The Washington Huskies women's basketball team has steadily taken steps forward since head coach Tina Langley took over the program ahead of the 2021-22 season.

In 2024-25, the Huskies broke through and made the NCAA tournament for the first time since the Kelsey Plum-led Dawgs of 2016-17.

UW was one-and-done in that season's tournament and concluded the year 19-14.

Washington improved on that mark last season. It finished the year 22-11 and made it to the Round of 32 of the 2026 NCAA tournament. The Huskies beat the South Dakota State Jackrabbits 72-54 in the first round of March Madness. It was the team's first tournament win since '17. It was also the first win for Langley in three trips to the NCAA tourney.

Washington came just four points shy of making it the Sweet 16 and fell to the TCU Horned Frogs 62-59 in overtime in the Round of 32.

For next season, the Huskies have returned the majority of their key contributors from '25-26, including first-team All-Big Ten guard Sayvia Sellers, All-Big Ten honorable mention guard Avery Howell and Big Ten All-Freshman forward Brynn McGaughy.

In addition to those returners, Washington also added several intriguing players via the recruiting cycle and the recruiting trail, including four-star Class of 2026 guard Amayah Garcia, forward Tylda Trigger (North Carolina State), guard Brooke Carlson (Colorado State) and guard Macey Huard (Oklahoma State).

The combination of returners and acquisitions gives the Huskies a unique combination of depth and flexibility and the starting five can take a variety of different shapes as a result. 

Last year, Langley opted to go with a four-guard, one-big starting five. For most of the season, the soon-to-be sixth-year UW head coach opted for a starting lineup of Sellers, Howell, senior guards Elle Ladine and Hannah Stines and one of either McGaughy or senior center Yulia Grabovskaia.

Ladine, Stines and Grabovskaia have all graduated, meaning the starting five will have at least two new faces regardless.

If Langley were to go with another four-guard starting five, it would likely be Sellers, Howell, Huard and either Garcia or Carlson at the fourth guard spot with McGaughy running the post.

Keeping the four-guard lineup would allow Langley to continue employ the trick-transition offense that has become a strength of the team over the last several seasons.

Having a four-guard lineup would also allow Carlson to be in the starting five. Last season, Sellers was the primary ball-handler with Stines acting as a secondary floor general.

Having another guard in Stines who was capable of running the offense allowed for a lot of quick drives to the basket for Sellers.

However, the addition of Trygger gives UW a potential advantage that it hasn't had in Langley's tenure.

Trygger is 6-foot-6 and is coming off a season with the Wolfpack where she averaged 10.6 points on 51.8% shooting across 30 games (all starts). She also pulled in seven rebounds, dished 1.2 assists and blocked 1.3 assists per game.

Having Trygger and McGaughy in the front court would give Washington a size advantage over almost all of its opponents. Purdue, Ohio State and Minnesota are the only three teams in the Big Ten with players with the height comparable to Trygger.

The downside to having Trygger and McGaughy both in the starting rotation is that the Huskies lose some speed in the transition game. But, UW could make up the different in lost fastbreak opportunities with an advantage on the boards, which can lead to more second-chance opportunities.

With the variety of players on the roster, Langley can also opt for a two-big or four-guard lineup on a game-to-game basis based on the strengths and weakness of UW's opponent.

Whatever decision Langley makes with the roster, the amount of options is intriguing and something for fans to be excited about who are still hoping for the program to make that last push into being legitimate title contenders.

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