Omaha woman’s basketball head coach Jamie Carey stepped on campus with hopes of building a homegrown roster, and she’s done so in her second year with the program.
Of the seven newcomers to this year’s roster, five come from within the state, pushing the total of native Nebraskans on Omaha’s roster to eight, with half of them hailing from the Omaha Metro area.
“I think it feels different when you’re competing for your home, and you have Omaha across your chest, and your family’s in the stands and all those things,” Carey said at Summit League media days in Sioux Falls, S.D. “So it has been really good, and also they’ve been instrumental in recruiting the other additions that we’ve had. But we’re Omaha, and we’re not afraid of that.”
One of those newcomers is senior guard Mya Skoff. The Bellevue East product spent three years at Lindenwood before joining Omaha for the 2026-27 season. During her time with the Lions, Skoff played in 95 games with 70 starts. She averaged 8.1 points in 27.5 minutes per game across her three seasons. As a sophomore, she put up 9.6 points and shot 36.5% from 3 for a team that reached the Sweet 16 of the WNIT. Now she’s back home.
“I’m super thankful to be able to come back to Omaha,” Skoff said. “It’s just going to be really awesome to be close to all my family and friends who obviously would have to travel to a lot of my games last year, and previous years. So it’s been really fun to see all my friends and family and be back in Omaha.”
Another player that’s excited to return to the court is senior forward Cora Olsen. The Millard South graduate has spent her entire career with the Mavericks but saw her 2025-2026 season cut short after suffering a season ending injury six games into the year. She said the return has been slow, but she’s taking it one step at a time.
Cora Olsen (22) cheers against Creighton on Dec 17, 2025. After injury sidelined her for most of the 2025-26 season, she’s working towards a return in 2026-27. Photo by Brandon Tiedemann.
“Obviously, I’m more worried about playing in January through March, so I’m just being smart, but it’s felt really good to be able to play basketball again.,” Olsen said.
The team began practice in September.
After going 6-27 last season, Carey has added several new pieces while retaining eight players from last year’s team. The Mavericks live by the motto “Joy in the journey,” and it’s carried into 2026-27 with a more competitive gym.
“Now they’re having to compete every single day, and I think that’s just a new feel for a lot of those young guys,” Carey said. “That’s what breeds to raising the level of the sea, right? So I’m excited about this group. I think we’re still very joyful, but now we’re a lot more competitive and serious and intentional about some of the things that we’re really trying to build.”
The players are also focused on building a strong camaraderie among themselves ahead of the season. Olsen said they get together on weekends to help build that bond and culture.
“You don’t have to be anyone but yourself, and I feel like that’s really important at a young age,” Olsen said. “You come in and the world’s all a little bit bigger, and you’re just trying to do too much, but really all we need you to do is be yourself. Everyone brings something special, and once you can kind of figure that piece out, I feel like all the puzzle pieces go together.”
As the team has come together, Carey said the roster has improved in terms of length, athleticism and versatility.
“It allows us to do some different things and shifts people in different spots, and hopefully get up and defend a little bit more, and do some different things just with some more depth and length and athleticism,” Carey said. “Albeit we’re still young, but I think with those eight returners, I think it’s like 70% of our production is returning.”
Those upperclassmen are helping the younger players improve rebounding and getting more deflections on defense before the season begins.
“Energy and competing is something that’s not a question when you step into our gym,” Olsen said. “She likes a loud gym, so that’s kind of an expectation.”
Skoff echoed the sentiment.
“Just being ready from the get-go has been a big focus of ours, like everyone on the same page from the start energy-wise, and definitely communication has been a big part,” Skoff said.
Omaha will continue working on its communication and energy as it prepares for its first game of the season. The Mavericks play an exhibition game against Concordia on Oct. 21.
“I think the talent in Omaha kind of got overlooked for a little bit, but I feel like Omaha is here to prove that we’re not,” Olsen said.
