Photo source: UNLV Women's BasketballLindy La Rocque’s next UNLV roster is not getting a touch-up. It is getting rebuilt.
That sounds dramatic, but look at the roster. The Lady Rebels are bringing back Meadow Roland, Jasmyn Lott, Sydni Summers and Trystan James from last season’s team. Everyone else is either new or gone. For a program that has been one of the most consistent winners in the Mountain West under La Rocque, that creates a different kind of offseason question.
UNLV is not asking whether the standard still exists. It does. The question is how quickly a roster with this many new pieces can look like a La Rocque team.
The returners give UNLV a strong place to start. Roland is the obvious anchor after averaging 15.0 points, 9.5 rebounds and 1.8 blocks last season. She started every game she played and gives the Lady Rebels the kind of frontcourt presence most teams in the league would love to have back. Lott also returns after averaging 12.5 points and shooting 38.1 percent from three. On a roster full of unknowns, Roland and Lott are the proven pieces.
Summers and James are different cases. Summers played 19 games and averaged 4.0 points in a limited role. James played 26 games as a freshman and averaged 2.4 points and 2.3 rebounds. Neither was a major producer last season, but both matter more now. When a roster loses this much experience, the players who have already been in the program do not have to be stars to be important. They have to know the system, compete for bigger minutes and help bridge the gap while the newcomers settle in.
The list of departures is long. Teagan Colvin, Mariah Elohim, Shelbee Brown, Destiny Brown, Hodaya Kabada, Destiny Leo, Alexis Swillis, Ongolea Afu, Aaliyah Alexander and Erica Collins were on last year’s roster but are not listed on the 2026-27 roster. That is not normal turnover. That is a serious reset.
It is not just the number of players leaving. It is what they did. Alexander averaged 11.3 points and led the team with 104 assists. Shelbee Brown averaged 11.0 points and 9.8 rebounds. Elohim made 58 threes. Leo made 35. Destiny Brown, Collins, Swillis and Afu were part of the size and depth picture. Colvin started nine games. UNLV is not replacing one star. It is replacing a lot of veteran structure.
That is what makes Bergan Kinnebrew so interesting. She is probably the quickest answer to the biggest problem: who handles shots and pressure while the freshmen are still figuring things out?
Kinnebrew comes in from UMary after averaging 22.4 points per game, finishing as the second-leading scorer in the nation and leading the country in free throws made and attempted. She shot 45.4 percent from the field and earned D2CCA All-American second-team honors. La Rocque called her “a versatile guard with length and size on the perimeter that impacts both ends of the floor.” That is exactly the kind of older guard this roster needed.
The Division II jump is real, so there should be some patience with how it translates. But scoring travels when a player can get to the line, handle usage and create pressure. Kinnebrew has done those things. UNLV does not need her to be the entire offense. It needs her to be steady enough that the young guards are not forced to grow up all at once.
Maia Rosarion is another guard addition, and her path is interesting because she comes from UNR after previously playing at Morehead State. She gives the Lady Rebels more size in the backcourt at 5-foot-10 and another player who has already been through college basketball. She may not carry the same headline value as Kinnebrew, but on a roster this young, another experienced guard matters.
Norah Moo might be just as important up front. She played 31 games as a freshman at Grand Canyon, made four starts and shot 52.7 percent from the field. Her averages, 3.7 points and 3.8 rebounds, do not jump off the page, but she had 11 double-digit scoring games and put up a 12-point, 12-rebound double-double against Utah State in the Mountain West Championship first round. La Rocque described her as a player who brings “toughness, strength and power.”
That is not a small need. Roland is back, but Brown’s rebounding has to be replaced somehow. Moo gives UNLV a frontcourt player who has already taken college contact, already played rotation minutes and should not need to be protected the way a freshman might. If she can defend, rebound and finish, she can help keep Roland from carrying too much inside.
Then there is the freshman class, which is the real long-term bet.
UNLV is adding six freshmen: Terri’A Russell, Keonni Lewis, Arianna Davis, Jayla Constant, Ava Bergeson and Tristan Williams. That is a big number in the portal era. Some coaches would rather keep stacking transfers and solve the roster one spring at a time. La Rocque is still trying to build something younger and more stable, even while using the portal where she needs it.
Lewis is the local name everyone will know first. She is from Las Vegas, played at Democracy Prep, ranks No. 85 nationally by ESPN and is listed as a four-star prospect. She averaged 20.1 points when Democracy Prep won the 2023 2A South championship and later averaged 12.9 points with 4.7 steals per game as a junior. La Rocque called her “a premier local talent” and said she was a priority to keep home.
That part matters. UNLV should keep players like Lewis in Las Vegas when it can. She gives the Lady Rebels a young guard to develop, but she also represents the kind of local recruiting win that helps a program feel connected to the city. She does not have to run the team from day one. But if she defends, pressures the ball and grows into the point guard role, she could become one of the important pieces of the next era.
Constant gives UNLV another top-100 guard in the same class. She is ranked No. 88 nationally by ESPN, is listed as a four-star prospect and brings more size at 5-foot-10. She averaged 12 points and 2.5 assists as a junior at Grind Prep. As a sophomore, she helped Putnam West win a state title while averaging 14.3 points and 4.5 assists. La Rocque called her “a dynamic point guard that can create for herself and her teammates.”
That is the part of the class that jumps out. UNLV lost Alexander’s passing and a lot of veteran guard stability, but it is bringing in two nationally ranked freshman guards. Lewis and Constant are not the whole answer right away, but they make the future of the backcourt easier to see.
The frontcourt freshmen bring a different kind of intrigue. Russell is a 6-foot-2 forward from Oakland Technical High School who helped her team win three straight Oakland Athletic League championships and a 2023 CIF Division I state title. She averaged 17.7 points during the 2024-25 season, and La Rocque described her as a versatile forward with the length and skill to play inside and on the perimeter.
Davis is another athletic forward, a 6-foot-1 player from Lancaster High School in Dallas who averaged 10.3 points and 5.5 rebounds as a junior. La Rocque pointed to her energy, motor, rebounding, defense and aggression. Bergeson is a different type of forward. She is 6 feet, comes from Oregon and averaged 14.9 points, 10.8 rebounds, 3.9 assists, 2.3 blocks and 2.8 steals as a junior. La Rocque called her “a forward with an elite shooting ability,” which stands out on a roster that lost shooting.
Those three do not need to be lumped together as future pieces only. UNLV needs frontcourt answers now. Roland is the anchor, Moo adds college experience and James is back, but somebody from the freshman forward group probably has to be playable early. Maybe that is Russell’s length. Maybe it is Davis’ motor. Maybe it is Bergeson’s shooting. The Lady Rebels need one of those skills to show up.
Williams is the sixth freshman and probably the easiest player to underrate if you only look at rankings. She was the 2024-25 OHSAA Division IV Player of the Year and Northlake District Player of the Year after averaging 23 points, 8.4 rebounds and 3 steals as a junior. La Rocque called her “a do-it-all type guard.” On a roster with two top-100 freshman guards, Williams may not be the first name people mention, but production like that usually gives a player a chance to fight for minutes.
Kinnebrew’s scoring helps immediately. Moo gives the frontcourt some needed toughness. Rosarion adds another experienced guard. And if Lewis and Constant are ready sooner than expected, the backcourt questions become a lot easier to answer.
The freshman forwards are just as important. Russell has the length and inside-out ability to compete early. Davis brings athleticism and motor. Bergeson gives UNLV a skilled forward who can shoot. Williams adds another productive guard who does a little bit of everything.
UNLV does not need every newcomer to hit right away. That is unrealistic. But it probably needs two or three of them to be real rotation players early, especially with how much veteran structure left the roster.
La Rocque has earned trust with development. Her program has not been built on one lucky roster or one hot season. UNLV women’s basketball has become one of the most stable programs in the Mountain West because players improve, roles become clear and the standard does not move.
This team may test that more than most.
The 2026-27 Lady Rebels are younger, different and less proven than some of UNLV’s recent teams. But the plan is easy to see. Keep Roland and Lott as the proven anchors. Add an older scorer in Kinnebrew. Add physical frontcourt help with Moo. Bring in two nationally ranked freshman guards. Add enough young size and versatility to build something that can last beyond one season.
It may not look smooth right away. With this many new players, it probably should not. But if the newcomers grow quickly enough around Roland and Lott, UNLV can still be where it expects to be.
Near the top of the Mountain West, trying to turn another rebuilt roster into another La Rocque team.
