UNM WOMEN'S BASKETBALL
New-look Lobos hit the floor under coach Amy Eagan
UNM women's basketball opened summer practice Tuesday with an almost entirely rebuilt roster
Job one: hit the deck.
University of New Mexico women's basketball officially began a new era Tuesday as the Lobos gathered for their first practice under new coach Amy Eagan and her staff.
It didn't take long to set the tone.
The day's first drill at the Davalos Basketball Center involved taking defensive charges and diving after loose balls. So much for those crisp, new practice uniforms, but players loudly cheered and raced to help up teammates as soon as they hit the floor.
It was part of an energetic hour to tip off summer workouts for a newly constructed team comprised of four returning players, three transfers from Lindenwood (Eagan's former program), four transfers from other schools and four freshmen. Eagan smiled when asked about the upbeat atmosphere.
鈥淭he first day of practice is always easy,鈥� she said. 鈥淚t's easy to be energetic, easy to be excited. The challenge is to come back the second day, the third day, the fourth and to keep that energy and excitement going. We want to be as consistent with that as possible.鈥�
Thirteen of UNM's 15 roster players worked through Tuesday's drills. Junior Katie Duncan was in transit from her home in Australia while senior Gracy Wernli watched contact drills from the sideline. Wernli is recovering from ACL surgery that cut her junior season short at Lindenwood in 2025-26, but she expects to be 100% healthy well before fall practices begin.
In fact, Wernli figures to play a key role as one of two senior transfers from Lindenwood, both of whom spent three seasons in Eagan's program at Lindenwood and both were full-time time starters helping the Lions go 48-19 over the past two seasons.
They also share the same first name.
Gracie and Gracy
Wernli, a 5-foot-9 guard, and Gracie Kelsey, a 6-2 forward, were among the first players Eagan signed after taking the UNM job in late March. Both are effective scorers and defenders who fit well with Eagan's aggressive defense and preferred Princeton-based offense. Better yet, they don't mind teaching.
鈥淵es, we talked about that,鈥� Kelsey said, 鈥渁nd at the end of the day it's a team sport. I want my team to be as great as we possibly can be and being in a teaching role is super important because players are looking at you before they look at the coaches. Understanding that and being patient and giving direction when itis needed is going to be part of my role. I'm very grateful to be here and we have a lot of great players who I know will pick the system up quickly. It's gonna be fun.鈥�
Eagan's offense requires versatile posts and Kelsey's stat line reflects that. She started all 33 games for Lindenwood last season, averaging 7.2 points, 4.8 rebounds with 91 assists and 28 steals.
Wernli played just 14 games before injuring her right knee but demonstrated her skills as a full-time starter in 2024-25. Wernli averaged 10.5 points, 2.2 rebounds, 1.0 steals and shot 34.7% (50-of-144) from 3-point range. At the moment, she's back to running, jumping and teaching while she waits to be cleared for full contact. She's also keeping an eye on younger sister Kate Wernli, a freshman on UNM's roster.
鈥淪tepping into this new role, a big part of it is just being able to talk to the team and lead them on the court, even it I'm not fully practicing yet,鈥� Wernli said. 鈥淚t's really good for me because I'm super excited to play on this bigger stage and I want to be a part of everything.鈥�
Eagan said Kelsey and Wernli are both comfortable playing in her system and sharing their knowledge with teammates.
鈥淧art of the reason we wanted to bring them here is they are great teachers and great people,鈥� Eagan said. 鈥淭hey're also really good players, very skilled.鈥�
For purposes of differentiation, Eagan and her assistants try to stick to last names to avoid confusion.
鈥淵eah, anytime someone says, 'Gracie,' we both look,鈥� Wernli said.
Added Eagan, 鈥淔ortunately, we don't really have to correct those two very often.鈥�
Quick impressions
Neither Kelsey nor Wernli had visited sa国际传媒官网网页入口 prior to signing with the Lobos. Here are a few quick get-to-know-you questions.
What do you know about sa国际传媒官网网页入口?
Kelsey: 鈥淚 know North Carolina State won a Final Four here. I learned my fun fact before I got here, just in case I was asked.鈥�
Wernli: 鈥淚 went skiing in Santa Fe once, but until I signed, all I knew about sa国际传媒官网网页入口 was where it is on a map. I've been studying up a lot since then. So far, I love it.鈥�
What are you most looking forward to this season?
Wernli: 鈥淚'm very excited to play with my sister. My favorite year of high school was when I got a chance to play with her 鈥� my senior year and her freshman year. We get to do that one more time.鈥�
Kelsey: 鈥淚 know we have an amazing fan base and that's very important. You always want people there cheering for you, and we know sa国际传媒官网网页入口 and New Mexico will show up.鈥�
Red or green chile?
Wernli: 鈥淚'm not a spice girl. Unfortunately, I'm not really a fan 鈥� but maybe I'll grow to like it by the end of my year here.鈥�
Kelsey: 鈥淚 am not a spicy person either (laughs). I found out really quick about red and green chile and eating it on everything here. That's great, I'll just take mine on the side.鈥�
