2025-26 Basketball Preview: Whiteoak Lady Wildcats

The Whiteoak Lady Wildcats finished as district runners-up a season ago, but many things have changed for the program entering the 2025-26 season. There are new players on the roster and a different head coach, as the team builds a new identity this winter. 

Whiteoak hired Tirrell Cumberland as their head coach this offseason, as he takes the helm of the Lady Wildcats, replacing former head coach Cole Schaefer. Schaefer, who took over the program in the early stages of the 2024-25 season, was named the District 14 Division VI Coach of the Year as voted by the District 14 Coaches Association.

Looking back at last season, Whiteoak finished 16-7 overall, and they were 10-3 in the Southern Hills Athletic Conference Div. II standings for second place behind champion Fayetteville, plus it was Whiteoak’s third straight season of at least 14 wins. 

In the ’24-25 season, Whiteoak averaged 50.1 points per game and allowed 40.6 ppg. In SHAC games (13 total), the Lady ’Cats averaged 51.1 ppg and allowed 41.5 ppg. 

WHS graduated five seniors from the district runner-up team, and this year they have a new look with new players on the roster transferring to Whiteoak High School this school year. WHS has lost five of their top six scorers from last season to graduation or transferring to another school, equaling 42.1 ppg.

“We only return two total players from last year’s roster. Three players haven’t played in the past two seasons, and we’ve added a few transfers, so this is truly a new group,” Cumberland said. “The biggest challenge will be getting everyone to gel together and build chemistry quickly.

“This team has shown a willingness to push through challenges. Conditioning wasn’t easy, and our practices are demanding, but they’ve stayed resilient and finished strong. They’re also bonding faster than I expected, and that connection is already showing in how they play together.”

Cumberland — who is in his first year as a varsity head coach — is a Hillsboro High School graduate, and during his playing days at HHS he was a 1,000-point scorer. He was a USCAA All-American while at Southern State Community College, and he also played at Ohio Christian University, where he was a first-team NCCAA All-American. At both of his collegiate stops, Cumberland was a 1,000-point scorer.

The new head coach of the Whiteoak girls basketball program Cumberland spoke about how the process of taking over has been “humbling and rewarding.”

“The process of becoming the head coach at Whiteoak has been both humbling and rewarding. Ironically, I spent most of my life saying I’d never coach basketball — I thought I’d stay focused on skill development and training, which I’ve done for the past 13 years,” he said. “However, faith has always guided my life. I truly felt God placed it on my heart that this is where I needed to be. At first, I resisted, but I’ve learned that God has a way of redirecting us for a reason. Looking back, I can see how the last 13 years of training and mentorship prepared me for this exact role and this group of girls.”

Assistant coaches for Whiteoak are JC Captain, Nathan Rutledge, Anthony Price and Coltin Hunter.

Cumberland’s first team at Whiteoak will consist of one returning starter from last season, that being sophomore guard Jillian Lucas, and just two total players from a year ago, with the other player being sophomore center Jada Combs. The roster for the ’25-26 Lady Wildcats consists of three seniors, two juniors, four sophomores and five freshmen. 

Seniors are Kyra Boyd (forward), Matti Conrad (forward) and Savannah Ferguson (forward). Juniors for WHS are Chanel Captain (forward) and Miley Walker (forward). The sophomore class is Dinah Ames (forward/center), Lucas (guard), Combs (center) and Peyton Gobin (guard/forward). Freshmen this season are Ella Howard (guard), Aveah Captain (guard), Marley Parsons (guard), Taelyn Shriver (guard) and Libby Webster (forward/center). 

“I’m genuinely excited about every player on this roster, but especially our freshman class. They haven’t yet been developed to their full potential, and I believe once that happens, they can be something special,” Cumberland said. “Jillian Lucas will bring a lot of energy and skill to our team, while Kyra Boyd will play a major role in what we do this season. Dinah Ames, Peyton Gobin, Chanel Captain, Miley Walker, Matti Conrad, Jada Combs and Savannah Ferguson all bring speed, grit and athleticism.”

Whiteoak has their fourth-leading scorer from last season returning in Lucas. As a freshman, Lucas scored 200 points, averaging 8.7 ppg last season (23 games including the tournament). She also had regular-season averages of 3.2 rebounds per game, 2.0 assists per game and 1.8 steals per game. Lucas also shot 32.9 percent from the field. Lucas finished with 61 rebounds (25 offensive, 36 defensive), 38 assists, 34 steals, and she also had one block in the regular season. 

WHS has added senior Kyra Boyd to their ’25-26 roster, as she’s transferring from Hillsboro, where she was a starter and All-District selection last season. As a junior at HHS, Boyd played in 19 games (including tournament), where she averaged 12.5 ppg, scoring 238 points. She also had regular-season averages of 5.8 rpg, 2.1 spg and 1.6 apg. Boyd last season at HHS made 17 3-pointers in the regular season. She was an All-Frontier Athletic Conference selection, second-team Coaches All-District and special mention OPSMA All-District.

Ames played in 24 games at HHS last season where she averaged nearly 4 ppg last season, including having an 11-point game, and three other games where she scored eight points in each of those contests. 

Cumberland continued to speak highly about his new roster of players, describing his team as “gritty and athletic.”

“From the summer to now, the growth of this group has been tremendous,” he said. “Many of these players come from situations where development wasn’t heavily emphasized, and I’m excited to take on the challenge of helping them reach their ceiling.”

There is one part of his team that Cumberland is focusing on as the season nears that he wants to see improvement on, and that is growing confidence. 

“One of the biggest areas I want to see growth in is confidence — especially after a missed shot or mistake. Learning to move on and respond to the next play is a key part of our development process,” Cumberland said. “Our focus this season is on continued growth and development. We don’t have many upperclassmen, so learning to handle adversity and tough moments will be a big part of our journey. 

“Every team faces games where shots don’t fall or momentum swings against them — I’m eager to see how this group responds when those moments come.”

Being his first year at the helm of the Lady ’Cats, Cumberland was pleased with the offseason that his team built the foundation of the program on, as “working on fundamentals” was key to the offseason.

“This summer, we wanted to start fresh and focus heavily on fundamentals,” Cumberland said. “We ran a 10-day training camp dedicated to skill work and addressing weaknesses.

“As a first-year head coach, my goal has been to build relationships with every player. I believe players perform best when they know their coaches care about them beyond basketball. Every athlete responds differently, and establishing trust has allowed us to push them hard, knowing it comes from a place of love and belief.”

The Lady ’Cats will be playing in the Southern Hills Athletic Conference Division II, where they’ll face Fairfield, Fayetteville, Manchester and Peebles twice, while facing Division I SHAC opponents once, as that part of the schedule includes games against Eastern, Lynchburg-Clay, North Adams, Ripley and West Union.

“The SHAC will be very competitive this year. You have to show up ready to play every night — there are no easy games. I believe every team in the league has improved from last season,” Cumberland said. 

Whiteoak’s non-conference schedule includes games against: vs. Paint Valley, vs. McClain, at Bethel-Tate, vs. Williamsburg, at Georgetown, at Southeastern Ross, vs. New Boston and vs. Clermont Northeastern, and they’ll be playing in Eastern’s Winter Classic (at EBHS).

“Our non-conference schedule is solid and will test us early,” Cumberland said. “Greenfield (McClain) is a standout program and my pick to win the FAC — I wouldn’t be surprised to see them bring home the gold ball. Georgetown will also be a strong opponent, giving us another great challenge.”

Cumberland had some final thoughts on his team before the season begins. 

“I’m excited to help this team build a strong foundation for the future,” he said. “I believe the talent and potential are here to make Whiteoak girls basketball one of the stronger programs in the area — it’s just about continuing to develop, trust the process and grow together.”

Whiteoak begins the 2025-26 season on Thursday, Dec. 4 at home vs. the Peebles Lady Indians in SHAC action. 

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