Following a year in which the Northwest College women’s basketball team reached the Region IX Championship Game, the Trappers return several key starters to the 2026-27 squad in addition to additional depth from the bench and redshirt seasons.

McKinlee Covolo from Mountain View, an All-American nominee as a freshman and the leading scorer from last year’s squad, will return this year.

She averaged 16.6 points per game, and added 7.1 rebounds per game as a forward.

“Being a freshman All-American nominee was exciting,” coach Cody Helenbolt said. “She got invited to a top 40 event for JUCO players, and then she was also picked for the All-Star game, that’s a good foundation to build on.”

Another key returner from Mountain View is Addison Hickey, another forward who averaged double-digits points.

She averaged 10.8 points per game, and led the team in rebounds at 7.4 per game while adding 1.7 steals per game on the defensive side of the ball.

Isabella Williams is the final returning starter. She averaged 11.9 points per game, led the team in assists and steals at 2.5 per game each while also chipping in 6.4 rebounds.

Competing alongside Covolo, Helenbolt feels there isn’t a much better trio in the country returning.

“I think Addi and Bella are right there with her (Covolo) as kind of top players in JUCO and probably the nation,” Helenbolt said. “I don’t see too many players that are going to be head and shoulders better than those two, so really our three, four and five are really strong on paper heading into the season with those three.”

One player who didn’t get to see the court last year due to injury, who Helenbolt is excited for, is Ava Post out of Liberty, Utah. She will bring an element of height to the Trapper lineup as the 6-foot, 4-inch, redshirt product can both bring shot blocking and shot making to the court.

“Ava has a chance to be really, really good. Health is the most important thing with her,” Helenbolt said. “If we can just get her out on the floor, she’s probably 6-4, maybe even 6-5, and can shoot. She blocks shots really well … I didn’t realize how good she was until McKinlee had the year she had … She’ll add an element of shot blocking to our team, and she’s one of our better shooters too.”

Another redshirt returner to the court is Faythe Stauffer from Riverton, Utah, who Helenbolt said was on track to be a key player last season before suffering season ending injury.

“Faythe was probably on track to be a starter or play major minutes for us last year before she got hurt,” Helenbolt said. “It’s a new year. She’s got to come in healthy, she definitely has the talent to do it. She was the leading scorer in 6A as a senior in the state of Utah, so she’s got all the talent. It’s just a matter of keeping her out there.”

One player who saw late game minutes last season is Maddie Mills from Upton, who Helenbolt said will play a role  once she makes the transition over from volleyball in the fall.

“Maddie’s gonna play volleyball, so she’ll start a little late. Just about the best kid you could ever have out there. She’s going to work hard and have a great attitude,” Helenbolt said.

The final player returning to the roster for Northwest joined later in the season last year, as Evie Olenslager rejoins the Trappers as a redshirt from Grace, Idaho.

“She didn’t get a chance to play last year, so she’s a little bit of an unknown,” Helenbolt said. “She’s got size that you can’t teach. She’s 6-3, so she was a nice player to have in practice because she was blocking shots when she was out there. So a pretty good foundation I would say.”

Bringing back seven players who saw time on the court last year whether it be in practice or in game, Helenbolt feels this time around the Trappers are hungry to take that next step after seeing the Region IX Title Game this past season.

“I want them to come in hungry and want to improve,” Helenbolt said. “I want them to come in and embrace the role of being a leader with the team and set expectations high. Hold everybody in the program accountable to ‘hey, we had a really good season last year, let’s have that standard be the standard the whole time in everything that we do.’”

Heading into this year, Helenbolt feels they are already a step ahead of where they were a year ago, when a mostly new team came to Northwest, and injuries caused chaos a year ago.

“I feel like we’re a step ahead of where we were at. So hopefully that translates,” Helenbolt said. “JUCO is super competitive. It’s tough, our region is super tough. Nothing’s going to be handed to them. So they’ve got to come in ready to work at it just like they did last year.”

Those returners will join with a dozen incoming freshmen once school and the season kick off in the coming months.