CHICAGO – The Missouri Valley Conference announced its 2025-26 Women's Basketball "Players to Watch" list Wednesday morning, with four members of the UIC women's basketball team earning recognition. Seniors Jessica Carrothers and Amelia Strong, redshirt junior Jaya McClure, and sophomore Samantha Serrano were each selected among a competitive group of student-athletes from across The Valley.

"We are very excited to have four players on the 2025-26 MVC Women's Basketball, "Players to Watch," list," head coach Ashleen Bracey said. "Jessica, Jaya, Samantha and Amelia are all experienced and have proven production at the college level. They have been working hard to get acclimated to our system over the summer and during preseason. We are expecting them to make an immediate impact."

Carrothers joins the Flames after a standout two-year career at IU Northwest, where she led the entire National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA) in scoring with 31.4 points per game during her final season. She was named the 2025 Women's Basketball Coaches Association (WBCA) NAIA Player of the Year and earned NAIA First Team All-America honors. Carrothers scored 30 or more points in 21 games, topped 40 points six times, and recorded a collegiate-high 51 points vs. St. Ambrose during her time in a RedHawks uniform.

McClure comes to UIC following three seasons at Ohio University, where she averaged 10.1 points, 3.0 assists, and 2.2 rebounds per game. She earned a spot on the All-Mid-American Conference (MAC) Freshman Team in 2022-23 and followed with All-MAC Honorable Mention honors the next season after averaging 12.6 points and totaling 75 assists. McClure reached double figures 23 times in her Bobcat career, including four 20+ point outings. She posted a career-high 26 points on Feb. 11, 2024, to lead Ohio past Kent State, 79-77.

Serrano joins the Flames after one stellar season at Florida Southwestern in Cypress Lake, Fla. She started all 31 games, averaging 19.0 points per game while shooting 41% from the field and 36% from three-point range. Serrano became just the third player in program history to surpass 500 points in a single season and the second to make 80 or more three-pointers (81). She helped lead the Buccaneers to a Citrus Conference Championship and a berth in the NJCAA National Tournament Sweet 16, earning Citrus Conference Player of the Year and NJCAA Third Team All-America honors.

Strong wrapped up her three-year career at Niagara University with her most productive offensive season, averaging 9.7 points per game. She reached double figures in eight of 16 games, highlighted by a season-high 16 points vs. Marist on Feb. 22. A force on the glass, Strong totaled 276 rebounds during her career—169 of them on the offensive end. She tallied four double-digit rebound games and grabbed five or more offensive rebounds in nine contests as a Purple Eagle.

 For more information on UIC women's basketball, fans are encouraged to visit UICFlames.com, or follow the Flames on social media through X (@UIC_WBB and @UICFlames) and Instagram (@uic_wbband @uicflames).
 
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