Head coach Candi Whitaker announced the 2025 women’s basketball season can expect three boosters to the roster. On National Signing Day, Makenzi Breck-Golden, Brooke Hallman and Gabriella Jackson became committed to UNA.
Breck-Golden, “Mak,” is a Texan graduate from Lake Creek High School who was Montgomery County’s Defensive Player of the Year for the 2022-23 season. Under coach Chris Johnson, her last season ended with an average of nine points, 6.7 rebounds and 3.1 blocks.
Breck-Golden said being the tallest on the team put her constantly in the paint on both ends. She is thankful to the high school coach for enhancing her positioning and footwork troubles to become a “next level” player.
“After tearing everything in my knee this summer the UNA coaching staff stuck by my side and didn’t pull my offer, but continued to check on me at least once a week,” she said. “That itself shows their family-based culture as a program. I am most excited to get in the gym and work with all my amazing future teammates!”
Hallman is staying in-state. Coming from Auburn High School, she was a 2024 North/South All-Star game selection who was also named Kinetic Sports Scholar Athlete of the Week and Lee County Player of the Week.
The player has a history not only with basketball, but also with baseball, track and field, and flag football. She claims her career has prepared her by challenging and developing her skills while being instructed by “great coaches” who believed in her success on and off the field.
“Signing with UNA so far is the pinnacle of my career,” said Hallman. “It means all the countless hours of training and practicing with no one in the gym [have] paid off. I am so excited and grateful to play for UNA and Coach Whitaker. I’m most excited about coming in and competing at the D I level and making some lifelong friendships at the same time.”
Jackson is a guard/ forward from Kansas City who prepped at both Bishop Miege and Shawnee Mission Northwest High Schools. Her last season ended with her averaging 18 points, nine rebounds, two assists and a block.
She was present in Sub-State and State championships, earning First Team All-Sunflower League honors in the 2023-34 season. That season, she also earned Second Team Sports Kansas All-State, Second Team Basketball Coaches Association All-State and Third Team Wichita Eagle All-Class Team.
Jackson comes to UNA on the pre-med track majoring in biology. Coach Whitaker claimed she is a “big-time player” who will bring “size, athleticism and versatility to our roster.”
