WVU Women’s Basketball HC Mark Kellogg Talks Handling Expectations

WVU women’s basketball head coach Mark Kellogg isn’t shying away from high expectations, but he’s also not emphasizing them too much with his team. Kellogg discussed how he’s handling the hype leading up to the 2024-25 season during Big 12 Media Day on Tuesday.

Kellogg admitted he’s talked about everything that comes with entering a season with a national preseason ranking with his players, but he doesn’t want to hammer the point home too much either.

“We talk about it, but not very often. When it (rankings) first comes out, we talk about it, very briefly. And then no, integrally, we don’t we really talk about it anymore,” said Kellogg when asked directly if he’s addressed the expectations with his team.

Still gotta earn it.

💬 @CoachKellogg12 pic.twitter.com/Iq1wV62Ype

— WVU Women's Basketball (@WVUWBB) October 22, 2024

“Externally, everybody else likes to talk about it and that’s okay, but I think we’ve worked hard for that right and that opportunity for people to talk about our program and to showcase it, to get some national TV coverage. You know, a year ago we didn’t play on national TV at all until the NCAA Tournament and I think we’re up to five games now so people are paying attention. It’s a credit to our kids and their investment.”

Outlook for the season:

West Virginia women’s basketball has momentum going within the program, coming off a second-round appearance in the NCAA Tournament under Mark Kellogg’s first season. The Mountaineers ended up falling to the eventual national runner-ups in Iowa. Kellogg finished 25-8 during his first year at WVU, the most wins ever by a first-year coach at West Virginia. WVU was ranked nine weeks in the Associated Press poll.

There are a lot of changes in Big 12 basketball for the 2024-25 season. The conference officially adds Arizona, Arizona State, Colorado and Utah this summer while losing Oklahoma and Texas to the SEC. Women’s basketball in the Big 12 will continue with an 18-game schedule as the men’s transition into a 20-game slate.

The Mountaineers—who finished at No. 24 in last year’s AP Poll—will see senior guard JJ Quinerly, the reigning Big 12 Defensive Player of the Year and a two-way star who saw her name floated for a number of national awards, return for her final season in Morgantown. They can also bank on junior Jordan Harrison, a sharpshooter who actually picked up more steals than Quinerly last season.

For a related story, find out how often the WVU women’s basketball team appears on national TV.