Basketball is finally upon us, with the Xavier Musketeers looking to surge up the Big East ranks in year four under head coach Billi Chambers. We will be going through the Musketeers’ roster and schedule, while also establishing the expectations for the 2026-2027 season. This is a program building their way back to high-level play block-by-block.

A promising note, the Musketeers hosted Mercyhurst in an exhibition Sunday, picking up an 85-64 win.

Meet the Team

#1 Payton Richards: 5’5″ Sophomore guard from Austin, Texas. Previous School: None

#2 Lucile Jerome: 5’9″ Freshman guard from Amiens, France. Previous School: None

#3 Maria Anais Rodriguez: 6’1″ Junior forward from Barcelona, Spain. Previous School: Arkansas

#5 Kodee Williams-Sefo: 6’1″ Redshirt Freshman from Auckland, New Zealand. Previous School: None

#6 Stella Mavuanga: 5’6″ Freshman guard from Chelles, France. Previous School: None

#7 Keija Ran: 6’0″ Freshman guard from Dazhou, China. Previous School: None

#8 Meri Kanerva: 5’9″ Junior guard from Espoo, Finland. Previous School: None | 2024-2025 All-Big East Freshman Team, 2026-27 All Big East Preseason Honorable Mention

#9 Marta Moscarella: 6’2″ Freshman guard/forward from Santa Marta, Colombia. Previous School: None

#10 Denise Neves: 6’0″ Sophomore guard/forward from Lisbon, Portugal. Previous School: None

#15 Morgan Jenkins: 6’2″ Freshman guard/forward from Higganum, Connecticut. Previous School: None

#24 Hila Karsh: 5’8″ Sophomore guard from Rishon LeZion, Israel. Previous School: Purdue

#25 Diawna Carter-Hartley: 6’1″ Senior forward from Cincinnati, Ohio. Previous School: South Alabama

#44 Mya Moore: 6’2″ Senior forward from Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Previous School: Cleveland State (2024-2025)

Coaching Staff

Head Coach: Billi Chambers

Associate Head Coach: Ashlee Kelly

Assistant Coach: Brianna Sanders

Assistant Coach: Ari Wideman

Schedule Preview

Xavier’s full schedule, with dates, tip times and TV networks. Courtesy: ESPN

Non-Conference: To start, we will break down the non-conference portion of Xavier’s schedule. They play a total of 10 games, four at home, two at a neutral site and four on the road.

Home: Akron (Nov. 9), Cleveland State (Nov. 16), *IU Southeast (Dec. 10) and Cincinnati (Dec. 15).

Neutral: Santa Clara (Nov. 26) and Texas Tech/Air Force (Nov. 28). Both of these games are part of the Paradise Jam, which is a Thanksgiving MTE.

Away: Purdue Fort Wayne (Nov. 2), Northwestern (Nov. 5), Ohio (Nov. 21) and Dayton (Nov. 23)

The Musketeers have two power conference opponents on their non-conference schedule, potentially three if they match up with Texas Tech in the Paradise Jam. This is a safe amount for a team trying to find their footing early on. Traveling to Northwestern for their second game of the season will be a tough test, but they will learn a lot about their team. Their other P5 opponent is Cincinnati in the Crosstown Shootout, which is always a big game.

The Musketeers also match up with multiple strong mid-majors, such as when they travel to Ohio and Dayton in a two-day span. Santa Clara will also provide a solid challenge for X in the Paradise Jam.

*Non-Division 1 Team

Conference Play: The top teams in the Big East Preseason Coaches Poll were UConn, Villanova and Creighton. The Musketeers host UConn New Year’s Eve at 5 p.m, Villanova Jan. 31 at 1 p.m and Creighton Feb. 24 at 6:30 p.m. These are games that the Musketeers will need fans to pack the Cintas in support.

A notable stretch for the Musketeers is Dec. 4-6, where they host St. John’s on the 4th and Marquette on the 6th. This two-game segment breaks up their non-conference, as they play two more out-of-conference games after. This will give them a taste of what Big East play feels like, while allotting them more time to prepare for the season ahead.

Expectations for the Musketeers

The Musketeers are on a linear, upward path under Chambers, improving their record each year she has been with Xavier. Last season, they finished 11-19. In the Big East Coaches Preseason Poll, the Musketeers were seeded ninth.

They should have multiple goals this year, the first one being a .500 or better record. The Musketeers play 30 regular season games, winning at least 15 of them would be a massive milestone for Xavier. That would give them their first season at or above .500 since 2016.

Another should be to beat their ranking in the Big East Preseason Poll, which is ninth. In the regular season, the Musketeers should shoot for eighth place at a minimum.

An expectation for Xavier this season is the quarterfinals of the Big East Tournament, a serious goal is to make the semifinals.

Lastly, winning the Crosstown Shootout is always an expectation at Xavier.

Recently, Sansom Sports Media had the opportunity to sit down with head coach Chambers, associate head coach Ashlee Kelly and long-time player Meri Kanerva about the turnaround of Xavier Women’s Basketball. Read the full story here: