After five consecutive trips to the NJCAA Tournament, the Three Rivers College women's basketball team does not rebuild, it reloads.
And the Lady Raiders have done just that this offseason, replacing a large group of sophomores with a deep and talented recruiting class.
“They're winners,” Three Rivers coach Alex Wiggs said. “I think they're atalented group of young ladies and I am super excited about about getting them all here. They've got some pretty big shoes to fill — a lot of wins and a lot of success. Our job and our task this (offseason) was to try to replace those girls and keep us where we're at.”
That recruiting class will join a trio of talented returnees in Courtney Bluitt, Caitlin Lord and Kiera Neal. Bluitt was a true freshman last season who battled injuries much of the season, while Lord and Neal both redshirted after suffering early-season injuries.
“I'm really excited about those three coming back,” Wiggs said. “I think the biggest thing for those three is getting them healthy and keeping them healthy. … I'm really excited about those three and the way that they finished the year this past year — and how they worked and how they're doing this summer.”
But those three returnees will not be the Lady Raiders' only sophomores next season, as the recruiting class includes three talented transfers for a total of six sophomores on the 2025-26 roster.
Da'Naya Ross played last season at Trinity Valley Community College in Texas, while Tristan Spearman spent last season at Southeast Missouri State University in Cape Girardeau and Lynn Rieth spent the last two seasons at Eastern Florida State College, but redshirted last season when her season ended after five games with an injury.
A native of Monroe, Lousiana, Ross played 27 games last season at Trinity Valley and started 13 of those, averaging 6.6 points and 6.8 rebounds for the Cardinals — solid rebounding numbers for a guard. She also had 25 steals on the defensive end. As a high school player at Wossman High School in Monroe, Ross also won three state titles.
“She could really shoot it out of high school,” Wiggs said. She got asked to play a different role at Trinity Valley and really showed her explosiveness and athleticism to get to the rim and being able to do those things.”
Rieth, a redshirt sophomore from Melbourne, Florida by way of Eastern Florida State College, averaged 12 points per game last season for EFSC before an injury ended her season after five games and forced her to redshirt. In those five games, she shot 46.7% behind the 3-point line and also averaged 3.2 rebounds and an even two steals per game.
Rieth also was a teammate of Lord's during the 2023-24 season at EFSC.
“She's a flat-out shooter,” Wiggs said. She can score it. I think she was averaging 12-14 points a game this past season before she got hurt again. She's an older kid, a redshirt sophomore, that brings that leadership and all that to to the team.”
Spearman had a limited role at SEMO last season, playing in 16 games as a reserve, but was the team Most Valuable Player twice at Memphis East High School.
“She's small, but she can flat-out score the ball,” Wiggs said. “She had multiple 40 point games in high school. We're looking for her leadership, that D1 experience.”
Among this year's freshmen are a pair from Duncanville High School in the Dallas Metroplex, Londyn Harper and Laila Coleman.
Harper is a 5-6 combo guard who Wiggs is impressed with.
“She can really guard,” Wiggs said. “She can really shoot it. She's super athletic. She comes from Duncanville High School, which is one of the best high schools in the country.”
Coleman originally committed to Old Dominion University, a Division I school in Virginia, but decided to go the junior college route instead.
“Laila can really shoot the ball,” Wiggs said. “When she walks in the gym, Laila's in range. She's another guard that can play multiple guard spots. … So a kid that that can help spread the floor for us.”
Also joining Three Rivers for next season are two standouts from Little Rock Central High School, Ameriya Gaston and Ky Wilson. Gaston is a 6-1 player who will help inside, while Wilson was a Class 6A all-state tournament selection this past season.
“Ky's a big guard,” Wiggs said. “She can really score the ball at all three levels. She can guard multiple positions. We're really excited about Ky coming in here. … Ameriya is very long and very athletic, rebounds the ball really, really well and runs the floor really well. I'm excited about her on both ends of the floor and what she can bring.”
Two more Arkansans joining the Lady Raiders for next season are Samyah Jordan from Conway and Jordan Blake from England. Conway is north of Little Rock, while England is east of it on Interstate 40.
“(Samyah) is one of the best guards out of out of the state of Arkansas, a 5-7 guard from Conway,” Wiggs said. “Conway's just a state powerhouse and national powerhouse. (Samyah) won a state championship down there (and can) play multiple positions (and is a) proven winner. …
“England is smaller school and smaller town, but Jordan is another kid that can guard multiple positions, can score from (3-point range), can get to the rim and is a bigger guard.”
Also coming on board next season are Ytaly Lewis, another athlete from the Dallas area, and Amelia Corasanti from Perth, Australia. Both are also left-handed.
“(Ytaly is) a 5-9 guard, so she's a little bigger guard and strong,” Wiggs said. “She's left-handed. She can really shoot the ball as well as get to the basket. She's got the the 'old man' game in the sense of you don't think she's got you beat and the next thing you know, she's scoring. …
“Amelia's really skilled and really talented. She has played on a lot of different teams over there. She has played all three guard positions, can really shoot it and can really get to the rim. What I really liked about her was her ability to pass the ball and see the floor.”
Last but not least, Kimora Woods is a 6-1 standout from Rossville Christian Academy in Fayette County, Tennessee, which is east of Memphis.
“She's a lot like Kiera in the sense that she's played multiple positions,” Wiggs said. “She can really shoot it (for a 6-1 kid). She's long and athletic, can get to the rim and can guard multiple positions.”
With such a talent-laden roster, Wiggs is already excited for next season.
“I think the competition in practice day in and day out us going to be really fun to watch,” Wiggs said. “Sitting here looking at these names … the biggest thing I know is that they're winners. They know what it takes to be successful. They've all come from big-time high school programs and from big-time travel ball programs.
“And the fun and interesting part is that they're from all over, but they all know each other from travel ball, from high school ball or from stuff like that. They're all very familiar with each other and I think that they're all super-excited to get here and get to work.”
Mike Buhler - Daily American Republic