Taking a Look at This Year’s Women’s Basketball Roster

Oct 14, 2022 - 10:26 PM

Last season was a disappointing one for the Oregon State Women’s Basketball team. The last time the Beavers missed the NCAA Tournament was 2013, the third year of Scott Rueck’s tenure as head coach. Since the end of the season, the Beavers have also been hit by several key departures, both due to graduation and the transfer portal.

We’re going to be seeing a very different Oregon State team take the court this season. Only one full time starter returns, so we’ll be seeing a radically different starting five from what we saw last season. Oregon State does have an extremely promising set of freshmen coming ub, with ESPN rating their 2022 recruiting class as the third best in the country. They also picked up a pair of big name transfers from rival Pac-12 schools.

There’s a lot of promise on this team, so here’s a quick rundown of who’s gone, who’s still around, and the new faces we’ll see this season.

---

Who’s Gone

Photo by Brian Murphy/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images

• Taya Corosdale
• Ellie Mack
• Kennedy Brown
• Taylor Jones
• Greta Kampschroeder
• Emily Codding
• Tea Adams

Taya Corosdale has been an Oregon State institution for the past five years. After an impressive career with the team, Corosdale finally ran out of eligibility after last season. The team will miss her veteran presence. Tea Adams, Emily Codding and Ellie Mack, who were key role players last season, have also graduated.

The biggest losses for next season came from transfers. When they arrived in Corvallis, Kennedy Brown and Taylor Jones were expected to be a dominant front court for the Beavers. Injuries have cost both a lot of time on the court, and now they have elected to continue their college careers elsewhere. Brown is headed to Duke, while Jones returns to her home state of Texas to play for the Longhorns.

Greta Kampschroeder came to the program as the eighth ranked recruit in the country. After a promising freshman season, during which she averaged 5.2 points per game and was named an All Pac-12 Freshman Honorable Mention. After one year with the Beavers, she entered the tranfer portal and is now a Michigan Wolverine.

---

Who’s Back

Photo by Brian Murphy/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images

• Talia von Oelhoffen
• AJ Marotte
• Noelle Mannen
• Jelena Mitrovic

While a lot of players have left the team, the Beavers return their most important player. Since joining the team midway through the 2020-21 season von Oelhoffen has been the Beavers’ centerpiece. She led the team in scoring with 13.7 points per game, and was named to the Pac-12 All Conference Team.

With the shakeups on the roster, von Oelhoffen will have to step in to a leadership role this season. She’ll get a bit of help from the roster. Jelena Mitrovic has some starting experience, and could become one of the team’s most important assets. A.J. Marotte should have a larger role. She showed potential off the bench last season, and should get more minutes this season. Noelle Mannen will probably play a similar role as she has in years past as a role player off of the bench.

---

Who’s New

Troy Taormina-USA TODAY Sports

• Timea Gardiner
• Raegan Beers
• Adlee Blacklock
• Lily Hansford
• Martha Pietsch
• Shalexxus Aaron
• Bendu Yeaney

In 2022 Oregon State is bringing in one of their strongest ever recruiting classes. ESPN has the class ranked as the third in the country, with two top 10 prospects headlining the group. Timea Gardiner, a forward from Fremont High School in Plain City, UT, is ESPN’s sixth ranked prospect and should immediately step into a starting role.

She could be joined by Raegan Beers, ESPN’s #10 ranked recruit. A standout post player, Beers and Gardiner could potentially start right away, giving the Beavers a strong front court. Adlee Blacklock, Lily Hansford and Martha Pietsch also give the Beavers a solid group of guards to fill out the back court.

Oregon State also picked up a few big names in the transfer portal. Bendu Yeaney was a full time starter at guard for Arizona last season, when she averaged 6.3 points per game, and finished the season with 60 assists and 44 steals. Shalexxus Aaron, a former USC Trojan who most recently played for Texas Southern, has missed time with injuries. When she was healthy last season she was an electric three point shooter, hitting double digits in 10 of the 16 games she appeared in.

---

Who’s the Starting Five?

Von Oelhoffen is the anchor this team will be built around, but after that there are plenty of questions. Coach Rueck has shown in the past that he’s not afraid to give freshmen big roles, so Gardiner and Beers should be starting forwards right away. Yeaney seems to be the more likely of the transfers to earn a starting position, especially if Aaron is still working through an injury.

The fifth spot will likely be adjusted based on the matchup. Oregon State has tended toward 3 Guard, 2 Forward lineups recently, but can go to 2 Guard, 3 Forward or 2 Guard, 2 Forward, 1 Center based on the matchup. Mitrovic got all of her starts during the WNIT last season, which could be a sign of where things are trending. If they do with a three guard setup, the team is spoiled for options. Shalexxus Aaron should get a look if she’s healthy, AJ Marotte should merit a look, and of the freshmen Adlee Blacklock is the highest rated. All three could compete for a starting job.

So this could be what the starting roster looks like.

• Talia von Oelhoffen
• Bendu Yeaney
• Timea Gardiner
• Raegan Beers
• Jelena Mitrovic

But if the team wants to go with a three guard set up, maybe it’ll look like this.

• Talia von Oelhoffen
• Bendu Yeaney
• Adlee Blacklock
• Timea Gardiner
• Raegan Beers

---

We’ll find out more about the state of the team in just a few weeks. Oregon State’s season opens on October 30th, with Western Oregon coming to Corvallis. What are you most excited to see from the Beavers this season?