- Joined
- May 8, 2002
- Posts
- 1,268,989
- Reaction score
- 59
For the 12th time in 14 years, Ball State women's basketball head coach Brady Sallee will lead the Cardinals to Cleveland, Ohio, for the Mid-American Conference Tournament.
For the first time in his career, he will do so as a reigning MAC champion.
After clinching a share of the MAC regular-season title, Ball State will head to Cleveland as the No. 2 seed in the conference tournament, where it will play No. 7 seed Bowling Green in the first round on Wednesday, March 11. Ball State finished the regular season with a record of 25-6 and 16-2 in conference play, marking the Cardinals' fourth straight season with 25 or more wins and tying a program record with 16 conference wins for the third year in a row.
Despite their status as the reigning MAC champs, only four current Ball State players were members of the team last year. Although the roster and rotations are completely different, the target on their back remains the same.
"We've talked about it all year," Sallee said, "mainly because this group is so new, they just kind of inherited that part of it where everybody was coming at them and it was a big game. I think initially, they were a bit wide-eyed to it, but there's been a lot of success in our jersey through the years. Any chance that a team would have to play against us and beat us becomes a big game, so I think they quickly learned what they were up against night in and night out in terms of how the other teams were looking at them and wanted a piece of it."
Perhaps the biggest difference in last year's team and this year's team was expectations. Last year's squad was loaded with senior talent — including the "Core Four" — that had great experience but had yet to get over the hump in Cleveland. The Cardinals were picked as the preseason favorites to win the conference by the MAC's head coaches, and they did exactly that, sweeping the regular season and tournament titles for the first time in program history.
This year was largely anticipated as a rebuilding year for Sallee and the Cardinals, given the fact that they had to replace 10 of their 14 players from last year's conference champions. Ball State brought in two transfer players, six international players and one in-state freshman to reload, and the Cardinals were picked to finish fourth in the conference.
And yet, Ball State spent practice on Monday celebrating its third MAC title in two years after splitting the regular-season title with Miami (Ohio).
More: International talent makes instant impact on Ball State women's basketball
More: MAC basketball tournament 2026 schedules, results
"To say I'm proud of them would be an understatement," Sallee said. "Last year's success and this year's success, even though it's like the same on paper, it's so different. There were so many pressures with last year's success because it was their last go-round, and we knew we had the team to do it and kind of had that 'we've got to do it' mentality. This year's group, I don't know that unexpected is the right word, but really, you step back and it makes no sense.
"To take nine new kids and four returners with not a whole lot of playing time, and they just clicked from the get-go. The one thing both groups have is they're really talented, so when you can have talent out there, you can accomplish a lot of things, especially when they play selfless, and this group has definitely done that."
One of those returners looking to celebrate a second-straight MAC title is senior forward Tessa Towers. Last year, she was on the end of the Cardinals' bench and played just two minutes total in the conference tournament. Her evolution into the Cardinals' top scorer this season has been a sight to behold, and she now finds herself in a leadership position heading into this year's postseason. Towers' experience last year taught her the importance of everyone accepting their role no matter how big or small it may be.
"I think the biggest thing is kind of being a team player," Towers said. "In order for us to win, we all need to be bought in and bringing our whole team in. It actually matters that our whole team is bought in, playing or not, we all need to be bought into the process and all of that in order to win."
Towers and sophomore guard Grace Kingery are the only returners primed for a major impact in Cleveland. The rest of Ball State's minutes are likely to go to players who will be getting their first MAC Tournament experience. The group lacks college basketball experience in general, but they do not lack winning experience. The regular season has polished them up and prepared them for the big stage. Now, it's simply time to finish.
"It's the third part of the season almost," graduate senior Bree Salenbien said. "You have non-conference, then you have conference, and then you've got your conference tournament. We have a lot of young players, but this is kind of like the start of their sophomore year, you could say. They've been through a whole season now. They're all coming from professional experience, they all play for their national teams and all of that."
As the Cardinals look to repeat as MAC champs, the biggest difference between last year and this year working in their favor may be the depth of this year's squad. Last year's team was largely reliant on its starting five, but this year's team goes 11-deep with legitimate contributors.
"I think one of the things that is cool about this team is we've got such great depth," Sallee said. "I wouldn't be surprised to see any of them. Alba (Caballero)'s been playing really well, Karsyn (Norman) has been leading us all year. We've just got a bunch of them, and we trust all of them and any of them, so we're looking forward to seeing what it looks like when it gets up there."
The first game of the MAC Women's Tournament tips off at 11 a.m. ET on Wednesday, March 11, at Rocket Arena in Cleveland. Ball State's matchup with Bowling Green will be the third of four quarterfinal games played Wednesday and will begin at approximately 3:30 p.m. ET, though the tipoff time ultimately depends on how long the first two games take.
Contact Cade Hampton via email at [email protected] or on X, formerly known as Twitter, @CadeHamp10.
This article originally appeared on Muncie Star Press: Ball State women's basketball 2026 MAC Tournament preview
Continue reading...
For the first time in his career, he will do so as a reigning MAC champion.
After clinching a share of the MAC regular-season title, Ball State will head to Cleveland as the No. 2 seed in the conference tournament, where it will play No. 7 seed Bowling Green in the first round on Wednesday, March 11. Ball State finished the regular season with a record of 25-6 and 16-2 in conference play, marking the Cardinals' fourth straight season with 25 or more wins and tying a program record with 16 conference wins for the third year in a row.
Despite their status as the reigning MAC champs, only four current Ball State players were members of the team last year. Although the roster and rotations are completely different, the target on their back remains the same.
"We've talked about it all year," Sallee said, "mainly because this group is so new, they just kind of inherited that part of it where everybody was coming at them and it was a big game. I think initially, they were a bit wide-eyed to it, but there's been a lot of success in our jersey through the years. Any chance that a team would have to play against us and beat us becomes a big game, so I think they quickly learned what they were up against night in and night out in terms of how the other teams were looking at them and wanted a piece of it."
Perhaps the biggest difference in last year's team and this year's team was expectations. Last year's squad was loaded with senior talent — including the "Core Four" — that had great experience but had yet to get over the hump in Cleveland. The Cardinals were picked as the preseason favorites to win the conference by the MAC's head coaches, and they did exactly that, sweeping the regular season and tournament titles for the first time in program history.
This year was largely anticipated as a rebuilding year for Sallee and the Cardinals, given the fact that they had to replace 10 of their 14 players from last year's conference champions. Ball State brought in two transfer players, six international players and one in-state freshman to reload, and the Cardinals were picked to finish fourth in the conference.
And yet, Ball State spent practice on Monday celebrating its third MAC title in two years after splitting the regular-season title with Miami (Ohio).
More: International talent makes instant impact on Ball State women's basketball
More: MAC basketball tournament 2026 schedules, results
"To say I'm proud of them would be an understatement," Sallee said. "Last year's success and this year's success, even though it's like the same on paper, it's so different. There were so many pressures with last year's success because it was their last go-round, and we knew we had the team to do it and kind of had that 'we've got to do it' mentality. This year's group, I don't know that unexpected is the right word, but really, you step back and it makes no sense.
"To take nine new kids and four returners with not a whole lot of playing time, and they just clicked from the get-go. The one thing both groups have is they're really talented, so when you can have talent out there, you can accomplish a lot of things, especially when they play selfless, and this group has definitely done that."
One of those returners looking to celebrate a second-straight MAC title is senior forward Tessa Towers. Last year, she was on the end of the Cardinals' bench and played just two minutes total in the conference tournament. Her evolution into the Cardinals' top scorer this season has been a sight to behold, and she now finds herself in a leadership position heading into this year's postseason. Towers' experience last year taught her the importance of everyone accepting their role no matter how big or small it may be.
"I think the biggest thing is kind of being a team player," Towers said. "In order for us to win, we all need to be bought in and bringing our whole team in. It actually matters that our whole team is bought in, playing or not, we all need to be bought into the process and all of that in order to win."
Towers and sophomore guard Grace Kingery are the only returners primed for a major impact in Cleveland. The rest of Ball State's minutes are likely to go to players who will be getting their first MAC Tournament experience. The group lacks college basketball experience in general, but they do not lack winning experience. The regular season has polished them up and prepared them for the big stage. Now, it's simply time to finish.
"It's the third part of the season almost," graduate senior Bree Salenbien said. "You have non-conference, then you have conference, and then you've got your conference tournament. We have a lot of young players, but this is kind of like the start of their sophomore year, you could say. They've been through a whole season now. They're all coming from professional experience, they all play for their national teams and all of that."
As the Cardinals look to repeat as MAC champs, the biggest difference between last year and this year working in their favor may be the depth of this year's squad. Last year's team was largely reliant on its starting five, but this year's team goes 11-deep with legitimate contributors.
"I think one of the things that is cool about this team is we've got such great depth," Sallee said. "I wouldn't be surprised to see any of them. Alba (Caballero)'s been playing really well, Karsyn (Norman) has been leading us all year. We've just got a bunch of them, and we trust all of them and any of them, so we're looking forward to seeing what it looks like when it gets up there."
The first game of the MAC Women's Tournament tips off at 11 a.m. ET on Wednesday, March 11, at Rocket Arena in Cleveland. Ball State's matchup with Bowling Green will be the third of four quarterfinal games played Wednesday and will begin at approximately 3:30 p.m. ET, though the tipoff time ultimately depends on how long the first two games take.
You must be registered for see images attach
Contact Cade Hampton via email at [email protected] or on X, formerly known as Twitter, @CadeHamp10.
This article originally appeared on Muncie Star Press: Ball State women's basketball 2026 MAC Tournament preview
Continue reading...
