2026 Women’s Big 5 Recruiting Big Board

Three of the six women’s basketball programs in the Philadelphia Big 5 qualified for postseason play last season, with Villanova Women’s Basketball making the NCAA Tournament and Drexel and La Salle making the WNIT. As they try to build on that success — the Explorers, in particular, made the WNIT for the first time in 29 years, a resounding triumph after decades of mediocrity — the six programs will add 14 high school recruits between them.

Penn and Saint Joseph’s both have complete rosters, the Quakers focusing on high school recruiting and the Hawks finding a balance between that and the transfer portal; Villanova will return most of last season’s roster, while Drexel and La Salle have some work remaining if they want to take another swing at the Big Dance in 2027. Here’s a list of all the incoming freshman recruits for the Philadelphia Big 5.

Drexel (four roster spots open)

• G Ava Fajardo/5-foot-5/Randolph, N.J.
• G/F Miley Malcolm/6-foot-2/Indian Trail, N.C.
• G Emma Montanari/5-foot-9/Charlotte, N.C.
• G Megan Rullo/5-foot-8/Drexel Hill, Pa.

La Salle (five roster spots open)

• G Olivia Ostoni/5-foot-8/Milan, Italy

Penn (no roster spots open)

• G Jayah Curtis/5-foot-11/Parsippany, N.J.
• F Ava Jones/6-foot-1/Memphis, Tenn.
• G Madison Kocis/6-foot-0/Chatham, N.C.
• G Rachel Thatcher/5-foot-8/Haddon Twp, N.J.

Saint Joseph’s (no roster spots open)

• G/F Jahzara Green/6-foot-1/Lawnside, N.J.
• F Ebba Jägre/6-foot-1/Stockholm, Sweden
• G Addison Platt/5-foot-10/Sparta, N.J.

Temple (three roster spots open)

• G/W LaBrea Carter/5-foot-11/Washington, D.C.
• G Mariah Cross/5-foot-3/Wayne, Mich.

Villanova (three roster spots open)

• G Alexis Eberz/5-foot-10/Havertown, Pa.