Colorado State women’s basketball led an impressive season, gathering 22 wins and going 13-5 in conference play. After a year of dedication and hard work, it all came to a halt as the Rams faltered and could not take the win in their first match of the Mountain West tournament.
But there is more to a season then just wins and losses.
Full season reflection
At the beginning of the year, CSU welcomed four main starters: Emma Ronsiek, Hannah Simental, Kloe Froebe and Brooke Carlson. And despite having a lack of chemistry, the team powered through the nonconference portion of the season, ending that era going 9-5.
There was no win drought throughout the season. As with all teams, every player had their off days, but the Rams did well bridging the gap and making up for absent talent.
What needed to happen in the MW tournament was one word: chemistry. CSU played its best in the games against Gonzaga and Boise State, and although there were statistical leaders, it was a team effort. It was evident that CSU grew throughout its season, beating Air Force and New Mexico — teams the Rams lost to earlier in the season.
But with younger players emerging, there is a chance for CSU to build its roster and eventually have a solid, more experienced lineup.
Although a couple of powerful players, such as Ronsiek and Simental, are about to graduate from their statuses as a Rams, first-years such as Carlson and Froebe took the court by storm and are almost guaranteed to be team leaders in future seasons.
Overall, CSU has had a notable season, and by no means should it be considered poor. The ending did not seem to fit the story that the Rams tried to tell all season long, yet it closed out the season by saying one thing: so close yet so far.
State of CSU women’s basketball
Coming off a disappointing finish to a season with a promising look, the Rams leave some questions to be answered as the off-season creeps up.
CSU will look to find a true direction for this program. In coach Ryun Williams‘ now 13 years of coaching this team, he has won 20+ games in the regular season nine times.
However, that has only culminated into one NCAA tournament appearance and one MW tournament championship.
For a team that, under Williams, has constantly rostered star players like Ellen Nystrom, McKenna Hofschild and Ronsiek, there is not a clear basis of what the goal is year in and year out.
Since its Mountain West championship season in 2015-16, CSU has tried various different roster-building techniques.
They have gelled together teams with loads of depth and multiple double-digit per-game scorers. Most of those teams finished with losing seasons or underwhelming MW tournament performances.
The Rams have attempted to build around one particular star who heavily outscores the rest, such as the 2023-24 season with Hofschild or the most recent season with the acquisition of Creighton star Ronsiek. Both attempts ended in not reaching the MW championship game.
The Rams need some change if they want their women’s basketball program to get back to winning conference championships and playing in the Big Dance. CSU has not been able to get over the hump of sustaining a good regular-season team that finishes seasons with hardware in some time now.
With a move to the Pac-12 just one season away, big questions arise for this program: What do we want to accomplish, and how do we want the future of this team to look?
Future outlook with Pac-12
CSU has a strong team and program, but elements are missing on the court. Yes — the team is solid, racking up 22 wins throughout the season, but what can that account for if the team cannot make it past the first round of postseason tournaments?
The Pac-12 conference has historically held good schools within its caliber, although in recent years, it has dwindled. Still, college sports fans recognize the Pac-12, and a certain standard is set when competing in that conference.
But if the women’s basketball program cannot even make it far within MW tournaments, then there is no place for them within this new conference.
Throughout the season, the Rams crossed paths with Oregon State and Gonzaga — future Pac-12 opponents — beating them both. Yet both games took place at the beginning of the season, and OSU ended up making it to the quarterfinals of the West Coast Conference tournament.
Meanwhile, fellow WCC school Gonzaga ended up placing second in the regular conference portion of the season. The difference was these schools got better and made it a few rounds into their conference tournament.
It is not to say these schools are outstanding compared to CSU, but these sorts of results are what CSU needs to be working toward, especially because it entered the MW tournament as a No. 3 seed.
The last time the Rams made it into the NCAA tournament was in 2016, almost a decadelong lack of results to show for the effort the student-athletes put into their sport. CSU is missing out on showcasing its best players, potentially costing these women future careers within the sport.
Stars such as Hofschild and Ronsiek are champions in the making, crossing through Moby Arena, but the Rams continue to fall short.
If CSU wishes to elevate its athletic program and take that next step, the Rams need to harness the power the strong leaders on the team have. Other elements include working together to create a flow, ignite sparks from the bench and set hard off-ball screens like the ones Fresno State used to break through in the first round of the MW tournament.
Greatness hangs within reach — Williams and the Rams just need to figure out how to grab it and never let go.
State of MW women’s basketball
A conference that has been run by one team for the past couple years is about to split up and could change how seriously the MW may be looked at in future years.
Joining CSU in the move to the Pac-12 is Boise State, Fresno State, Utah State and San Diego State. One supreme program will remain in the dissolving MW.
The UNLV Rebels have won three out of the last four MW tournament championships, with their chance at a four-peat being ended by SDSU this year. With the listed schools leaving, UNLV, who is staying in the MW through at least 2032, has a chance to continue a would-be unprecedented level of dominance through a basketball conference.
As CSU has faced its struggles on the women’s basketball scene in the MW, three of the four other schools departing haven’t faced many of the same issues. Boise State achieved a four-peat from 2017 to 2020; SDSU is the most recent MW champion; and FSU had a back-to-back title run in 2013 and 2014.
USU has no conference championships, and the Rams have one championship since the departure of Utah in 2011, TCU and BYU in 2012.
For the Rams, a move away from the conference wherein they have seen less success compared to others means an opportunity to reset and start fresh and strong in the Pac-12, leaving behind the recent years of disappointing tournament finishes and a drought in the NCAA Tournament.
The MW women’s basketball scene will look vastly different in 2026, with newcomers such as UTEP, UC Davis and Grand Canyon attempting to take the spotlight away from UNLV.
Reach Sophie Webb and Devin Imsirpasic at sports@collegian.com or on X @RMCollegianSpts.
