Lauren Whittaker's path to national prominence has been anything but seamless. In her first full collegiate season, the Gonzaga forward has become the only player in NCAA women’s basketball ranked in the top 25 in both points and rebounds per game, averaging just under 20 PPG and 10.1 RPG for a Bulldogs team leading the West Coast Conference.

The New Zealand native came to Gonzaga midway through the 2023-24 season, only to be sidelined with a season ending injury for 2024-25. Getting back on the court took an immense amount of rehabilitation, and there were still questions how'd she perform once fully healthy. Her rise through all of the trials and tribulations has truly been one of the most inspiring comeback stories in college basketball.

Lauren is a leading candidate for the 2026 Becky Hammon Mid-Major Player of the Year Award. Whittaker's dominance in her first season of college basketball has already attracted pro scouts from all over the world. With Gonzaga chasing more WCC dominance and Whittaker still early in her collegiate career, her story is only beginning.

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Toby Harris’ path to Division I basketball wasn’t traditional — and that’s exactly what makes his story stand out.

After becoming a 1,000-point scorer, D3 All-American, and star at Brandeis, Harris made the jump to Iona, where he’s now the team’s second-leading scorer at 11.7 points per game. His transition from Division III standout to Division I starter is a testament to his development and confidence in himself.

Harris recently delivered one of the biggest moments of Iona’s season, hitting a game-winning shot as the Gaels battle to stay in the top half of the MAAC standings. In this episode, he breaks down his journey from Brandeis to Iona, the adjustments to Division I basketball, and the goals for his last season of CBB.

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Tamara Inoue, UC Irvine's WBB head coach joins this week's episode of @Notevend2 . Inoue’s run at UC Irvine is one of the most impressive turnarounds in college basketball. Taking over a program that finished 5–23 in her first season, Inoue has completely redefined the ceiling of UC Irvine women’s basketball. She’s now on pace to lead UCI to five straight 20+ win seasons, is already the all-time winningest coach in program history, and guided the program to a Big West Championship in 2023–24. This season, her team sits at 17–3, continuing a stretch of sustained success that few programs can match.

A Big West Co-Coach of the Year (2020–21), she’s steadily transformed the program from rebuild mode into a consistent conference contender. What started as a challenging rebuild has evolved into one of the most stable and respected programs in the Big West.

UC Irvine is positioned to remain a force in the conference and beyond. The main goal remains to get back to the NCAA tournament for the second time in three years. Will they win the Big West?

Joel Foxwell, one of the best young guards in the country joins this week's episode of @Notevend2 . Foxwell is in his freshman year with the University of Portland and has taken the WCC by storm as one of the best players in the conference.

Foxwell is from Australia where he played most of his youth years in the NBL1 South Division. A year before coming to the NCAA, Foxwell played in the NBL for Melbourne United as a developmental player. Foxwell credits much of his first year NCAA success to the year playing in the NBL; hear all about his experience and some of the top players he played with and against in the top league in Australia.

Foxwell has won the WCC Rookie of the Week award 5x, making his case for the Rookie of the Year award. The Australian guard is averaging over 14 points per game along with 7.2 assists which is currently 3rd in the country. The Portland Pilots are currently 10-11 (3-5) and coming up on the toughest stretch of their schedule. Hear all about Joel's career and the Pilots season in the full episode.

This episode is available wherever you get your podcasts. Make sure to subscribe to the podcasts YouTube channel @Notevend2 for more sports content.

Enjoy the episode!

Sneak Peak- 01:00-01:40

NY Knicks Troubles- 01:40-05:00

Intro to Joel Foxwell- 05:00-11:27

Australian Sport(s) Fandom, Australian Background / Basketball Community- 11:27-16:26

Family Background, Competition with Brothers- 16:26-18:17

NBL Experience, Mindset Coming to NCAA, Playing Against Owen in NBL- 18:17-26:48

Decommitting from Samford & Committing to Portland- 26:48-30:17

Film Breakdown- 30:17-38:16

WCC Experience/Competition, Future for Joel Foxwell- 38:16-41:55

Rapid Fire (Ideal Improvement in Game, Top 3 Australian NBA Players, Toughest Matchup in NCAA)- 41:55-45:44

Starting 5: Best NBL Players Played Against- 45:44-47:25

Outro, Not Even D2 Spotlight- 47:25-51:43

#5 ranked Johns Hopkins WBB head coach, Rodney Rogan joins this week's episode of @Notevend2 . JHU looks like one of the best teams in the country holding a perfect 8-0 record. In just two years, Rogan and JHU have now won back-to-back Centennial Conference Championships and made multiple Sweet 16 appearences.

Rogan has now won at two different schools- beginning at his first head coaching opportunity at Rhodes College. Rogan led Rhodes to three straight Southern Atlantic Athletic (SAA) championships leaving with a 67-28 (.705) record.

This pod talks about his process of getting to JHU, what the expectations are for the 2025-26 season, and the background of Rogan getting into coaching women's basketball.

This episode is available wherever you get your podcasts. Follow/subscribe to @Notevend2 for more sports content!

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14-year head coach at Mount Union University, Mike Fuline joins this week's episode of @Notevend2 . Coach Fuline has revitalized the MU basketball program into a national championship contender year in and year out. The program has won 4 OAC championships, made it to 3 Sweet 16's, and one National Championships under Fuline.

Fuline coached one of the most memorable teams in Division 3 history in 2020; a team with one of the best rosters- headlined by YouTube star, D'Vontay Friga. That teams season was cut short ahead of the Sweet 16 due to the Covid-19 pandemic.

Three years later Fuline would lead the Purple Raiders to a National Championship game where they would lose to Christopher Newport at the buzzer. The Purple Raiders are currently 8-0 (1-0 OAC), and ranked #12 in the country (https://d3hoops.com/top25/men/2025-26/week3).

You don't want to miss this episode where KJ and Ruda take a deep dive into Coach Fuline's career. Hear all of Mount Union's top stories in the full episode.

This episode is available wherever you get your podcasts. Make sure to subscribe to the podcasts YouTube channel @Notevend2 for more sports content.

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Head coach of the back-to-back NCAA Division 3 WBB Champions (NYU), Meg Barber joins this week's episode of @Notevend2 . Coach Barber and her team are currently on a 69 game winning streak, which ranks 2nd all-time for the longest streak in D3 WBB history. During this win streak, NYU has captured the programs 2nd and 3rd national championships capping off back-to-back undefeated seasons.

Barber has completely transformed NYU WBB's narrative, and the current 2025-26 team is picking up right where they left off; currently ranked #1 in the country with a 7-0 record.

You don't want to miss this episode of hosts KJ and Neruda taking a deep dive into Coach Barber's historic career including stories from the National Championships and her Team USA experience coaching the U17 team to Gold.

This episode is available wherever you get your podcasts. Make sure to subscribe to the podcasts YouTube channel @Notevend2 for more sports content.

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18-year head coach for Emory University, Jason Zimmerman joins this week's episode of ⁨@Notevend2⁩ . Coach Zimmerman has led Emory to 11 NCAA Tournament's, including a run of 10 in a row. Currently leading the preseason ranked #3 team in the country, the Golden Eagles have high expectations.

Zimmerman is a 6x UAA Coach of the Year while holding a 68% winning percentage in the UAA over the last 14 years. You don't want to miss this episode discussing Zimmerman's high paced offense, the run inside of 10 straight tournament appearances, and stories during his playing career.

Make sure to subscribe/follow the podcast ⁨@Notevend2⁩ . This episode is available wherever you get your podcasts.

Enjoy the episode!