PRINCETON, N.J. – Head coaches and student-athletes from all eight Ivy League institutions met virtually with members of the media for the 2026 Ivy League Women's Basketball Media Day on Thursday, October 8.
The program was moderated by ESPN women's basketball analyst Christy Thomaskutty and provided a preview of the upcoming 2026–27 season, with coaches and student-athletes discussing their teams' expectations, returning talent and preparations for the year ahead.
QUICK HITS
Brown Head Coach Monique LeBlanc – “What I love about our defense is it really matches and connects to our program culture. Defense is an area of the floor where you can play so hard, and with so much passion and grit, those intangibles can really make a difference.”
Columbia Head Coach Megan Griffith – “This is a schedule that's truly going to test us for March. I also think that this team can handle those challenges early on. It's a monster schedule, but can your captains, your leaders and everybody in that circle look at that schedule and attack it game by game? I think this team can.”
Cornell Head Coach Emily Garner – “We're deeper than we've ever been as a team. Each day, we're able to challenge each other in a way that was a bit different than last year. There's depth at every position, so competitively, we're at a place where we're competing at such a high level in practice that it's preparing us for what's ahead.”
Dartmouth Head Coach Linda Cimino – “We're excited to have new players help us build. We have some veteran players that have been here now for three full seasons, and so there's more continuity. We're really excited about where this program is going.”
Harvard Head Coach Carrie Moore – “I don't want to just play games that I know we're going to show up and win. I want to challenge us. I want to see what versions of ourselves we can bring out with the competition that we're going to go up against. It's going to provide us with an opportunity to see how we handle adversity early.”
Penn Head Coach Mike McLaughlin – “The depth has grown with experience, returning players and new players, and it's going to give us more flexibility on our roster. I'm really encouraged by what I've seen so far. I think we're off to a tremendous start, and I'm excited to see where this journey takes us.”
Princeton Head Coach Lauren Gosselin – “When you have a roster full of talent that buys into the vision, that works together, lifts each other up and believes they're the best when they take the floor, the sky is the limit for this group.”
Yale Head Coach Dalila Eshe – “Across the board, you're going to see us play a lot faster, be able to get into the bench a little bit more. We have a lot of talent, and we hope that we can play at a really high pace to be able to utilize a lot of our players.”