Columns & Courts: The Roster Behind Missouri’s Reset

The first practice of the Robin Goodman era will likely look unlike any in recent Missouri tennis history.

One player returning from last season’s roster.

Around her stands a transfer from SMU, highly touted American recruits, international standouts from Europe and South America and a coaching staff seeing many of its players in black and gold for the first time.

Different accents will echo across the courts. Different styles of play emerging during drills. Different backgrounds blending all together into one roster.

They all arrive in Columbia with the same goal.

Help Missouri tennis begin again.

Monday’s debut of Tiger Top Spin introduced readers to the program’s coaching change and the arrival of Goodman. Every Wednesday, Columns & Courts will take a closer look at the players, recruiting, lineup battles and roster decisions shaping Missouri tennis. The first edition starts with the foundation Goodman has spent the offseason assembling.

For a coach inheriting a program that lost virtually its entire roster, recruiting was never going to be about replacing players one for one.

It was about building an identity.

The lone connection between last season and this one is sophomore Alex Ackman.

The former five-star recruit enters her second collegiate season after compiling an 11-13 singles record while being the Tigers’ main stay in the No. 2 and No. 3 positions.

Now, she becomes far more than Missouri’s top returning player.

She becomes the player every newcomer will look to as they learn what it means to compete in the Southeastern Conference.

Around Ackman, Goodman assembled a roster with one noticeable characteristic: experience.

That starts with transfer Millie Skelton.

The former SMU Mustang gives Missouri something every rebuilding program needs: proven college experience. Goodman praised not only her maturity and work ethic but also the energy she brings to a locker room undergoing significant change.

“I am thrilled to have Millie join our program,” Goodman said when announcing the signing. “She is a great player who is hardworking and dedicated to her tennis and studies.”

Experience, however, was only one part of Missouri’s recruiting philosophy.

The Tigers also expanded their reach well beyond the United States.

International recruiting has become increasingly important throughout college tennis, particularly in the SEC, where nearly every nationally ranked program features players with professional and international experience before arriving on campus.

Goodman’s first class reflects that reality.

Spain’s Alba Salles Canudas arrives after winning the 2025 Spanish National Doubles Championship while also reaching the quarterfinals of an ITF J60 event. Her doubles success could become particularly valuable in a conference where the doubles point often determines the momentum of an entire match.

Mariana Higuita Barraza brings perhaps the strongest professional résumé in the class.

At the time she signed with Missouri, Higuita owned Women’s Tennis Association rankings in both singles and doubles while earning victories on the ITF circuit, including a doubles title at the W15 Szentendre tournament. She also defeated Jessica Hinojosa Gomez, who was ranked inside the top 750 of the WTA rankings, and owns a victory over top-10 American Blue-Chip recruit Kori Montoya.

Those are not junior accomplishments.

They are results against players already competing at a professional level.

Danielle Chapman also enters Columbia with extensive international experience.

She earned her first WTA ranking after back-to-back quarterfinal appearances at professional 15K tournaments in South Africa and Botswana and climbed as high as No. 166 in the International Tennis Federation rankings. A 20-8 record during the 2024 season further demonstrated the consistency that translated into opportunities on the international stage.

Leticia Bazan continues that trend.

The incoming freshman arrives with an ITF ranking of 208, a career high of 176 and four junior tournament titles, including three won during 2024. Her steady improvement over the past three seasons suggests a player continuing to develop while already competing against high-level international competition.

Goodman also made sure Missouri continued investing in elite American talent.

Evelyn Whiteside joins the Tigers as a five-star recruit according to tennisrecruiting.net and one of Texas’ highest-rated prospects, sitting as the number 5 ranked player in the state of Texas. Training at the San Antonio Tennis Academy, Whiteside built her reputation competing against some of the nation’s top junior players.

Daria Budko gives Missouri another highly regarded Texas recruit.

Ranked among the nation’s top 70 prospects by Babolat Recruiting, Budko posted a 71 percent win rate during 2025 while earning four-star status and is the number 7 ranked player in the state. Her consistency at the junior level gives Missouri another player capable of developing into an SEC contributor.

Viewed individually, each signing addresses a different need.

Viewed together, they reveal something larger.

Goodman did not simply recruit talent.

He recruited versatility.

The class features proven college experience, professional tournament exposure, international success, highly ranked junior players and athletes who have already competed under pressure long before arriving in Columbia.

That combination will face an immediate challenge.

The SEC remains the best conference in women’s college tennis, where lineup positions are rarely guaranteed and every weekend presents internationally ranked competition.

Missouri’s newcomers will have little time to adjust.

Fortunately for Goodman, many already have experience playing in environments that demand resilience.

That may prove just as valuable as any forehand or serve.

Rebuilding a college tennis program is rarely accomplished through one recruiting class.

But every successful rebuild begins with one.

Goodman’s first roster reflects a coach thinking beyond this season while still assembling enough experience to compete immediately. It is a balancing act every new coach hopes to achieve and one Missouri believes can accelerate the program’s return to relevance.

The names are new.

The standard is elevated.

Next Wednesday, Columns & Courts returns with another inside look at the people and decisions shaping Missouri tennis. Every Monday, Tiger Top Spin continues by telling the larger stories behind the Tigers’ journey through a new era under Robin Goodman.