
Although she only averaged 3.1 points, Franks made her presence felt on the defensive end, tallying 19 steals and 17 blocks. Adept at reading the offense and jumping the lanes or sliding over late to get the weak side block, Franks adds a new strength to the defense.
Franks is someone that UMass can build their defensive identity around and will look to continue to round out her offensive prowess.
