Fruendt Earns WBCA Thirty Under 30 Recognition
3/24/2026 2:54:00 PM | Women's Basketball
COLUMBIA, Mo. – Mizzou women's basketball assistant coach Liza Fruendt has been named a Women's Basketball Coaches Association Thirty under 30 honoree, as announced by the organization on Tuesday.
In her first year with the program, Fruendt was instrumental in establishing the Tigers' new foundation both offensively and on the recruiting trail.
Fruendt supported the standout season of junior guard Grace Slaughter, who led the Tigers in scoring with 18.7 points per game and surpassed the 1,000-point milestone during the year. Slaughter finished sixth in the SEC in scoring while earning recognition on the Cheryl Miller Small Forward of the Year preseason and midseason watchlists.
An All-SEC Second Team performer, Slaughter totaled 635 points which is ranked fifth on the program's all-time single-season scoring list.
Fruendt was instrumental in the development of junior guard Shannon Dowell who averaged 14.9 points per game in her first year in the SEC. Dowell crossed the career 1,000 point threshold and grabbed 6.1 rebounds, up from 5.2 a season ago at Illinois State.
As a team, Missouri ranked 25th nationally and third in the SEC in 3-pointers made, averaging 8.5 per game throughout the season.
The Tigers also ranked among the nation's most efficient teams at the free-throw line, finishing 17th nationally and first in the SEC with a 77.8% free-throw percentage.
An impactful recruiter, Fruendt saw Mizzou sign three top-100 prospects to its 2026 signing class, including the nation's No. 54-ranked prospect, Natalya Hodge.
The WBCA Thirty Under 30 special recognition program was established to honor 30 of the up-and-coming women's basketball coaches aged 30 and under in the sport at all levels of the game.
Honorees are chosen based on community service involvement, mentorship and impact on others, professional manner and attitude and professional association involvement.
WBCA
The Women's Basketball Coaches Association is the professional association for coaches of women's and girls' basketball at all levels of competition. Founded in 1981, the WBCA offers educational resources that coaches need to help make themselves better leaders, teachers and mentors to their players; provides opportunities for coaches to connect with peers in the profession; serves as the unifying voice of a diverse community of coaches to the organizations that control the game; and celebrates those coaches, players and other individuals who excel each year and contribute to the advancement of the sport. Visit WBCA.org for more details about the association.
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