Michigan Women’s Basketball 2024-25 Season Preview 

Michigan women’s basketball heads into this season coming off an overtime loss to Kansas in the NCAA tournament in March. The Wolverines finished 20-14 on the year. Head coach Kim Barnes Arico has coached Michigan to at least 20 wins in every full season since she arrived in 2012.

The maize and blue open the regular season with a non-conference matchup against South Carolina on national television (TNT) on November 4. With the first tilt just around the corner, how does Michigan look?

All-Time Freshman Class

Barnes Arico helped Michigan bring in the most decorated class of freshman recruits in program history. Two McDonald’s All-American guards lead the way in Olivia Olson (New Hope, Minn.) and Syla Swords (Sudbury, Ont., Canada). Swords is coming off an appearance at the 2024 Olympics wherein she was Team Canada’s youngest player. 

Guard Mila Holloway (Charlotte, N.C.) was a top 150 recruit and nominee for the McDonald’s All-America game. Both her mother and grandfather are Michigan alums. 

Barnes Arico said in a press conference last week that Michigan could have one of the youngest starting lineups in the country this season. 

Returning Players 

The new NIL rules took its toll on Michigan in the offseason. Just four players were remaining on the Wolverine roster when the dust settled, and Barnes Arico said they were dubbed, “The Quad Squad”. The four players left were senior guards Jordan Hobbs and Greta Kampschroeder, junior forward Alyssa Crockett and sophomore guard Macy Brown. 

Hobbs started every game last season and averaged nearly ten points per game. Kampschroeder, Crockett and Brown all saw their action off the bench. 

Transfer Players 

Two Michigan natives joined the Wolverines in the portal over the offseason in graduate forward Ally VanTimmeren (Allendale, MI – Boston College) and junior guard Brooke Daniels (Macomb, MI – Oakland). 

“She just brings us a (high) level of energy and fire and intensity,” Barnes Arico said of Daniels last week. “Just a defensive specialist (that) has a really high motor, great rebounder, and just been a wonderful addition.”

The Wolverines also welcomed junior center Yulia Grabovskaia from Russia by way of Middle Tennessee. 

Final Notes

Although Michigan will have a young team this season, Barnes Arico will likely be able to make the most of the talent at her disposal. Aside from being young, the Wolverines should have a versatile team with multiple players able to guard more than one position. If the new group can gel, Michigan could end up surprising people in postseason tournaments.

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