I'm not here to defend the coaching staff or make excuses; just pointing out what we have lost in the last three years. Penske left, and left the program in the lurch, and with little time to find a suitable replacement. Three of our best players (Huff, Simmonds, Rain) left soon after to follow him to Florida State. Fusco left for Penn State. Together, they were supposed to be the heart of this team. Thomas has never returned to pre-injury form. We have had the usual graduations. Where would we be without the Michigan girls, Woods and Bridenstine? But they are "one and done". Generally speaking, our team seems young, inexperienced and, just maybe, not all that exceptional. To put it mildly, a rebuild is necessary.
You bring up a lot of great points. People don’t realize how Pensky decimated this program when he suddenly left in April of 2022. People think Kiffin leaving was bad, this was way worse as far as timing goes.
Look at our roster from 2022 of Freshman and Sophomores when Pensky left.
Taylor Huff and Claire Rain left to follow Pensky at FSU. Both excellent players that were a big part of the SEC Tournament Championship team as freshman in 2021.
Jenna Chatterton has had back to back season ending ACL injuries at the start of each of the last two years. She was Indiana State High school player of the year two years in a row.
Jordon Fusco left for Penn State and has been one of their best players. She was a big part of that 2021 SEC tournament championship team.
Sydney Hennessey left for Oregon. She is a starter and averages about 85 minutes a match.
That leaves only one active senior from the sophomore class, Nolyn Bartholomew, not a starter who comes in off the bench and averages about 15 minutes of playing time a match.
They both would have been seniors this year but took a redshirt in 2021.
Simmonds, The best player from the freshman class, left for FSU to follow Pensky. She played for Jamaica in the Olympics.
Bailey left for Utah Valley
Layla Shell left for Brown and is a starter
Abby Reisz left for Pitt
Ava Weimer is not on the team anymore
Ainsley Loyd is not on the team anymore
That leaves Price, Ally Brown, Midgley, Klurman and Dakota Brown
Those 5 are all starters and a big part of the solid defense.
The following freshman class for 2023, those were all Pensky recruits. A lot of them have left to other schools and almost all of that class missed last year due to injuries.
And credit to Kirt, the transfers have made a big difference.
The Michigan duo, Luciana and others.
Oh and one of our best transfers that played last year and would have been a senior took a redshirt, Sheridan Michel