The 2025-26 Smith College basketball season would have been a banner year for most programs.
A conference title, 28 wins, and an appearance in the NCAA tournament are a trio of accolades that indicate a year for the record books.
But for Smith, what started as a typical year ended as an anomaly.
Last season, the Bears won their sixth straight NEWMAC conference title, amassed a 24-1 regular season record, and reached the national tournament for the seventh straight time.
And yet, how the season ended was not on anyone’s radar.
After three straight Final Four appearances, including two championship games, Smith College saw that streak snapped in the blink of an eye.
Against Bates College in the Round of 32, the Bears let a 12-point lead heading into the fourth quarter slip away. The Bobcats then won the game in overtime to knock out Smith before the Sweet Sixteen for the first time since 2019.
As heartbreaking as the loss was, the moment may be the catalyst for this edition of the Bears to return to the Final Four in Iowa. The team returns all but two players and brings in a group of first-year players ready to make an impact.
”We’re in a good place this year coming off of that loss,” Smith head coach Lynn Hersey said. “I think we’ve used every inch of that loss as a motivator, both in terms of our culture, our habits, our ability to continue to maintain this high standard that we have for ourselves. And ultimately, that’s the response you want as a coach. I think we have ultimate buy-in from our players.”
When you build a program up to be a perennial contender like Hersey has with Smith , expectations are high regardless of how the previous season ends. The Bears are picked to finish first in the NEWMAC, and are ranked fifth in the country in the D3hoops.com poll.
Six seniors and one graduate student highlight the level of experience and leadership Hersey has at her disposal.
Losing her junior season due to a torn ACL, Selam Maher returns for her fifth season at Smith as a graduate student. A multi-year captain, she started 27 games and shot over 40% from three for the Bears.
“ She’s an extremely motivating person to be around. Her mindset is just something that we want cultivate here at the [Div.] 3 world,” Hersey said.
Senior Virginia Johnson broke out last year to lead Smith in scoring at 12.5 points per game. She appeared in all 30 games and earned an All-American Honorable Mention from the Women’s Basketball Coaches Association.
Leading the charge will be reigning NEWMAC Defensive Player of the Year and conference first-teamer Hannah Martin. The North Andover native has started 22 or more games in the past three seasons.
Seven points shy of 1,000 for her career, the senior has averaged over 12 points a game in the last two seasons. Hersey says the senior is the person you want to be initiating your offense.
“ She’s an elite passer, very good at distribution, understanding defensive rotations, and being able to distribute the ball to scorers around her. She has such a maturity in all those elements of the game,” Hersey said.
Martin’s ability to score in transition works right into how Hersey wants to play this season: fast and finding mismatches.
With several players who fit into the “stretch-four” role and senior Uta Nakamura slotted as a starting wing, the Bears want to push the tempo on offense and force opponents into uncomfortable situations.
”We are going to be a very strategic defensive team that is going to take away strengths from the other team,” Hersey said. “Force low-percentage shots from the other team, get rebounds, and run. We’re built for that type of play. We have the depth to keep that pace up for 40 minutes.”
While 19 players is a large roster, 12 players started at least one game last season. Hersey isn’t afraid to utilize her entire team to find the right matchup.
”To win the entire tournament and to be a national champion, you need every matchup accounted for throughout the season,” Hersey said. “There are gonna be games that we will need our first-years to be contributing in a significant way because the matchup in that game is better for them than perhaps a returner.”
Smith welcomes a group of five first-years who fit right into the DNA of the team.
Hersey expects 6-foot forward Summer Warren to see significant minutes right away. The Canton native has the ability to play under the hoop, as well as step out behind the 3-point line.
”She is dynamic in that she can defensive rebound and then dribble push transition,” Hersey said. “Anytime you have a four or a five who are able to rebound and push, that can create a lot of challenges for opponents to defend.”
Hersey also sees Gabby Mittelman’s passing ability and Gracie Ward’s 3-point shooting ability as assets that should help shore up any holes in the lineups.
Even for the players who don’t get a lot of minutes, Hersey believes all 19 players will create intense practices that should prepare them for tougher matchups. As with every team, the buy-in throughout the roster is key. After a team trip to Portugal in October, the Bears are far ahead in building those bonds that permeate on and off the court.
Across five days, the team kayaked, sailed, and toured sights across Lisbon. The team also set time for basketball with two exhibition games. While it was a great experience to share with her team, Hersey’s proudest moment was seeing how quickly the returners embraced the first-year group.
“ I think our returners are really aware that the more the team is completely locked in and the more the team is willing to fight for each other and have each other’s backs on and off the court, the better the performance,” Hersey said.
Smith brings “Gameday at the Birthplace” event ahead of opener
Smith opens its season at home on Saturday, Nov. 7 against Immaculata University at 4 p.m. Ahead of the game, the college is putting together its own ESPN College Gameday style pregame event called “Gameday at the Birthplace”.
Starting two hours ahead of the game, local food vendors and a beer garden open up to fans and students.
At the center of the event will be the Gameday show hosted by ESPN women’s college basketball analyst Christy Thomaskutty and T.V. personality/sports host Jalynn Holmes.
”We have worked really tirelessly on putting this together,” Hersey said. “It’s going to be a great jumpstart to the season. It will provide the type of community investment and love that we really cherish as a program and has great meaning to us. It’s going to put Smith basketball and Smith athletics in the spotlight.”
The game will be broadcast live as Thomaskutty serves as the color analyst with Washington Mystics reporter Tyler Byrum as the play-by-play commentator.
The entire event is a way to honor and connect back to the first-ever women’s basketball game when Senda Berenson brought the sport to Smith College in 1893.
The hope is to make the event a yearly one that can help kickoff the college basketball season and continue the program as a leader for Division 3 basketball.
”I feel like that’s the responsibility we have today as a program that has that type of history to be doing that now in the current day,” Hersey said. “Something like a game day and creating that and having the vision to do that, to me, is the connector between the past and the present.”
