The Wolverine: Covering University of Michigan Football and Sports
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46 THE WOLVERINE ❱ NOVEMBER 2025 2025-26 BASKETBALL PREVIEW BY ANTHONY BROOME M ichigan head coach Kim Barnes Arico oversaw a youth movement with her women's basket- ball program last year, thanks to a three- headed attack of now-sophomores who have everyone thinking much bigger heading into the 2025-26 campaign. Guards Syla Swords, Olivia Olson and Mila Holloway all earned All-Big Ten honors last season and are back as the faces of Barnes Arico's program this year. The Wolverines will start the sea- son ranked 13th in the country in the preseason Associated Press Top 25 poll one year after finishing with a 23-11 re- cord and a round of 32 appearance in the NCAA Tournament. "It's nice to know that our freshman class all returned, which was amazing," Barnes Arico said told the Big Ten Net- work at the league's media day. "They're all sophomores now. In this landscape of college athletics, sometimes you don't know if that will happen. "They're incredible basketball play- ers, great people, great students. They're Michigan women. They have unfinished business. They want to con- tinue to grow, develop, and do special things at Michigan. "Syla and Olivia, from the minute they stepped on campus, I've never coached two kids who worked as hard as they did. Not only were they talented, but their work ethic was absolutely in- credible. They're competitors who just want to win and be great at everything they do. "And then you add Mila Holloway. I don't think anyone in the country ex- pected her to do what she did as a fresh- man point guard. To open up your college career against South Carolina in Vegas — that's different. She handled that load with grace. Her maturity and growth this offseason have been special." The sophomore trio averaged 42.1 points between them and were respon- sible for over 54 percent of the team's scoring output last season. Olson and Swords were the first freshman team- mates in Big Ten history to each score 500-plus points in the same year. De- spite all of it, the team remains unselfish and unflinching in its desire to win. UNSELFISH SOPHOMORES U-M's Trio Of Second-Year Stars Are Back To Lead Program Sophomore guards Syla Swords (12) and Olivia Olson (1) were each named to the 2025 Preseason All-Big Ten team by both the coaches and the media. Along with classmate Mila Holloway (not pictured), they are the unquestioned leaders for U-M this season. PHOTO COURTESY MICHIGAN PHOTOGRAPHY