Correspondent file photo / Robert Hayes. YSU head coach Melissa Jackson addresses the Penguins during their pregame huddle ahead of their Horizon League semifinal matchup against Cleveland State on March 9 at Corteva Coliseum in Indianapolis.

YOUNGSTOWN — The Youngstown State women’s basketball team took a considerable leap forward this past season in head coach Melissa Jackson’s second year leading the program.

During the 2025-26 campaign, the Penguins made program history in multiple ways, while also achieving several significant milestones collectively and individually.

YSU advanced to the WNIT Super 16 and finished the season 25-10, winning 25 games for the second time in program history and the first time since 1997-98. The Penguins also made it to Indianapolis and reached the Horizon League championship for the first time in program history.

The Penguins aren’t satisfied, however, and after tasting that kind of success, are motivated for more as they continue to work to contend for Horizon League championships.

“I think first and foremost, it’s believing you know that you can do it. Then obviously getting there and being in that championship game was a huge experience for us,” Jackson said. “We grew over the course of the year, but that was the first time that those kids played on that type of stage, in that arena, in that environment, with that much on the line. They got a taste of that, and now that they’ve been there, I think they’ll be more comfortable, hopefully, when we get back to that.

“But they know it’s going to take a lot of hard work. They now know what it takes day-in and day-out, how we have to prepare, how we have to be in the offseason, how we have to continue to get stronger in the weight room and how we have to continue to develop.”

Before the season, YSU brought in a pair of transfers to help supplement a young, but talented squad. That group came together during non-conference play in November and December and then hit the ground running once Horizon League play began.

The Penguins battled through a brief rough stretch during the middle of January, dropping back-to-back games. But then started to play their best basketball during the home stretch, winning nine of their last 10 games to end the regular season.

YSU’s success this season led to a contract extension for Jackson, which was announced during the WNIT.

When she was hired in March 2024, Jackson signed a five-year deal through the end of the 2028-29 season that paid her $183,000 per year. The two-year extension pushed her deal through the end of the 2031 season and increased her annual salary to $225,000, according to a public records request.

“Just a lot of gratitude. Grateful for the administration for their belief in me and how we’re building this program, and obviously the success that we had this year, not just on the court, but we’ve had great success in the classroom and great success in the community,” Jackson said of the extension.

“I’m a little bit different. I’m very loyal in this profession. I’m not a job chaser. I’m really big on fit, and I feel like YSU is such a special place. We have some big goals and aspirations to continue to move this program forward, and I know I have a great administration that’s going to back that, too. I told my team that coming to YSU was one of the best decisions of my life, and signing that extension was the easiest one.”

PORTAL SEASON

Since YSU’s season ended on March 27 with a loss to eventual WNIT champion Marshall in the Super 16, the coaching staff has already been working to prepare for next year, particularly roster building.

While the transfer portal officially opened on April 6 and is set to close next week on Monday, Jackson said seven players have committed to returning to YSU, including Hernandez, Dacia Lewandowski, Erica King, Hayden Barrier, Sarah Baker, Danielle Cameron and Brooke Adkins.

“In this landscape, that is unique in itself. I love the returners that we have coming back, the core that we have coming back, so we’re really excited about that,” Jackson said. “They all know how special this place is, how special our locker room is and how much we’re competing for championships.”

YSU also has two high school commits signed to join the program next year in Copley guard Evelyn McKnight and Bellevue forward Kaitlyn Turinsky.

However, after bucking the trend and not having any outgoing transfers last year, the Penguins have seen three players enter the portal during the window this month in sophomore forward Sophia Gregory, junior guard Bella Samz and redshirt freshman forward Ashlynn Van Tassell.

As a starter and the reigning Horizon League Defensive Player of the Year, Gregory is the most significant departure of the group after averaging 10.5 points and 8.7 rebounds per game. She’s taken visits to Davidson and Middle Tennessee State thus far, but has yet to announce her new school.

Samz and Van Tassell both came off the bench and played sparingly this past season. Samz never quite found a foothold in the team’s rotation during her three years in Youngstown, while Van Tassell was coming off a season-long injury in 2024-25. Van Tassell has already announced that she’s committed to Division II school West Liberty (W.Va.).

“I will say, definitely disappointed in Sophia’s decision,” Jackson said. “Then Bella and Ashlynn, I think those decisions are the right decisions for them and was fully supportive of those two.”

YSU has already landed the commitment of one new addition from the transfer portal in Seton Hill transfer Mia Kalich. The 6-foot junior forward and Olmsted Falls native earned All-American honors at the Division II level, averaging 14.0 points and 12.1 rebounds per game last year. She was also Defensive Player of the Year and First-Team All-Conference in the Griffins’ league.

“I think she’ll fit really well with the posts that we have coming back, and I’m excited about what she can bring to the table,” Jackson said. “She really fits our culture with how academic she is and how competitive she is. She wants to challenge herself, and she wants to compete for a championship as well.”

Between the seven returners, two high school signees and one transfer addition, that leaves the Penguins with 10 players. To round out the roster, Jackson said YSU will look for two more additions out of the portal in the coming weeks as it finalizes the roster for next season.

“We’re always going to look to get a little bit older in the portal. I will always use the portal for experience,” Jackson said.

FUTURE OUTLOOK

Once the roster is finalized, the offseason officially begins for the Penguins, as both the players and coaches will get a bit of a break before reconvening in the summer.

The seven returners got back in the weight room last week to participate in some mandatory workouts. Then that group will have some individual development sessions with the coaching staff, before finishing off the spring semester with finals week at the end of April. After that, they’re off.

“I’m excited for them to have a break, and then we’ll all get back together with this new roster,” Jackson said. “June 21 we’ll bring them back for summer, and then we’ll start this thing all over again, and I can’t wait.”