Fort Worth, Texas – When a transfer portal exodus hit the Michigan women’s basketball team after the 2023-24 season, four players, later dubbed by coach Kim Barnes Arico the “Quad Squad,” remained.
That was the core group that established Michigan’s culture, a bridge from the success Naz Hillmon had helped build with an Elite Eight run in 2022 to now. The four welcomed a highly-regarded group of freshmen and a couple transfers before the 2025-26 season and worked to carry on the culture of success.
With those who stayed and the addition of the young, fearless talent, the Wolverines have parlayed that into Arico’s best, most overall skilled team. Ninth-ranked Michigan, a No. 2 seed, has reached its third Sweet 16 in the NCAA Tournament and will face No. 3 seed Louisville on Saturday at Dickies Arena. The winner advances to play in the Elite Eight on Monday against Texas or Kentucky.
The Wolverines will face the Cardinals without Macy Brown, one of the four Quad Squad members, whose season ended last Saturday in practice when she suffered a torn anterior cruciate ligament in her right knee. Brown is with the team in Texas and rode an exercise bike courtside Friday morning at Michigan’s practice.
“She’s just absolutely the most incredible human that you’ve ever been around, the most unselfish person, the biggest heart, the biggest cheerleader for everyone in our program,” Barnes Arico said Friday. “When she went down in practice the other day, it was just crushing. It was crushing for all of us. Every teammate has rallied around her, and every teammate feels the exact same way about Macy. She’s here with us, which is awesome, and I’m sure you’ll hear her voice on the bench.”
Brown was the 2023 Michigan Miss Basketball out of East Grand Rapids High and played in 30 games this season, with a couple notable appearances. Her eight-point run late in the game lifted Michigan to an 88-86 overtime win at Ohio State on Feb. 25, and earlier in the season at Oregon she played a career-high 30 minutes and had seven points, seven rebounds and five assists in the double-overtime win.
Sitting on the floor in the locker room on Friday, her legs outstretched and an ice bag on the injured right knee, Brown, known for being incredibly supportive of her teammates, broke down while discussing the waves of emotion she has experienced since the injury.
“It’s definitely hard,” Brown said, who wept briefly, her teammates offering tissue and pats on the shoulder. “They’re always there for me. This entire team. Every single day we show up for each other. There are so many ups and downs in life in general, and I know everything happens for a reason. So continuing to pour into our team, being able to support my teammates makes me happier. I wouldn’t have missed this for the world.”
Her teammates are grateful Brown made the trip to Texas, because she is such a vital part of the program’s fabric.
After the player transfers, only Jordan Hobbs returned with starting experience for the Wolverines. Brown and Alyssa Crockett, now a senior, also stayed because they believed in what Barnes Arico was building. Led by the sophomores, including leading scorer Olivia Olson, who averages 19.2 points, Syla Swords (14.8) and Mila Holloway (12.6), the Wolverines feel they can compete for a national championship.
But before the 2025-26 season, all bets were off with so much youth and inexperience and so little returning experience.
“I believe in everything Michigan can do,” Brown said, sharing why she stayed. “I believe we can make history. We can make a run.”
And that’s what the Wolverines are trying to do with Louisville next and standing in the way of another Elite Eight appearance. Having this kind of program potential, even though Brown and Crockett are not starters, is why they stayed.
“We talk about it all the time, me, Jordan and Macy sticking it out after my sophomore year,” Crockett said. “That was one of our worst seasons in a while considering the year before I got here they had gotten to the Elite Eight.
“We didn’t even have a starting five. It’s funny looking back, but that’s when things really got real. The importance of coming together and being that strong group and being those leaders for the people coming in meant something to us. Last year, a lot of people didn’t expect us to do a lot of things we did.”
Barnes Arico and the four returning players, including Greta Kampschroeder, met frequently. This was a trying time for all of them, particularly for Barnes Arico, who had never experienced a wave of transfers like this.
“The four of them and myself just continued to grow and learn together,” she said. “Our incoming sophomore class were seniors in high school at that time, and I remember calling all of them and telling them what was going on, and they were, like, ‘Coach, we got your back. We’re coming. You know what that means? That means more opportunities for us. We’ll be ready to go. We’ll be ready to play.’ I was, like, oh, my gosh, these are high school kids. They have no idea we’re opening up against South Carolina, and they’re, like, ‘That’s good, Coach, we’re fine, we’re fine.’ I’m, like, oh, boy, all right. They don’t know what they don’t know.”
Or they knew something Barnes Arico didn’t.
Michigan opened the 2024-25 season against No. 1 South Carolina, the defending national champion, in Las Vegas, and Barnes Arico had no idea what to expect. The Gamecocks won, 68-62, but it was clear Michigan was on the verge of success with this team.
Swords got a call from Hobbs after the six players left and assured her there were no program issues.
“I was very secure in my process and this is where I wanted to go,” Swords said. “I knew there was nothing we couldn’t accomplish together. It was a fresh start too, in a sense, to build our own program off of what has come before and that foundation. The Quad Squad did a great job of meshing us and having us realize what Michigan basketball is. It says a lot about the Quad Squad the way they were able to knit us together and take us under their wings.”
Now, with the blending of the Quad Squad and now-freshman class, the Wolverines believe they are very much capable of a deep tournament run. Brown won’t be able to play, but she’ll be on the bench contributing with her emotional support.
“She’s such a powerful energy on and off the court,” Olson said. “She’s such a good teammate. It’s heartbreaking for all of us to see her go through that and know how much she deserves to playing.”
Women’s NCAA Tournament
NO. 2 MICHIGAN VS. NO. 3 LOUISVILLE
What: Sweet 16 Women’s NCAA Tournament game
When: Saturday, 12:30 p.m.
Where: Dickies Arena, Fort Worth, Texas
TV: ABC
Records: Michigan 27-6, Louisville 29-7
This article originally appeared on The Detroit News: How the ‘Quad Squad’ maintained winning culture for Michigan women
Reporting by Angelique S. Chengelis, The Detroit News / The Detroit News
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
