There are a lot of new faces for WVU Women’s Basketball following the best season in the Mark Kellogg era. Kellogg only returns two players from a 28-7 team that won the Big 12 Tournament title and the program’s first home NCAA Tournament victory since 1992. This is a near-complete roster rebuild as Kellogg enters his fourth season at West Virginia, and his first without Jordan Harrison. Expectations are high, but that has never been a problem for this program. Read more: WVU Women’s Basketball and Kellogg reload again ahead of 2026-27.
Rebuilding in 18 days
With only Gia Cooke and Madison Parrish returning, Kellogg’s staff reconstructed almost the entire roster through the transfer portal, signing 10 players in an 18-day window. They did not chase the big names; they focused on players who had proven that they can play and produce.
“Production is the term we use over potential,” Kellogg said when he sat down with WV Sports Nation. “Potential scares the heck out of me as a coach because it means you haven’t done it yet.”
The team has six seniors, all with proven track records. Cooke is the lone returner, with Khyala Ngodu, Skylar Forbes, Zahirah Walton, Kennedy Harris, and Marya Hudgins.
Related: Coach Kellogg on WVU Women’s Basketball’s rebuilt roster and 2026-27 outlook
Forbes spent the past three seasons at Marquette, where she started 58 of 91 games. Over the last two seasons, she averaged 15.8 and 15.5 points per game, with 1.8 blocks per game in each of those seasons. She adds a dimension that this team has not seen in recent years. At 6-foot-3, she can space the floor and give WVU a stretch-four that can guard multiple positions.
Zahirah “ZaZa” Walton and Kennedy Harris transferred from George Mason. Walton averaged 18.1 points, and Harris averaged 14.1, as they led the team in scoring. Both are tenacious defenders. Harris had 71 steals last season and 2.2 per game. Walton added 1.8 per game. They should help on both sides of the ball, but especially on defense, where the Mountaineers love to pressure the ball.
All the girls focused on one thing during the recruiting process. Kellogg and his staff took the time to break down their individual games and build a plan for each specific player. It shows that he loves the game and cares about the growth and development of each and every player.
A roster built for length
Khyala Ngodu is the most interesting transfer that came to West Virginia. She played in the Big 12 the last three seasons with UCF. She torched the Mountaineers with 21 points and nine rebounds on 58.2% shooting in February of last season. Kellogg brought that game up during her recruiting visit.
“He let me know that their game plan against me was one of not letting me get to my left shoulder, which is something I like to go to a lot,” Ngodu said.
He also pointed out her defensive tools and the ability to take her game to another level defensively.
“Even the zone defense, just little details in there that I didn’t really notice going up against them,” Ngodu said. “Now that I’m here and I see the thought behind it and the intensity that Coach Kellogg reiterates to us every day, I see why we felt so flustered on my team last year.”
Ngodu is not the only player with size and length. This group looks unlike anything Kellogg was built in Morgantown.
“Length and athleticism – those are things you can’t teach,” Kellogg said. “We just felt like now we finally found some production with length.”
Hawa Doumboya transferred from VCU and West Virginia, becoming her fourth school in as many years. She is six-foot-seven and offers something the Mountaineers have not had in recent seasons. Teams will have trouble dealing with her length in the post, which adds another layer to this defense.
The next step
Gia Cooke started 34 of 35 games last season and was the leading scorer for the Mountaineers. She scored 15 points per game, while adding two rebounds, 1.5 assists, and one steal per game. Kellogg is going to ask her to do more this season, especially with the ball in her hands.
Related: WVU is changing the definition of snakebitten
Harrison dominated the ball and controlled this offense when she was on the court last season; Cooke has to elevate and take the next step in her game. She will not be the main ball handler, but she will be expected to handle it more this season.
Despite the roster turnover, Kellogg does not expect the team’s identity to change.
“No matter what, we’re not going to change what we look like,” Kellogg said. “When you watch us play, it’s going to look like West Virginia women’s basketball.”
Kellogg and his experienced staff have built this roster from the ground up and have high expectations after the program’s best season. It would not surprise anyone if they exceeded expectations again.
Stay up to date with WV Sports Nation for more WVU Athletics coverage by downloading the WV Sports Nation app.
