DeLAND, Fla. — A new season, a new coaching staff and a significantly reshaped Stetson Women's Basketball team will take the floor for the first time Monday night as the Hatters open the 2026-27 campaign against Flagler at Insight Credit Union Arena at Edmunds Center.

Tipoff is set for 7 p.m. in DeLand, with free admission for all fans as part of Community Day. Monday will offer the first look at the Hatters under first-year head coach Melissa DeVore, with a collection of returning players stepping into expanded roles alongside six newcomers looking to make their first impact in the Green and White.

Monday marks the first official game of the Melissa DeVore era at Stetson and the beginning of a season that will look noticeably different from the one that preceded it. The Hatters are coming off a 20-win campaign that included a 12-6 mark in ASUN play, a trip to the conference semifinals and a postseason appearance in the WNIT, but much of the production behind that run has moved on.

DeVore takes over with a new staff and a roster built around opportunity. Stetson's five leading scorers from last season are no longer on the roster, leaving returning Hatters who previously occupied supporting roles with the chance to take on considerably larger responsibilities.

That transition will be evident from the opening tip. Of Stetson's returning players, only three made a start last season, and those three combined for just 19. Eva Bradshaw accounted for 16 of those starts, while Jorah Eppley made two and Candela Garcia-Escribano Pozo made one.

The returning group may be short on starts, but it is not short on experience within the program. Bradshaw appeared in all 32 games last season and gives the Hatters an experienced defensive presence after making 16 starts as a junior. She finished with 18 steals while averaging 18.8 minutes per game and enters her senior season as one of the veterans DeVore can lean on as the new group finds its footing.

Eppley provides Stetson with its most proven returning perimeter threat. The senior guard knocked down 37 three-pointers last season, accounting for 37 of her 39 made field goals, while appearing in 30 games. She also finished with 30 assists against just nine turnovers and enters the year as the Hatters' leading returning scorer at 4.0 points per game.

Sophie Locatelli returns for her sophomore season after appearing in 24 games as a freshman. The Swiss guard totaled 25 assists in 228 minutes and now enters Year Two with a season of Division I basketball behind her. In the frontcourt, senior Favour Nmecha Anyaele provides size and efficiency after shooting 69.2 percent from the floor in limited action last season while adding six blocks.

Garcia-Escribano Pozo also showed efficiency in her first season in DeLand, connecting on 46.6 percent of her field-goal attempts across 28 appearances. Cici Driessen and Raven LeXander add further experience to a returning group that will be asked to turn familiarity with the program into increased production on the floor.

Stetson's six newcomers bring youth, size and international experience into DeVore's first season. Five are freshmen, creating immediate opportunities for a young class to establish itself as the Hatters work through the early stages of a new system.

Freshman guard Desireck Nieves arrives in DeLand following a decorated prep and international career. The Puerto Rico native helped her national team capture gold at the 2026 Central American and Caribbean Games over the summer before joining the Hatters from Central Pointe Christian Academy in Kissimmee.

Forward Sofia Moschen gives Stetson another player with experience beyond the high school level. The 6-foot-2 sophomore spent the past two seasons at Bowling Green and has also represented Brazil in international competition. Freshmen Addison Godby, Zoie Lofton, Heidi Rathmann and Kieren Smith round out a newcomer class that will have an early opportunity to carve out roles.

Flagler comes to DeLand for an exhibition before opening its regular season Nov. 9 at Southern Wesleyan. The Saints finished 11-17 overall and 6-14 in Peach Belt Conference play last season, averaging 66.4 points while holding a considerable advantage on the glass with 39.9 rebounds per game and a plus-5.3 rebounding margin.

The Saints return several players who held meaningful roles a season ago. Junior Gabby Bush is the team's leading returning scorer after averaging 8.5 points, 3.8 rebounds and 1.5 assists across 27 games, including 22 starts. Senior guard Aspen Weeks returns after averaging 7.4 points while shooting 42.9 percent from the floor and 35.1 percent from three-point range.

Emerson Kutz contributed 6.1 points per game off the bench last season, while Abby Smith averaged 5.3 points and 2.7 rebounds. Dennaye Hinds also returns after making nine starts and averaging 4.9 points. The Saints will have to replace their top two scorers from last season, including Marley Smith, who led Flagler at 13.1 points and 6.6 rebounds per game, and Natalie Herrin, who averaged 9.3 points and 6.0 rebounds.

Flagler's roster also features several new faces, including transfers Betzalys Delgado, Rain McDaniel, Khalia Woodley, Hannah Lynch and Nicki Carreno, along with freshmen Justyce McCoy, Ari Walker and Bella Sturgill. Head coach Mo Smith returns to lead the Saints.

Monday will mark the fourth meeting between Stetson and Flagler, with the Hatters carrying a 3-0 series record into the opener. All three previous meetings have taken place in DeLand.

Stetson won the first meeting 84-47 on Dec. 4, 2015, before the programs met again seven years later in a 79-52 Hatter victory on Nov. 7, 2022. The most recent matchup came on Dec. 30, 2023, when Stetson pulled away in the fourth quarter for a 73-60 win.

Monday provides Stetson with its lone home game before an immediate five-game road stretch that will test the new-look Hatters across the first three weeks of the season. Stetson travels to Louisville on Wednesday before visiting Miami, FIU, Clemson and UCF, then returns to the Edmunds Center on Nov. 22 to host Wright State.

The demanding opening stretch will give DeVore and her staff an early opportunity to evaluate a roster still establishing its identity, but Monday night comes first — and with it, the first chance to see what this new version of Stetson Basketball looks like when the games begin to count.

Tipoff between Stetson and Flagler is scheduled for 7 p.m. ET Monday at Insight Credit Union Arena at Edmunds Center in DeLand. Admission is free for all fans as part of Community Day, with fans encouraged to wear green. The game will be streamed live on ESPN+, with live statistics and additional coverage available at GoHatters.com.