KALAMAZOO, Mich. -- It didn't take long for head coach Kate Achter to answer a question about what Bronco Nation will see from her second Western Michigan University women's basketball team. Like about a half a second.

"This group really embodies what it means to be a Bronco,'' Achter said. "Many of them are transfers, but this group leans into being here.

"They want an opportunity to contribute, and they picked us because we believe in keeping players and developing players. That's important to them.''

The four transfers who came to WMU this season are senior Kaylyn Buchanon (Dominican University of California) and juniors Zuri Ransom (Ball State), Faith Wiseman (Indiana) and Emily Van Timmeren (Miami of Ohio). They all came from winning programs, too. The four played on teams which were 93-36 last season.

WMU opens the season on Nov. 2 in a home game against Coastal Carolina for the team's Class at the Court game.

"Their chemistry is great, they are involved in the community, and they compete on every level, which, more than anything else, is what I'm excited about,'' Achter said.

The Broncos (9-20 overall, 5-13 Mid-American Conference) needless to say, had a rough season in Achter's first year because of injuries. For example, in WMU's first three MAC games, only nine players were available to play and six of them played approximately 30 minutes each. The Broncos had a 6-9 record in games decided by 10 points or less last season.

"We played around 10 games or more with at least seven to eight players who were out injured or ill,'' Achter said. "I don't think we played a game all season where we didn't have someone out with an injury, which was a first for me.''

This season is starting out a whole lot different as WMU's roster consists of seniors Buchanon, Nile Muguira Orbe, and Morasha Wiggins. The junior class consists of Ransom, Wiseman, Van Timmeren, Kailey Starks, and Ali Harness. There aren't any sophomores, but the freshman class is twins Ava and Vanessa Rodriguez, Casey Vyverman and Isabella Miljkovic.

Starks, Harness and Muguira are the lone returners who played in 2025-26. Starks, who transferred last season to WMU from Detroit Mercy where Achter was the head coach, led the Broncos in scoring, averaging 12.9 points. Harness averaged 6.6 points and Muguira 5.7 points. All three were starters at some point in the season with Starks starting all 29 games, averaging more than 30 minutes per game.

"It's hard to find eight new players to fit into a system, but all of them are doing a great job of knowing their role and knowing what the team needs,'' Muguira, one of three captains along with Starks and Ransom, said. ''This is a change of pace from last year because we didn't have a lot of players.''

"I see the growth from year one to this year already.''

The word Achter uses to describe this year's team is belief.

"Every player in our recruiting process from our freshmen to our transfers talked about wanting to be somewhere where they are believed in what they want to do as opposed to 'you can't do this' and I told all of them, we recruited you because you will be able to do it here,'' the head coach said. "We've been trying to infuse them with a lot of belief and confidence, and so far, they have leaned into it really well.

"That shows how our chemistry is going.''

At point guard, Achter is looking at a committee approach between Buchanon and the Rodriguez twins. "Kaylyn is a great defender, aggressive and explosive, while the twins can knock down threes, have really good basketball minds, and they understand my expectations,'' the coach said.

Starks will start at the off-guard spot with Muguira and Harness splitting time at that position, too. "Nile and Alli have been great in embracing this role,'' Achter said. "We're asking them to come off the bench and play spot minutes and they have been exceptional in handling it.''

Ransom, Vyverman and Wiggins, who is coming back from an injury, are playing one of the forward positions. "I'm not sure who our starting five will be, but Casey has earned a lot of minutes, and both she and Zuri could slide into the other forward spot,'' Achter said.

Western Michigan definitely has more height than last season with Wiseman (6-4), Van Timmeren (6-3), Miljkovic (6-0), and Wiggins (6-0) available for the post position. "Those four will mix into both the forward and center spots,'' Achter said. "We could start huge or we could start undersized, and that is the versatility we didn't have last year because of the injuries and illness.''

In the preseason poll, the Broncos were picked for tenth in the MAC. "That's one more external thing to give my players motivation,'' Achter said. "This is why I took this job, to rebuild and rebuild quickly.''

Added Muguira: "I feel a lot of times it's good to be the underdog because it takes the pressure away from the team. I believe we will do much better this season.''

There's that word…belief.