Five for Five
Baylor women’s basketball Head Coach Nicki Collen enters her fifth season at the helm of the program. Here are five things that fans can look forward to in her fifth campaign:
Staffed Up: The Bears welcome three new coaches to the staff with the additions of Johnnie Harris, Tez Dumars and Jaelyn Richard Harris. Harris brings extensive experience, most recently as head coach at Auburn. Dumars spent last season as a graduate assistant for longtime former Baylor MBB assistant coach Jerome Tang at Kansas State after assistant coach stops at Louisiana Tech, North Texas and West Texas A&M. Richard Harris is a former LSU WBB student-athlete who recently coached at Omaha and Gulf Coast State College.
Big Year for Littlepage-Buggs: Darianna Littlepage-Buggs is returning from an
All-America junior season with eyes on leading the Bears to a title. She spent the offseason competing among the nation’s best with USA Basketball in the Women’s AmeriCup Team trials in Colorado.Reloaded Roster: Baylor welcomes in five-star shooting guard Marcayla Johnson along with five transfers to add to an electric roster for the 2025-26 campaign. Taliah Scott is a top-five-rated transfer from Auburn, with Ella Brow (SMU), Yuting Deng (Auburn), Kiersten Johnson (Oklahoma) and Kiera Pemberton (North Dakota) rounding out the group of newcomers.
Ours en Paris: The Bears start the season in Paris, France, taking on Duke in the third annual Oui-Play Paris doubleheader on Nov. 3. The squad gains global experience and the opportunity to showcase the program on an international stage. Baylor will face the Blue Devils for just the second time, following a 2010 Elite Eight win for the Bears that secured the program’s second trip to the Final Four.
Baylor will start year five under Collen with the hopes of returning to a Big 12 title and contending for a national title. Collen is the first coach in Baylor WBB history to take her team to the NCAA Tournament in each of her first four seasons with the program. The Bears look to make a deep run in the tournament this season with eyes set on multiple net cuttings on the road to Phoenix and the Final Four.