2025–26 NJIT Highlanders women's basketball team

2025–26 NJIT Highlanders women's basketball
ConferenceAmerica East Conference
Record18–12 (9–7 AmEast)
Head coach
  • Mike Lane (8th season)
Assistant coaches
  • Colleen Moriarty
  • Payce Lange
  • Kelly Guarino
  • Jenesis Alverio
Home arenaWellness and Events Center
2025–26 America East Conference women's basketball standings
Conf. Overall
Team W   L   PCT W   L   PCT
Vermont † 13 – 3   .813 27 – 7   .794
Maine 12 – 4   .750 19 – 13   .594
Binghamton 10 – 6   .625 20 – 12   .625
UMBC 10 – 6   .625 17 – 14   .548
NJIT 9 – 7   .563 19 – 12   .613
Bryant 8 – 8   .500 18 – 12   .600
New Hampshire 4 – 12   .250 10 – 20   .333
Albany 4 – 12   .250 14 – 16   .467
UMass Lowell 2 – 14   .125 8 – 21   .276
† 2026 AmEast tournament winner
As of March 19, 2026

The 2025–26 NJIT Highlanders women's basketball team currently represent the New Jersey Institute of Technology during the 2025–26 NCAA Division I women's basketball season. The Highlanders, led by eighth-year head coach Mike Lane, play their home games at the Wellness and Events Center in Newark, New Jersey as members of the America East Conference.

Previous season

The Highlanders finished the 2024–25 season 11–18, 8–8 in AmEast play, to finish in fifth place.[1] They were defeated by Maine in the quarterfinals of the AmEast tournament.[2]

Offseason

Departures

NJIT Departures
Name Num Pos. Height Year Hometown Reason for Departure
Mayah Alford 2 G 5'9" Freshman Levittown, PA Transferred to Mercer County (JUCO)
Enya Maguire 8 G 5'5" Graduate Belfast, Northern Ireland Graduated
Aria Myers 11 G 5'9" Graduate Cedar Grove, NJ Graduated
Trinity Williams 21 F 6'1" Senior Upper Black Eddy, PA Graduated
Reese Vaughan 22 G 5'9" Senior Endwell, NY Graduated
Angelina Banas 55 F 6'0" Sophomore Columbus, NJ TBD; entered transfer portal

Incoming transfers

NJIT incoming transfers
Name Num Pos. Height Year Hometown Previous School
Ava Locklear 45 F 5'11" Sophomore Tiffin, IA Saginaw Valley State (DII)

Recruiting class

There was no recruiting class for the class of 2025.

Preseason

On October 20, 2025, the America East Conference released their preseason poll. NJIT was picked to finish fifth in the conference.[3]

Preseason rankings

AmEast Preseason Poll
Place Team Votes
1 Vermont 63 (7)
2 Maine 55 (2)
3 Bryant 46
4 Albany 42
5 NJIT 37
6 Binghamton 26
7 New Hampshire 24
8 UMBC 23
9 UMass Lowell 8
(#) first-place votes

Source:[3]

Preseason All-America East Team

Preseason All-America East Team
Player Year Position
Alejandra Zuniga Senior Guard

Source:[3]

Roster

2025–26 NJIT Highlanders women's basketball team
Players Coaches
Pos. # Name Height Year Previous school Hometown
G 3 Allison Cannon 5 ft 9 in (1.75 m) So Holmdel High School Holmdel, NJ
F 5 Audrey Kormann 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) Jr Maple Grove Senior High School Maple Grove, MN
G 8 Mia Gestosani 5 ft 8 in (1.73 m) Fr Mount St. Mary Academy Somerset, NJ
G 10 Marissa Gingrich 5 ft 7 in (1.7 m) Jr Mifflin County High School Mifflin County, PA
G 11 Addison Shen 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m) Fr Concord-Carlisle High School Concord, MA
G 13 Piper Engelby 5 ft 11 in (1.8 m) So Andover High School Andover, MN
G 15 Madilyn Dogs 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m) Jr Kewaskum High School Kewaskum, WI
F 22 Lauren Lee 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) Fr River Ridge High School New Port Richey, FL
F 23 Mackenzie Wright-Rawls 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m) Jr Central York High School York, PA
F 24 Kyleigh Welsh 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) RS Jr Clearwater High School Clearwater, FL
G 25 Avery O'Roke 5 ft 7 in (1.7 m) Sr Millbrook High School Winchester, VA
F 30 Olivia O'Meally 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) So Niskayuna High School Niskayuna, NY
G 32 Olivia Kulyk 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) So Mercyhurst Preparatory School Edinboro, PA
G 34 Alejandra Zuniga 5 ft 6 in (1.68 m) Sr IES Jose Garcia Nieto Madrid, Spain
F 45 Ava Locklear 5 ft 11 in (1.8 m) So Clear Creek Amana High School Tiffin, IA
Head coach
Assistant coach(es)
Legend
  • (C) Team captain
  • (S) Suspended
  • (I) Ineligible
  • (W) Walk-on

Roster
Last update: December 23, 2025

Schedule and results

Date
time, TV 		Rank# Opponent# Result Record High points High rebounds High assists Site (attendance)
city, state
Non-conference regular season
November 3, 2025*
7:00 p.m., ESPN+ 		at Sacred Heart W 64–51  1–0
  24 – Zuniga   9 – Locklear   7 – Zuniga  William H. Pitt Center (721)
Fairfield, CT
November 7, 2025*
5:00 p.m., ESPN+ 		at Fordham W 82–78  2–0
  25 – Kulyk   6 – Tied   7 – Zuniga  Rose Hill Gymnasium 
Bronx, NY
November 11, 2025*
6:00 p.m., ESPN+ 		Wagner W 78–58  3–0
  23 – Gingrich   7 – Gingrich   3 – Gingrich  Wellness and Events Center (181)
Newark, NJ
November 14, 2025*
6:00 p.m., B1G+ 		at Minnesota L 39–88  3–1
  11 – Cannon   6 – Locklear   3 – Gingrich  Williams Arena (2,973)
Minneapolis, MN
November 16, 2025*
2:00 p.m., MidcoSN+ 		at St. Thomas W 68–63  4–1
  22 – Gingrich   6 – Tied   4 – Cannon  Lee & Penny Anderson Arena (389)
St. Paul, MN
November 19, 2025*
6:00 p.m., ESPN+ 		Saint Peter's W 81–33  5–1
  15 – Kulyk   10 – Locklear   4 – Cannon  Wellness and Events Center (179)
Newark, NJ
November 22, 2025*
1:00 p.m., ESPN+ 		Drexel W 73–66  6–1
  24 – Kulyk   10 – Locklear   4 – Cannon  Wellness and Events Center (232)
Newark, NJ
November 25, 2025*
6:00 p.m., ESPN+ 		Fairleigh Dickinson L 43–71  6–2
  9 – Tied   7 – Locklear   4 – Tied  Wellness and Events Center (188)
Newark, NJ
November 30, 2025*
1:00 p.m., ESPN+ 		Lafayette W 71–60  7–2
  30 – Kulyk   16 – Locklear   11 – Cannon  Wellness and Events Center (279)
Newark, NJ
December 3, 2025*
5:00 p.m., FloCollege 		at Monmouth L 68–77  7–3
  24 – Locklear   14 – Locklear   5 – Zuniga  OceanFirst Bank Center (547)
West Long Branch, NJ
December 7, 2025*
1:00 p.m., ESPN+ 		Manhattan W 71–54  8–3
  18 – Locklear   7 – Tied   4 – Tied  Wellness and Events Center (191)
Newark, NJ
December 11, 2025*
6:00 p.m., ESPN+ 		Dartmouth L 60–61  8–4
  15 – Tied   9 – Locklear   5 – Zuniga  Wellness and Events Center (201)
Newark, NJ
December 29, 2025*
2:00 p.m., ESPN+ 		at Delaware State W 75–62  9–4
  17 – Tied   10 – Kulyk   4 – Gingrich  Memorial Hall (56)
Dover, DE
America East regular season
January 1, 2026
6:30 p.m., ESPN+ 		at UMBC W 80–75  10–4
(1–0) 		 39 – Zuniga   9 – Locklear   3 – Kulyk  Chesapeake Employers Insurance Arena (410)
Catonsville, MD
January 3, 2026
1:00 p.m., ESPN+ 		Binghamton L 71-75  10–5
(1–1) 		 20 – Kulyk   14 – Locklear   8 – Zuniga  Wellness and Events Center (244)
Newark, NJ
January 8, 2026
6:00 p.m., ESPN+ 		at New Hampshire W 69–62  11–5
(2–1) 		 19 – Zuniga   14 – Locklear   2 – Gingrich  Lundholm Gym (226)
Durham, NH
January 10, 2026
1:00 p.m., ESPN+ 		at Maine L 67–86  11–6
(2–2) 		 22 – Zuniga   8 – Gingrich   5 – Kulyk  Memorial Gymnasium (1,113)
Orono, ME
January 15, 2026
11:00 a.m., ESPN+ 		UMass Lowell W 68–57  12–6
(3–2) 		 22 – Kulyk   13 – Locklear   10 – Zuniga  Wellness and Events Center (2,326)
Newark, NJ
January 17, 2026
2:00 p.m., ESPN+ 		at Bryant W 78–65  13–6
(4–2) 		 27 – Zuniga   8 – Zuniga   4 – Zuniga  Chace Athletic Center (167)
Smithfield, RI
January 22, 2026
6:00 p.m., ESPN+ 		UMBC L 51–52  13–7
(4–3) 		 22 – Zuniga   6 – Tied   2 – Zuniga  Wellness and Events Center (334)
Newark, NJ
January 29, 2026
6:00 p.m., ESPN+ 		Albany L 54–71  13–8
(4–4) 		 17 – Locklear   6 – Tied   5 – Zuniga  Wellness and Events Center (255)
Newark, NJ
January 31, 2026
12:00 p.m., ESPN+ 		Vermont L 61–63  13–9
(4–5) 		 27 – Zuniga   8 – Locklear   3 – Zuniga  Wellness and Events Center (376)
Newark, NJ
February 5, 2026
6:00 p.m., ESPN+ 		at UMass Lowell W 69–60  14–9
(5–5) 		 20 – Zuniga   8 – Dogs   9 – Cannon  Kennedy Family Athletic Complex (138)
Lowell, MA
February 7, 2026
12:00 p.m., ESPN+ 		at Binghamton L 67–72  14–10
(5–6) 		 19 – Zuniga   10 – Locklear   4 – Gingrich  Events Center (1,921)
Vestal, NY
February 12, 2026
6:00 p.m., ESPN+ 		New Hampshire W 55–47  15–10
(6–6) 		 17 – Cannon   9 – Dogs   3 – Tied  Wellness and Events Center (278)
Newark, NJ
February 14, 2026
12:00 p.m., ESPN+ 		Maine W 63–42  16–10
(7–6) 		 19 – Kulyk   12 – Locklear   5 – Cannon  Wellness and Events Center (281)
Newark, NJ
February 19, 2026
6:30 p.m., ESPN+ 		at Albany W 70–64  17–10
(8–6) 		 25 – Zuniga   7 – Kulyk   3 – Tied  Broadview Center (1,081)
Albany, NY
February 21, 2026
4:00 p.m., ESPN+ 		at Vermont L 37–67  17–11
(8–7) 		 13 – Zuniga   6 – Locklear   1 – Tied  Patrick Gym (1,162)
Burlington, VT
February 28, 2026
4:30 pm, ESPN+ 		Bryant W 75–42  18–11
(9–7) 		 21 – Kulyk   10 – Locklear   8 – Zuniga  Wellness and Events Center (434)
Newark, NJ
America East tournament
March 5, 2026
6:30 p.m., ESPN+ 		(5) at (4) UMBC
Quarterfinals 		      Chesapeake Employers Insurance Arena 
Baltimore, MD
*Non-conference game. #Rankings from AP Poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses.
All times are in Eastern.

Sources:[4][5]

References

  1. ^ "2024-25 Women's Basketball Standings". America East Conference. Retrieved December 23, 2025.
  2. ^ "Maine women's basketball wins 10th straight America East Quarterfinal". WABI-TV. Retrieved December 23, 2025.
  3. ^ a b c "America East Reveals Women's #AEHoops 2025-26 Preseason Poll and Preseason All-Conference Team". America East Conference. Retrieved December 23, 2025.
  4. ^ "2025-26 Women's Basketball Schedule". New Jersey Institute of Technology Athletics. Retrieved December 23, 2025.
  5. ^ "NJIT Highlanders 2025-26 Regular Season NCAAW Schedule". ESPN. Retrieved December 23, 2025.
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