​EVANSVILLE — Ben Wierzba valued one attribute in building his first roster as the University of Evansville women’s basketball coach: a willingness to compete.It was necessary due to the truncated offseason — Wierzba wasn’t officially introduced until April 24 — and the nature of the transfer portal. With nearly four weeks of summer workouts complete, the first-year coach is confident he is identifying that skillset as the building block for this group.AdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisementAnother necessity in rebuilding the program.More: A look at new Evansville men’s basketball roster for 2026-27 seasonEvansville had only four players return after reaching the Missouri Valley Conference Tournament championship to pair with nine newcomers. The Purple Aces last finished with a winning record in 2008 and haven’t finished over .500 in the Valley since 2014.”Very proud of the energy and effort they’ve given us,” Wierzba said. “We’re able to coach details. They have picked up very quickly on what we’re trying to do. We’ve gotten through a lot more than I thought we would at this point.”1 / 12Ben Wierzba’s introductory press conference on April 24, 2026.(Photos Provided by Evansville Athletics)UE lost most of its offensive and defensive production from last season, notably All-MVC Second Team guard Camryn Runner. Nine left in the transfer portal including all five starters from the championship game against Murray State. Those who chose not to leave have been key in the transition period.AdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisementJunior guard Avery Kelley (8.0 points per game) is cleared after missing most of last season with a knee injury. Junior guard Kaiden Kreinhagen already has 57 career appearances for the Aces. Senior forward Mireia Mustaros (4.7 ppg) and sophomore guard Daniela Llavero also figure to play important minutes this winter.More: Robyn Scherr resigns as Evansville women’s basketball coach after 5 seasonsAll four were involved with helping Wierzba bridge the gap after Robyn Scherr stepped down in March.”Those four, in this day and age, didn’t even go in the portal,” he said. “That tells you what their commitment is to the University of Evansville. It’s my job to put good players around them. They love this place. They were involved with recruiting. I can’t say enough about those four.”Ben Wierzba introduced as Evansville women’s basketball’s next coach on April 24, 2026.Camryn Runner, transferred to Colorado State (18.2 ppg, 5.6 rpg, 5.3 apg)Kylee Norkus, transferred to Valparaiso (3.6 ppg, 2.6 rpg)Sydney Huber, transferred to Murray State (8.5 ppg, 2.4 rpg)Elle Snyder, transferred to Quinnipiac (3.8 ppg, 5.4 rpg)Georgia Ferguson, transferred to Davidson (5.1 ppg, 2.6 rpg)Georgia Cox, transferred to East Carolina (6.2 ppg)Logan Luebbers Palmer, transferred to Radford (10.7 ppg, 2.8 rpg)BreAunna Ward, transferred to Florida International (6.7 ppg, 3.5 rpg)Jelena Savic, transferred to Sacramento State (5.2 ppg, 3.1 rpg)