By Jerry Hill
Baylor Bear Insider
            When Nicki Collen made the jump from the WNBA back to the college ranks two years ago as Baylor's head coach, she didn't have a clue who the top recruits were going to be for the class of prospects that will sign this fall.

            "Now, ask me who the top (2028 recruits) are, and I know," Collen said during a media session Tuesday afternoon. "It's sad, in some ways, that I know who the top seventh-graders are, but that's just part of this world we're in."

            In the "world we're in," on top of evaluating the best seventh-graders, Collen has also become adept at shopping in the transfer portal. She has brought in four portal transfers each of the last two years, including guards Denae Fritz (Iowa State), Yaya Felder (Ohio) and Jada Walker (Kentucky) and forward Madison Bartley (Belmont) this spring.

            Retooling a roster that lost three starters from last year's 20-13 team, Collen said she looked for players that have been productive in college.

            "Whether they were productive in the MAC or the Missouri Valley or the OVC (Ohio Valley Conference), the idea that they had proven they were really good college players," Collen said. "Denae was someone that even though she wasn't a high-volume shooter or scorer, she hit big shots, she was fearless. She brought a toughness and a little bit of swag that we felt like we needed."

            Fritz joined Baylor's Bella Fontleroy and Darianna Littlepage-Buggs on the Big 12 All-Freshman Team last year, averaging 8.8 points and 4.6 rebounds while knocking down 33.9% from 3-point range.

            Although Collen has had a close connection with Iowa State coach Bill Fennelly – he tried to recruit her out of high school and was a groomsman in her wedding – she "didn't ask his permission or anything."

            "I think it's a different time. I grew up at a time when you weren't allowed to transfer within your league, and most leagues had that rule," she said. "(Fennelly) lost Aubrey Joens to Oklahoma a year ago. I'm sure he'll change his play calls again this year because, obviously, Denae would know them.

            "I look at it as, if one of our players had gone into the portal and that player fit his system, I'm pretty sure there's no bro code or sister code. You recruit players that you think fit and will make your program better. When kids go into the portal, you go after the players that fit your needs, and (Fritz) certainly does."

            A two-time first-team All-Missouri Valley Conference pick at Belmont, the 6-3 Bartley has already topped 1,000 career points and averaged 14.1 points and 5.1 rebounds last season. Felder led the Mid-American Athletic Conference in scoring (22.0 ppg) last year, while Walker was an SEC All-Freshman Team selection two years ago and averaged 12.9 points as a sophomore at Kentucky.

            Collen said adding more 3-point threats to go with Fontleroy and first-team All-Big 12 pick Sarah Andrews is "spacing-driven."

            "It's not about leading the nation in 3's made or taken," she said. "It's about being able to stretch the floor and create driving lanes and post-ups and cuts and allowing players to flourish. When you think about how we like to play, we're not very effective if we can't keep great spacing."

            The Bears will also have more post-up options next season with 6-3 freshman Kyla Abrams having a year under her belt, Aijha Blackwell healthy again and former Kentucky transfer Dre'Una Edwards now eligible. Blackwell and Edwards were portal additions last year, along with guard Jana Van Gytenbeek from Stanford.

            "Whether it's at the 3, the 4 or the 5 (position), to really take advantage of the post-up options, you've got to space the floor and you have to have people who can shoot," she said. "It's that balance of inside and outside that's really important to us."
            After only a week of summer workouts, Collen said it's too early to see whether the team is starting to jell and come together. But the added depth on the roster will bring more competitiveness across the board, she said.

            "Do I like us on paper? Of course," she said. "I really like our talent, but it takes time to mold that, to work its way out. I do think that the depth creates competition, and competition makes people hungry. So, you've got to be on it. If you don't show up, there might be someone who takes those minutes, where in the past maybe you were able to be more comfortable because we didn't have that same depth."

            In addition to offseason workouts, the Bears will get a chance to continue developing and blending the talent on a foreign trip to Italy and Greece in August.

            "We have to get these seven new players (including Blackwell and Edwards) integrated with our five returners, so I think it gives us a jumpstart on putting some stuff in," Collen said. "At the same time, there's a lot on these 18- to 22-year-olds. There has to be a balance of, 'Hey, when we get back, are we going to take a little extra time off?' The answer is yes, because I don't want them to feel like practice started in July and they're not going to get a break until April."