Jenna Allen Selected for WBCA Thirty Under 30

ATLANTA — Assistant Coach Jenna Allen of Central Michigan Women's Basketball was named to the Women's Basketball Coaches' Association (WBCA) 10^th annual 'Thirty Under 30' list in its release Thursday morning, after just her second season of collegiate coaching.

"I'm very proud of Jenna," Head Coach Kristin Haynie said. "She goes above and beyond to ensure our players' growth on and off the court. Her efforts have been instrumental in preparing both players and managers for life beyond basketball, equipping them with the skills and mindset needed for success in their future endeavors."

Allen's primary on-court role has been with the Chippewa post players, highlighted by a standout freshman season from Ayanna-Sarai Darrington (Lexington, Ky. / Frederick Douglass). Darrington collected seven double-doubles, three 20-point games and recorded 21 rebounds against Ball State (t-6^th in program history) en route to a MAC All-Freshman selection.

The 2019 Michigan State graduate is the second member of Haynie's coaching staff to have received WBCA Thirty Under 30 honors. Assistant Coach Chelsie Butler was named to the 2023 class in her final year at Youngstown State before joining Haynie's 2023-24 staff.

Allen is the seventh honoree from the MAC since the award began in 2016, just the second selection since 2019. She joins four others currently coaching across the league who have earned Thirty Under 30 status while coaching at a MAC school.

Central Michigan Women's Basketball's return to the MAC Tournament in 2025 came through an eight-win uptick between the first and second seasons under Haynie as it finished 14-17 overall, and a five-game improvement in MAC play to 9-9.

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. A nominee must feature details on community service involvement, mentorship and impact on others, professional manner and attitude and professional association involvement.

Allen logged a four-year professional career for Baxi Ferrol in Spain prior to her hire with the Chippewas. Throughout her career overseas she averaged double-digit points and five-plus rebounds per game while shooting well over 50 percent from the field. Her well-decorated 2022-23 campaign saw a career-high 12.6 points per contest on 51.5 percent shooting, culminating in being named the All-Spanish LF Challenge Player, Center and Import Player of the Year on top of the 2023 regular season championship.

A four-year contributor on the court at Michigan State, Allen became the Spartans' 23rd 1,000-point scorer on March 3, 2019 at Minnesota. Over her final two seasons in East Lansing, she started 57 games over 65 appearances including all 33 contests of her senior campaign. For her career, the Bedford, Ind.-native averaged 8.6 points on 50.4 percent shooting from the floor, 4.5 rebounds and 20.3 minutes per game. As a senior, her line was 12.5 points on 49.8 percent shooting and 6.5 rebounds over an average of 27.3 minutes per game.

The complete list of 2025 WBCA Thirty Under 30 recipients below:

Jenna Allen, Central Michigan
Annie Barrett, NYU
Peyton Booth, Youngstown State
Lauren Brocke, Air Force
Kiara Carter, Chicago State
Mi'Cole Cayton, LSU Shreveport
Kayla Cooper Williams, James Madison
Paige Corkins, Holy Cross
Moriah Crisp, Marist
Tania Davis, Iowa
Jenny DeGraaf, USC Upstate
Terra Helm, McKendree
Holly Hoopingarner, Butler
Courtney Jaco, Southern California
Kacie Jones, South Dakota State
Ashleigh Lopez, Grand Canyon
Samantha Mancinelli, Tufts
Ashton Millender, DePaul
Caelyn Orlandi, Lewis-Clark
Abigail Owings, Cincinnati
Katherine Puda, Smith College
Amber Raisner, Yale
Ty Rozier, Fairleigh Dickinson-Metropolitan
Blair Schaefer, Texas
Brianna Spector, Franklin & Marshall
Ariel Stephenson, Richmond
Colsten Thompson, Alabama
Uyen Tran, Wichita State
Angel Whetstone, Madison College
Ashley Williams, Hanover
Olivia Woolam, Denison
Harlyn Wyatt, Memphis
Maya Wynn, Anderson

About the WBCA
Founded in 1981, the Women's Basketball Coaches Association is the professional association for coaches of women's and girls' basketball at all levels of competition. 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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— CMU —

Players Mentioned

Ayanna-Sarai Darrington

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