Cara Consuegra laid the groundwork for her team in her first season as Marquette women’s basketball head coach last year.
Now, in her second season, Consuegra has managed to make her team the only team in Division I women’s basketball to return all its players from the 2024-25 roster for the 2025-26 season.
Before the first tip-off of the season, Marquette was making statements across the Big East and NCAA basketball.
Although it might seem obvious, the Golden Eagles don’t even look that different, as they only added two first-years, guards Kam Herring and JJ Barnes, and had one transfer, junior guard Jordan Meulemans.
Marquette was also picked to finish second in the conference preseason poll (85 votes) behind the conference leader, UConn.
“Having an experienced team has made the preseason go so much smoother,” Consuegra said. “I think our kids are really confident in what they’re doing; they’re confident in each other and how they move and play against each other, so I think we’re in a good place right now.”
But as for a reason why they all returned? The general consensus seemed to be because of the culture Consuegra and the coaching staff have built.
“It speaks directly to coach Cara and the culture that she’s built here,” graduate student guard Lee Volker said. “The way that she builds relationships makes practice and games super fun, but is still able to hold us super accountable and help us get better.”
Keep in mind, Consuegra was only around for a year, but that didn’t matter. What she taught her team did.
Looking up at the video board in the Al McGuire Center last season, right before tip-off, you would see five letters displayed in their hype video: H.E.A.R.T.
To many, it simply spells out the word “heart.” But to Marquette women’s basketball? It means a heck of a lot more.
“Our number one focus in year one was on culture and our foundation, and we wanted to make sure we gave our kids a great experience,” Consuegra said. “They bought in, they believed in our culture of playing with H.E.A.R.T., and believed in our principles.”
Heart, Effort, Accountability, Respect and Toughness. Those are the five core values guiding the program. Guiding a culture that runs so deep, it’s why all players decided to return.
In an interview with Marquette Today, Consuegra said when she was first hired for a coaching position 14 years ago, she wanted to build a program founded by values — a place where players can go beyond just being athletes.
“Culture is a huge part here, and I think it just shows that when you build it, people want to stay,” graduate student forward Abbey Cracknell said.
Cracknell said every year, the team does a H.E.A.R.T. workshop — a retreat, rather — to discuss what those principles mean individually.
For this summer’s workshop, the program went to the Iron Horse Hotel in downtown Milwaukee. They also got to go on a scavenger hunt around the city.
Outside of the retreat, the team goes on various “sweet treat” runs to Kopp’s and enjoys each other’s company, watching movies or TV shows at someone’s apartment. Again, building that culture.
The work is put in off the court, but the relationships transfer right back onto the court come game time.
“Just knowing everyone a little bit better, and also knowing how each other plays, it’s a lot easier to hold each other a little more accountable,” Volker said.
Volker, who had her senior day last season and got a waiver to return as a fifth year, was not surprised when she found out everyone on the team would be returning.
“[Cara] takes time to understand who we are as people and who we are as basketball players and what helps us play our best,” Volker said.
Consuegra said that the players can understand each other’s strengths and weaknesses, and because of this, their offense is performing better than last season.
With the chemistry continuously growing, their ability to move the ball, communicate and understand positioning can only lead to one thing: efficiency. And it’s no longer a scavenger hunt where they’re looking for answers, for they don’t need to search for success.
So when those five letters appear on the video board once again this year in the Al McGuire Center, there is no doubt that it won’t also be displayed through the way the team plays.
“As long as we play Marquette basketball and play with H.E.A.R.T., it’s going to be pretty hard to beat us,” Cracknell said.
This story was written by Raquel Ruiz. She can be reached at raquel.ruiz@marquette.edu or on Twitter/X @RaquelRuizMU.