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The last two seasons have been particularly kind to Coffee County girls’ basketball. The Lady Raiders have won back-to-back region championships, with trips to the TSSAA Class 4A state tournament in Murfreesboro following.

While no team is ever the same year-to-year, this season’s Coffee County team will be much more different compared to the last two state tournament-qualifying lineups.

Four of the five starters on last year’s team will not be returning this season. This includes All-State honorees Channah Gannon and Olivia Vinson, who have both graduated and gone on to play at the NCAA Division I level at the University of Southern Indiana and Lipscomb University, respectively. Fellow starter Ava McIntosh, last season’s District Most Improved Player, has graduated as well.

Rising junior Jules Ferrell, a standout on last year’s team, has also moved on, transferring to Middle Tennessee Christian School in Murfreesboro following her mother Shala’s hiring as the MTCS girls’ basketball coach.

While this year’s Lady Raider roster will look new, the players, as well as coach Joe Pat Cope, remain undeterred. In their estimation, the team’s chemistry is already off to a great start.

“These girls, they are so close. These seniors have done a great job of bringing this team together,” Cope said during the team’s media day on Oct. 30. “The bond they have is I think maybe the best we’ve had in a long time.”

Among the seniors leading the effort to get this year’s team ready to go is senior Natalie Barnes, the lone returning starter from last season’s roster.

The Samford commit surpassed 1,000 career points this past December and went on to receive regular-season all district honors, alongside Gannon, Vinson and Ferrell. Barnes also added 4A Region 5 All-Region recognition to her list of accolades, along with her aforementioned teammates. She was further nominated for The Tennessean’s Nashville Area Player of the Year, as was Gannon.

After playing with a largely-intact group the last few seasons, Barnes will be entering her senior year with many fresh faces. Despite the roster turnover, her goals for this season remain the same as they have always been.

“It’s definitely a different group and losing the people that we lost is gonna hurt a little bit,” Barnes said during media day. “People’s opinions around us can change, but we all have the same mentality and we just want to get back to the Glass House and not only get there, but finish with a state championship.”

Rounding out this year’s senior class to help the Lady Raiders return to Murfreesboro are Audri Patton and Morgen Spears.

Patton’s seen plenty of minutes on the court over the years, including significant time off the bench this past season. With a new lineup in place, she expects to play an increasingly specialized role on this year’s roster.

“I’ve pretty much been on every side of the ball. I’ve been first off the bench, last off the bench, starter,” Patton said. “I get all the sides of it, but I think my job this year is just gonna be the defensive leader. Just be the hype man.”

Spears, who saw increased varsity minutes last season as well, also has an idea of what her primary role with this year’s team will entail.

“This year I think I’m gonna just really help the team out in rebounding and running the floor,” Spears said. “Also on the defensive side, I like to get up and play. I’ve gotta watch fouls though. I like to reach a little bit, but we’re gonna work on that. I think just rebounding and running is gonna be my main asset for this team.”

Additional players expected to take on increased roles this year include juniors Jaydee Nogodula and Kaysen Morgan, as well as sophomores Adalyn Clark and Hayleigh Harris.

These players, along with many others, will contribute to a shift in the style of play the Lady Raiders will bring to the court this season.

“It’s gonna be totally different. If we went to Disney World, we’d have three starters that couldn’t ride Space Mountain,” Cope said. “The high-low’s gone, no more of that. It’s gonna be more of a five-out, try to get downhill. I think we’ll be pretty good at that, it’s just gonna be a huge learning curve.”

Outside of the changes to the roster, Coffee County will also see its district and region altered this season as well. Both the Red Raiders and Lady Raiders will make the switch to 4A District 6 along with Lincoln County, Shelbyville, Warren County and Cookeville.

The shift means that three teams from last year’s 4A State Tournament (Coffee County, Lincoln County and Cookeville) will call this district home. On top of that, the Lady Raiders will also play in a retooled 4A Region 3 that includes teams such as Bradley Central and Cleveland in 4A District 5. The Bradley Bearettes have won three straight state titles and have ended Coffee County’s last two seasons in Murfreesboro. Most recently, Bradley Central came out on top 53-44 in the state quarterfinals in what was the Lady Raiders’ only loss of the season.

While the path to the state tournament will be difficult and the roster has undergone several changes, this year’s Lady Raider team is looking forward to the challenge and is excited to continue moving the program forward.

“They’re definitely motivated. These girls haven’t lost a home district game in eight years. It’s been nine years. I hear them talk about that and they know that,” Cope said. “They want to keep it going and they don’t want to be the team to not win the first district championship. I just think they’re gonna come out and play with a chip on their shoulder.”

Coffee County will tip off the 2025-26 season with a home game against Greenbrier Monday evening. Tipoff is set for 6 p.m.