Missouri State women's basketball will have MVC title, NCAA expectations next year

Missouri State women's basketball took steps toward its return to being among the best mid-major programs in the country, setting up a 2024-25 season in which high expectations will return to the Lady Bears program.

Head coach Beth Cunningham has built a contending roster in two short years when she wasn't left with much on the roster when she took over the job. Previously, the Lady Bears had made three straight NCAA Tournaments and would've had a fourth if the pandemic didn't cancel one of them. Cunningham appears to have the Lady Bears trending in the right direction with a roster built to have sustained success.

The Lady Bears' season ended in the first round of the Women's Basketball Invitation Tournament on Thursday at Illinois. They finished with a 23-10 record, improving from 20-12 a year ago.

Here's what you need to watch for heading into the offseason:

Missouri State women's basketball will have MVC championship, NCAA Tournament expectations in Beth Cunningham's third year

With what Cunningham was left with when she took over the Lady Bears head coaching job, being less than three seconds away from an automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament felt like a year ahead of schedule. She had seven newcomers on the roster including six who had never played a second of Division I basketball entering the year.

It can't be disputed that the job Cunningham has done has been amazing to watch. You see development up and down the roster from one game to the next. The teams she's fielded in November are far different than the ones she ends up with by March. With the current young roster, there is still plenty of room to grow for a team that finished third in the league and was a stop away from dancing.

Heading into a third season, while maintaining most of the roster, league championship and NCAA Tournament expectations will ramp up. After all, that's what the Lady Bears basketball program is all about.

Better play from opening day and throughout non-conference will be expected now that Cunningham will finally have an experienced team.

It will be led by Lacy Stokes, the MVC Newcomer of the Year, who somehow continued to show improvement through the final game of the regular season. She should be considered a first-team all-league player heading into next year when she arguably should've been one this year.

More: 'You play the game for feelings like that': Lady Bears' Lacy Stokes has game to remember

Paige Rocca, who will return for her fifth season, took major steps forward in her game this year and will be a welcomed starting guard next.

The expected return of Kennedy Taylor, Jade Masogayo and Indya Green should equate to one of the stronger frontcourts in the league. Green played more guard throughout the year and showed she was really starting to figure it out by the end of it.

Kyrah Daniels played like one of the best freshmen in the Valley and there were glimpses of how good players like Kaemyn Bekemeier and Louis Volker could be. Continued development from then, along with Natasha Barnes and Blake O'Grady, could have this group as an incredibly strong foundation for the future.

This group only seems to be scratching the surface of what it can do and it will continue to develop over this offseason, heading into a 2024-25 season in which it'll be picked to finish top three in the league.

What changes could there be to the roster?

With most of the roster scheduled to return, it wouldn't be a surprise to see some at the end of the bench depart, clearing up some space for Cunningham to pursue immediate contributors in the transfer portal.

Katrine Jessen, a transfer from Kansas, won't return after going through senior day activities. There are others to speculate on who saw decreased roles throughout the year or some who have been in the program and haven't been able to crack the rotation but we'll leave it at that.

It's unlikely that the entire roster will return next year although the regular contributors sound like they'll all be back.

Could Beth Cunningham be in for a contract extension?

Missouri State hasn't been shy in offering contract extensions early in someone's time as head coach. It wouldn't be the biggest surprise if the university elects to do the same here.

For all the criticism MSU athletics director Kyle Moats gets, he's nailed his head coaching hires in women's basketball for as long as he's been in Springfield. Kellie Harper elevated the program back into a mid-major power before departing for Tennessee, her alma mater. Amaka Agugua-Hamilton had the roster playing at a high level before she left for Virginia. It appears he's got a really good one here who wasn't left with much and is now building a team that should compete for championships.

Cunningham is entering the third year of what is currently a five-year deal. Her pay will be raised to $340,000 next season, $350,000 in 2025-26 and $360,000 by 2026-27.

More: Beth Cunningham appears to have MSU Lady Bears back to being sustainable MVC contenders

Agugua-Hamilton, "Coach Mox," received an extension and a raise following her second year, when she led the team to the Sweet 16 of the 2021 NCAA Tournament and was primed for another NCAA Tournament run the year before if it wasn't canceled because of the pandemic. On paper, her resume was much better than Cunningham's at this point, but Mox didn't have to do half the rebuilding that the former's had to.

Missouri State likes to get coaches locked up while protecting itself for once other schools come calling. Cunningham is trending toward being a highly sought-after coach once she breaks through and gets the Lady Bears in the tournament. When you look at her resume from her time at Virginia Commonwealth and Notre Dame, it's surprising she's not up there already.

Who are the new players coming in?

The Lady Bears have two freshmen signed to play next year. One is a highly-touted player who spent most of her career in St. Louis before finishing at Link Academy. The other is a 6-foot-3 forward who is a prototype for what Cunningham likes in her system.

JaNyla Bush could be considered MSU's point guard of the future as it enters another year with Stokes on the roster. Bush has been one of the better players in the state with most of her high school career being played at Vashon. She was a prized recruit.

Lainie Douglas is the aforementioned forward who put up big numbers at Blue Valley Northwest (Kansas). She continued a great career in 2023-24 by earning all-conference recognition. She averaged 16 points as a junior after an injury sidelined her as a sophomore.

Wyatt D. Wheeler is a reporter and columnist with the Springfield News-Leader. You can contact him at 417-371-6987, by email at wwheeler@news-leader.com or X at @WyattWheeler_NL.

This article originally appeared on Springfield News-Leader: Missouri State women's basketball offseason preview for 2024-25