Inside the 18-day rebuild that reshaped West Virginia women’s basketball

West Virginia women’s basketball coach Mark Kellogg has grown accustomed to change in the transfer portal era, but even he admits this offseason tested him in ways he hadn’t experienced before. Following another season of 25 or more wins and a Big 12 Tournament championship, the Mountaineers faced the challenge of rebuilding much of their roster. In the span of just 18 days, Kellogg and his staff added 11 players and signed 10 of them, transforming the makeup of the program in less than three weeks. “We did it in about 18 days,” Kellogg said. “We did bring in 11 players, I think, in an 18-day period and signed 10 of them. So it was hot and heavy. That was a little hectic, a little stressful, you know, in certain situations.” The rapid turnaround came despite plenty of uncertainty early in the process. West Virginia returned only two players from last season’s roster, and some of the expected pieces never materialized. “We thought we had a couple more that were going to come back initially and then made some decisions to go a different direction,” Kellogg said. Building a roster in a hurry The pace of modern recruiting forced the coaching staff to react quickly. “We had a kid leave and I think in 48 hours we had another kid on campus and committed,” Kellogg said. “So that’s literally how quickly the process goes.” Even with the frantic pace, Kellogg believes the Mountaineers accomplished what they set out to do. The coaching staff prioritized versatility, defensive ability and players capable of filling multiple roles. “I think we’ve got versatility. We can defend. We’re multiple position type players,” Kellogg said. The process itself looked much different than it would have only a few years ago. Rather than waiting until prospects arrived on campus, Kellogg and his staff worked to answer many of the biggest questions beforehand. Checking the boxes early Kellogg said the staff focused on laying out expectations before players ever arrived in Morgantown. “I think what we probably did a little differently this go around was try to check all of the boxes before they ever got here,” Kellogg said. “So when they got here, there wasn’t even if it was from the NIL rev share portion to role to film, whatever it could, you know, it could possibly be. We were doing it all ahead of time.” By the time recruits arrived on campus, the focus shifted away from negotiations and toward determining whether the fit made sense on both sides. “When they got here, not that it was a formality, but a lot of those discussions had been had and we were just trying to make sure it was the perfect fit,” Kellogg said. Preparation played a major role in allowing the Mountaineers to move quickly once the transfer portal opened. Long before players officially entered the portal, the coaching staff had already identified roster needs and built databases of potential targets. Some recruits had existing relationships with the program, while others emerged as ideal fits once openings became available. “A lot of the work is done before they even enter,” Kellogg said. Life as a general manager Even with all of that planning, putting together an entire roster in less than three weeks created challenges unlike anything Kellogg had experienced in his coaching career. “I think there was one day I had like 13 or 14 tabs open of different like spreadsheets that I was like the GM trying to if this kid comes, this changes this,” Kellogg said. “And then I’d have to go to the new spreadsheet because that one doesn’t. This one commits, this is what it looks like.” Kellogg admitted the whirlwind stretch was unlike anything he had dealt with before. “It was ever-changing in those 18 days like anything I’d ever been through,” he said. The shorter transfer portal window created plenty of chaos, but Kellogg believes it also brought one significant benefit. “It got over quicker than it had, so we were done much earlier with the roster,” Kellogg said. Now, nearly a month into summer workouts, Kellogg likes what he has seen from the group that emerged from those 18 hectic days. “They’ve kind of lived up to everything that we thought they would,” Kellogg said. Talk about it with West Virginia fans on The Blue Lot SUBSCRIBE today to stay up on the latest on Mountaineer sports and recruiting Get all of our WVU videos on YouTube by subscribing to the WVSports.com Channel Follow us on Twitter: @WVSportsDotCom, @rivalskeenan Like us on Facebook, Instagram and TikTok