Iowa State women's basketball coach Bill Fennelly on his challenging offseason and path forward

WEBSTER CITY – The Iowa State women's basketball team's offseason has been full of departures, additions and one massive roster overhaul.

But the offseason that Bill Fennelly admitted might be his most challenging as a coach, may finally be done with all its changes. Fennelly, during Iowa State’s tailgate tour stop in Webster City on Wednesday, said his roster is close to being, and even possibly is, finalized for the upcoming season.

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“I don’t anticipate a lot of movement,” Fennelly said prior to meeting with fans at the Briggs Woods Conference Center. “We had to do some things and add a couple. We knew we had the freshmen coming in. Right now, we’re at 12. I’d be surprised if we added anyone.”

Fennelly has had one of the busiest offseasons in recent memory as he’s had to retool most of his roster. Ashley Joens, who completed her final season of eligibility, now plays for the Dallas Wings. So does Stephanie Soares, whose waiver to play another season was denied by the NCAA. The Cyclones were also hit hard by the transfer portal with Lexi Donarski, Denae Fritz, Morgan Kane, Maggie Vick and Maggie Espenmiller-McGraw all opting to continue their careers elsewhere.

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The departures of Donarski and Fritz, both key contributors from last season’s team that won the Big 12 Conference Tournament and helped guide Iowa State back to the NCAA Tournament, were especially big losses and certainly surprising moves. Donarski was a three-year starter for the Cyclones and the Big 12 Defensive Player of the Year as a sophomore. Fritz, who redshirted her first season due to an injury, quickly turned into a star during her redshirt freshman season.

“That’s the world we live in now and everyone has a right to make their own choices,” Fennelly said. “I respect that. But my focus, and I get what people want to say or do—that’s fine—but my focus always has been, always will be….the kids who want to wear an Iowa State jersey and that’s the way I’m going to look at it. That’s the way we’ve always looked at it. There is change, but it’s not going to change how we go about doing our job.”

Fennelly did get some help from the transfer portal, though. The Cyclones added Isnelle Natabou, a 6-foot-5, center and Hannah Belanger, a 5-8 guard. Natabou played the previous two seasons at Sacramento State following a season at Iowa Western. She’ll have two years of eligibility remaining. Belanger, a two-time Division II WBCA All-American, played the last four seasons at Truman State. She’s a career 40% shooter from 3-point range.

“We knew we had to add some experience," Fennelly said. “We had to add a little depth. Hannah can really shoot it and obviously, we need offense. We lost a lot of offense. She’s older, proven she can shoot it and a Division II All-American that played in a good system. So, her numbers are really good. And then Isnelle was someone that’s played in college, has three years of experience and gives us some depth in the post. “

Fennelly said the Cyclones were picky in picking up possible transfers and weren't going to add simply to put another player on his roster. While there still could be some movement in the portal for the Cyclones, they may be done. That's because Fennelly said he has so much faith in his additions along with Iowa State’s incoming recruiting class of forwards Jalynn Bristow, Addy Brown, center Audi Crooks, and guards Arianna Jackson and Kelsey Joens. All the transfers and freshmen are expected to make an immediate impact.

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“I have great faith in our freshmen,” Fennelly said. “They’re freshmen and I get that. There will be some learning curves.”

Fennelly is hoping the Cyclones can get a head-start on their development with a trip to Italy and Greece in August. The trip will allow the Cyclones to get in some much-needed extra practice, some additional games and it’ll provide a big bonding opportunity for the new group. Fennelly said the Cyclones could have taken an overseas trip a season ago, but with Iowa State’s young group coming in, he opted to wait for this year.

“It was done by design and hopefully it works out that way,” Fennelly said.

Tommy Birch, the Register's sports enterprise and features reporter, has been working at the newspaper since 2008. He's the 2018 and 2020 Iowa Sportswriter of the Year. Reach him at tbirch@dmreg.com or 515-284-8468. Follow him on Twitter @TommyBirch.

This article originally appeared on Des Moines Register: Iowa State coach Bill Fennelly has "great faith" in incoming freshmen