Heading into her second season leading the Rockets, Head Coach Ginny Boggess led her squad through a seven-week summer workout schedule from June-August. Toledo's roster features seven returners and seven newcomers, along with several new members of the coaching staff. The Rockets, coming of a 24-9 record last season, will return to practice in the fall in preparation for the 2025-26 season, which tips off on Nov. 3.
 
What were the similarities and differences from this summer compared to last summer?
 
Boggess: What's different for me personally is we have a home. My wife Kristin and my dad are settled in here. In general, there's been less unknown and more rhythm and predictability for me. All of the basic day-to-day tasks, from reaching out to facilities, to where to get a car wash is more familiar now that I know my way around.
 
The excitement around our program, the joy that these student-athletes bring to this arena, the fun that we have and the competition in the room are similar. We had an opportunity to level up our staff – we had a great staff last year and we have a tremendous one this year. I'm just excited to be here in year two. It feels different from a rhythm and familiarity standpoint.
 
How have the newcomers integrated into the team culture?
 
Boggess: We talk a lot about person-student-player; P-S-P as we call it. They're good people, first and foremost, that embrace Blue Collar, Gold Standard. As people, they've fit in amazingly well. They love basketball and this community, and chose Toledo because of the relationship with the community. As students, they took a class this summer to get oriented to the University and the student-athletes services they have here on campus, and did very well. As players, there's a lot of newness, a lot of youth and a lot of talent. We're big, fast and selfless, and I think you're going to see a different look this year, especially on the defensive end.
 
What impresses you most about the team?
 
Boggess: Their connection with one another is extremely impressive. They get along with one another very well. I hear comments all the time from external staff, who are wowed about how well the team gets along. When you step into a highly competitive environment with 14 high-achieving women, the fact that they truly love one another is highly remarkable.
 
You mentioned the team's connection. How have they built chemistry and what have they done off the court?
 
Boggess: There's been summers where I've had to structure team bonding to get the team to know one another, but that was not the case this summer. They hit the ground running, organizing game nights, taco nights, ice cream nights, and even Love Island nights. They were doing fun things together without an assist from the staff. As we got in the gym, you could see the shared competitiveness, passion and drive, and you could see that connection on the court.
 
We ended the summer with Blue/Gold Week. It's one of my favorite weeks of the year. We get to compete and learn who we are and do an assessment on our culture – how do we respond to failure and adversity, but also when we have success? Do we take the foot off the gas? There were a lot of opportunities this summer for us to see the team's connection, chemistry and relationships grow, and it's been really fun.
 
What improvements are you looking for from the summer to fall?
 
Boggess: I think we can improve our pace. When you're learning, it's hard to move at full speed because you're thinking. I believe we can be an elite rebounding team, but when you're thinking, it can cloud your instincts and you're not pursuing the ball at a high level. We have a fun and selfless group and they just need to lean into their strengths to improve every day.
 
You have a young team with no seniors and just one graduate student. What challenges and opportunities did that bring?
 
Boggess: It's allowed players like Kendall Carruthers, Cadence Dykstra, Ella Weaver and Faith Fedd-Robinson to step into leadership roles. There's been those emergent leadership opportunities from team culture to the scenarios on the court. Seeing them take ownership and pride in explaining the system and why we do things the way we do was really cool to see.
 
How important has the strength and conditioning program been over the summer?
 
Boggess: A lot of the foundation work of toughness and discipline is built in the weight room. There's no makes or misses in there. You've just got to do the work. There's no excuses and details are everything. They've really bought into that. For our second- and third-year players, their bodies are transforming and they're taking the weight room and their nutrition seriously. The weight room is a space where competition is healthy and we want to see them get after it. I think they did an awesome job for the seven weeks they were here.
 
Who are some players that made strong individual growth throughout the summer period?
 
Boggess: There was a tremendous amount of growth from all our returners. Ella, Cadence and Kendall all came back and have had a different swagger about them. Their fitness was at the highest level that I've seen, and that says a lot, because they've been fit and have been hard workers. We're seeing the ball go in more for Cadence and Weaver, and Kendall is getting more aggressive. Weaver has bought into being more than a shooter – she's attacking the glass at a really high level and playing multiple positions. She's a very-high IQ player and is extremely versatile.
 
Kendall Braden's healthy and she's back to being 'KB' and doing what she's always done, especially on the defensive end. Destiny Robinson's grown all-around, has found her voice and has been competitive. Faith Fedd-Robinson is playing with the confidence and a maturity that we knew were there, but takes time to develop. She's scoring at a high level, and we saw her competitiveness come out this summer at a high level. Evalyse Cole has really been working on her shot and wants to be one of the best rebounders in the conference.
 
You've added assistant coach/recruiting coordinator Hailey Yohn, director of operations Sydney Workman and graduate assistant Sammi Mikonowicz to the staff. What have they added?
 
Boggess: For Hailey, being the recruiting coordinator is one of the hardest jobs on staff. She has come and hit the ground running. She builds a positive relationship with our players and is great at development. She's a pro who comes to the arena every day with a smile on her face and has kept the momentum that we built in year one. Sydney knows what it takes to compete at the highest level, especially with recruiting. She's jumped in and worked with a lot of our camps and travel, and she also gets out on the court and brings energy. She has a passion for rebounding and is tag-teaming that with Sammi. Having Sammi on staff – a person that knows the standard and the system and is not far removed from being one of the players – brings insight and credibility that is undeniable. They've been huge additions, and I'm fortunate that the full staff is extremely close and working well together. It's important to me that the team behind the team is working well together.
 
How important is this stretch in August when student-athletes are off campus? What do you encourage the team to do?
 
Boggess: First and foremost, we want them to be teenagers and kids. They only get a few weeks when they're not here with the time demands and academic demands. We want them to get away and spend time with their families – get lake time, beach time, mountain time – whatever is important to them. From a basketball standpoint, we want them to come back healthy and refreshed. We want them to miss it a little bit, but we want them to come back fit, in-shape and ready to hit the ground running. If we come back fit, everything will take care of itself because we'll be able to get right to work.
 
What have you been able to do around town during the summer season?
 
Boggess: I've ventured out around town a lot this summer. Kristin and I have explored some of the Metroparks, been to Mud Hens' games and done some community service downtown. I'll say it loud and proud – my backyard is my favorite place to be, so we'll hit the grill, making all kinds of foods such as steak, chicken, veggies, shrimp and even some fish, and also hang out by the pool. Sometimes the coaches and the staff come over and sometimes it's just us. Toledo is such a fun place to live and I believe it's a very underrated city. I'm loving it a lot here, especially because of the people. I've probably spent more time downtown in the past two months than in the past year combined and love it.