Back during the 2023-24 season, TCU had to host open tryouts in the middle of the year because they didn’t have enough players to suit up. It was the program’s first season with Mark Campbell as head coach, and the team was suffering from multiple injuries. In a way, it kind of set the tone for his approach to roster-building.
The Frogs had to adjust on the fly, adding several new players who had never played college basketball before. That was almost like a microcosm of how Campbell has constructed his team the past couple of seasons.
With the explosion of the transfer portal, Campbell has fully embraced the evolving landscape, opting to recruit transfers to build a contending roster. And perhaps there’s something to that approach.
TCU was eliminated by South Carolina in the Elite Eight on Monday, but this was the program’s second consecutive appearance in the regional final. Prior to Campbell taking over, the Horned Frogs had never been out of the second round of the NCAA Tournament. The highest seed they had ever earned was No. 6.
Under Campbell, they’ve been a No. 2 and a No. 3 seed, respectively.
The team added ten new players this season out of the portal, and for Campbell, success is defined on a year to year basis. It’s hard to compare growth when teams are so different despite reaching the same level of success.
”You’re not comparing one year to the next in any way, shape or form. I think that model is out the window … if I got to have that group back and you get that group back for a second year, it doesn’t work that way,” Campbell said following TCU’s loss. “We’ve got ten players that are brand new, never played together, never played for our staff. And you’ve got to get that group to come together and try and make another run.”
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A year ago, it was Hailey Van Lith who highlighted Campbell’s transfer class as the lead guard. This year, it was Olivia Miles who stepped into that role. Miles spent five seasons at Notre Dame before choosing to finish her college career with TCU.
For her, it’s been Campbell’s structure and belief that’s made the program successful to a degree despite the roster overhaul.
“Obviously transferring is always an adjustment, especially when I was at a place as long as I was,” Miles said during the postgame press conference. “But Coach Mark and his staff and the girls on this team have allowed me to be me and to just learn the system.
“I remember Coach Mark and I talking before the season. He said it’s going to take you like ten or so games to get used to the system and we’re going to ride with you. Once you get there, you’ll be flying from there. That’s exactly what I did. And his trust and his faith in me from the jump is, I think, what propelled me to have such confidence this year.”
Miles had a career season. She averaged a career-best 19.6 points, as per Sports Reference, while shooting a career-high 48.8% from the field. Prior to the Elite Eight game, Miles spoke about how Campbell helped her fall in love with basketball again.
She may have only spent one year at TCU, but it was filled with memories she won’t soon forget.
”Such a special place. You don’t really understand until you’re in it. But the people I’ve got to meet, impact and inspire, I will remember forever,” Miles said. “I’m so grateful I had the opportunity. I just want to thank Coach Mark for taking a chance on me. I feel like we did a lot of special things this year, and I’m just grateful to have done it with the people around me.”
Even though TCU was adjusting to a roster comprised mostly of new players, the Frogs still had a few returners from last season’s team that helped with the transition. One of the team’s key returners was junior guard Donovyn Hunter.
Hunter went from alternating between starting and coming off the bench last season, to securing a permanent spot in the starting lineup this year. That also coincided with some of her best numbers to date. It was her first season scoring in double-figures at 10.3 points. She shot a career-best 45.5%.
And she’s been a part of Campbell’s approach. She joined TCU out of the portal after spending her freshman year at Oregon State. She had faith in the coaching staff to put the right pieces in place that would mesh together.
”There’s so much to be proud of. To have so many new girls come to our team … two returners and have all these new teammates and trust our coaches with who they’re bringing in and the culture that they’re going to develop, it’s a really hard thing,” Hunter said following TCU’s loss. “He [Campbell] makes it look easy, but it’s really hard. We did have moments of adversity, and it only made us stronger.”
The other returner alongside Hunter was fifth-year guard Taylor Bigby. She played her freshman season at Oregon, transferred to USC the following year, then played for the Trojans for two seasons before joining TCU.
She echoed her teammates’ sentiments in that Campbell and his staff are well-prepared to mesh new players together.
”I think it just speaks to the coaches and the way they invest in us and the work we put in. I’m super proud of this group in particular,” Bigby said after the game. “We faced a lot of adversity, and when a lot of teams could have quit or could have crumbled, we could have and we didn’t.”
TCU is set to lose multiple players who have used up their eligibility. Next season’s roster is probably going to look drastically different, just like this year’s team was from last year.
With the Frogs failing to advance past the Elite Eight in consecutive seasons, questions might arise on if Campbell’s approach is sustainable. But for him, he already views it as a success, and he believes the program has been elevated because of it.
”I would say the progress is elite, as well as anybody in the country,” Campbell said. “I think progress has been made at TCU. Four years ago they were 1-17 in the Big 12. Three years ago they were holding open tryouts with players from the rec center. I would say it’s been incredible what this team has accomplished. I thought it was incredible what last year’s team accomplished.”
