2025–26 Utah Valley Wolverines women's basketball team
| 2025–26 Utah Valley Wolverines women's basketball | |
|---|---|
| Conference | Western Athletic Conference |
| Record | 7–4 (0–0 WAC) |
| Head coach |
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| Assistant coaches |
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| Home arena | UCCU Center (Capacity: 8,500)[1] Lockhart Arena (Capacity: 2,000)[2] |
| Conf. | Overall | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Team | W | L | PCT | W | L | PCT | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Abilene Christian | 0 | – | 0 | – | 8 | – | 4 | .667 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Southern Utah | 0 | – | 0 | – | 8 | – | 4 | .667 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Utah Valley | 0 | – | 0 | – | 7 | – | 4 | .636 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Tarleton | 0 | – | 0 | – | 6 | – | 5 | .545 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| UT Arlington | 0 | – | 0 | – | 6 | – | 6 | .500 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Utah Tech | 0 | – | 0 | – | 5 | – | 5 | .500 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| California Baptist | 0 | – | 0 | – | 6 | – | 7 | .462 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| † 2026 WAC tournament winner As of December 21, 2025 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
The 2025–26 Utah Valley Wolverines women's basketball team represents Utah Valley University (UVU) in the 2025–26 NCAA Division I women's basketball season. Dan Nielson entered the season as head coach for his seventh season.[3] The Wolverines play their home games at the UCCU Center and Lockhart Arena in Orem, Utah as members of the Western Athletic Conference (WAC).
This will be UVU's last season in the WAC. The Big West Conference announced on June 4, 2025 that UVU would join that conference in July 2026.[4]
Previous season
The Wolverines finished the 2024–25 season 19–13, 9–7 in WAC play, to finish tied for fourth place.[5] As the No. 5 seed in the WAC Tournament, they defeated Abilene Christian in the quarterfinals 75–65, but then lost to Grand Canyon in the semifinals 84–55.[6] The team was subsequently invited to participate in the 2025 Women's National Invitation Tournament where they defeated Air Force 70–64 in round 1, but later lost to Washington State 57–54 in round 2.[7]
Offseason
Departures
| Name | Position | Height | Year | Reason for departure |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ally Criddle | G | 5" 8" | Senior | Graduated[8] |
| Danja Stafford Collins | F | 6' 1" | Senior | Graduated[8] |
| Tahlia White | G | 6' 0" | Senior | Graduated[8] |
| Abby Hendricks | G | 5' 6" | Sophomore | Entered transfer portal[9] |
| Aspen Caldwell | G | 5' 7" | Sophomore | Transferred to Idaho State[10] |
| Kendra Kitchen | F | 6' 1" | Sophomore | Unknown |
Incoming transfers
| Name | Position | Height | Year | Previous school |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Naia Tanuvasa | G | 5" 10" | Sophomore | BYU[11] |
| Kaylee Headrick | F | 5' 10" | Senior | Colorado State[12] |
| Evie Leeson | F | 6' 2" | Redshirt Freshman | Alaska Anchorage[13] |
| Gaby Goo | F | 6' 0" | Sophomore | USU-Eastern |
Roster
| 2025–26 Utah Valley Wolverines women's basketball team | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Players | Coaches | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Roster | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Schedule and results
| Date time, TV |
Rank# | Opponent# | Result | Record | High points | High rebounds | High assists | Site (attendance) city, state | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Non-conference regular season | |||||||||||
| November 3, 2025* 7:30pm, ESPN+ |
at CSU Bakersfield | W 66–42 | 1–0 |
18 – Nelson | 9 – Nelson | 5 – Mabry | Icardo Center (134) Bakersfield, CA | ||||
| November 5, 2025* 6:00pm, ESPN+ |
at Loyola Marymount | W 64–60 | 2–0 |
13 – Chaney | 5 – Tied | 7 – Blackham | Gersten Pavilion (287) Los Angeles, CA | ||||
| November 11, 2025* 7:00pm, ESPN+ |
at Utah | L 52–75 | 2–1 |
18 – Headrick | 12 – Nelson | 2 – Tied | Jon M. Huntsman Center (2,167) Salt Lake City, UT | ||||
| November 14, 2025* 6:00pm, ESPN+ |
Pepperdine | W 85–56 | 3–1 |
19 – Barcello | 8 – Nelson | 6 – Blackham | UCCU Center (581) Orem, UT | ||||
| November 17, 2025* 6:00pm, ESPN+ |
Benedictine | W 74–34 | 4–1 |
15 – Barcello | 7 – Tied | 5 – Blackham | UCCU Center (671) Orem, UT | ||||
| November 20, 2025* 6:00pm, ESPN+ |
Weber State | W 59–55 | 5–1 |
17 – Blackham | 9 – Headrick | 3 – Tied | UCCU Center (520) Orem, UT | ||||
| November 24, 2025* 7:30pm, Mountain West Network |
at Nevada | L 42–71 | 5–2 |
13 – Chaney | 5 – Blackham | 4 – Nelson | Lawlor Events Center (1,244) Reno, NV | ||||
| December 6, 2025* 2:00pm, ESPN+ |
Air Force | L 50–58 | 5–3 |
17 – Barcello | 12 – Chaney | 4 – Headrick | UCCU Center (539) Orem, UT | ||||
| December 13, 2025* 12:00pm, Summit League Network |
at Kansas City | W 64–58 | 6–3 |
18 – Headrick | 11 – Headrick | 9 – Blackham | Swinney Recreation Center (301) Kansas City, MO | ||||
| December 16, 2025* 6:00pm, ESPN+ |
La Sierra | W 97–48 | 7–3 |
16 – Carlyle | 6 – Leeson | 8 – Blackham | UCCU Center (492) Orem, UT | ||||
| December 20, 2025* 12:00pm, ESPN+ |
Idaho State | L 56–59 | 7–4 |
14 – Gibb | 6 – Tied | 4 – Blackham | UCCU Center (1,316) Orem, UT | ||||
| WAC Conference regular season | |||||||||||
| December 29, 2025 7:00pm, ESPN+ |
at California Baptist | Fowler Events Center Riverside, CA | |||||||||
| January 1, 2026 2:00pm, ESPN+ |
Tarleton | UCCU Center Orem, UT | |||||||||
| January 3, 2026 2:00pm, ESPN+ |
Abilene Christian | UCCU Center Orem, UT | |||||||||
| January 8, 2026 6:30pm, ESPN+ |
at Southern Utah | America First Event Center Cedar City, UT | |||||||||
| January 10, 2026 2:00pm, ESPN+ |
at Utah Tech Old Hammer Rivalry |
Burns Arena St. George, UT | |||||||||
| January 17, 2026 1:00pm, ESPN+ |
at UT Arlington | College Park Center Arlington, TX | |||||||||
| January 22, 2026 6:00pm, ESPN+ |
Southern Utah | UCCU Center Orem, UT | |||||||||
| January 24, 2026 2:00pm, ESPN+ |
California Baptist | UCCU Center Orem, UT | |||||||||
| January 29, 2026 6:00pm, ESPN+ |
Tarleton | Lockhart Arena Orem, UT | |||||||||
| February 5, 2026 5:00pm, ESPN+ |
at Abilene Christian | Moody Coliseum Abilene, TX | |||||||||
| February 7, 2026 1:00pm, ESPN+ |
at UT Arlington | College Park Center Arlington, TX | |||||||||
| February 12, 2026 6:00pm, ESPN+ |
Utah Tech | Lockhart Arena Orem, UT | |||||||||
| February 19, 2026 7:00pm, ESPN+ |
at California Baptist | Fowler Events Center Riverside, CA | |||||||||
| February 21, 2026 2:00pm, ESPN+ |
UT Arlington | UCCU Center Orem, UT | |||||||||
| February 26, 2026 8:00pm, ESPN+ |
at Tarleton | EECU Center Stephenville, TX | |||||||||
| February 28, 2026 12:00pm, ESPN+ |
at Abilene Christian | Moody Coliseum Abilene, TX | |||||||||
| March 5, 2026 6:00pm, ESPN+ |
Southern Utah | UCCU Center Orem, UT | |||||||||
| March 7, 2026 2:00pm, ESPN+ |
Utah Tech Old Hammer Rivalry |
UCCU Center Orem, UT | |||||||||
| WAC tournament | |||||||||||
| March 2026 TBA, ESPN+ |
vs. TBD | Orleans Arena Paradise, NV | |||||||||
See also
References
- ^ "UCCU Center". www.utahvalley.com. Retrieved May 15, 2025.
- ^ "UVU arena named after Becky Lockhart, first female speaker of the Utah House of Representatives". heraldextra.com. Retrieved October 31, 2022.
- ^ "UVU signs men's and women's hoops coaches to new five-year deals". heraldextra.com. September 28, 2021. Retrieved October 20, 2023.
- ^ "Utah Valley University Joins The Big West" (Press release). Big West Conference. June 4, 2025. Retrieved October 14, 2025.
- ^ "Utah Valley Wolverines 2024-25 Postseason NCAAW Schedule". ESPN. Retrieved May 15, 2025.
- ^ "WAC tournament run ends for UVU women's basketball in semifinals". heraldextra.com. Retrieved May 15, 2025.
- ^ "UVU women's basketball loses heartbreaker at Wash. St. in WNIT". heraldextra.com. Retrieved May 15, 2025.
- ^ a b c "Senior Day set for Saturday vs Tarleton State". Utah Valley University Athletics. May 2, 2025. Retrieved May 15, 2025.
- ^ Goodman, Talia (April 17, 2025). "On3 2024-2025 Women's Basketball Transfer Portal Tracker". On3. Retrieved May 15, 2025.
- ^ "Bengals Sign Transfer Guard Aspen Caldwell". Idaho State University Athletics. May 28, 2025. Retrieved June 26, 2025.
- ^ "Nielson announces signing of Lone Peak star/BYU transfer Tanuvasa". Utah Valley University Athletics. April 10, 2025. Retrieved May 15, 2025.
- ^ "Nielson signs former Westlake star, Colorado State transfer Headrick". Utah Valley University Athletics. May 2, 2025. Retrieved May 15, 2025.
- ^ "Nielson signs New Zealand post Evie Leeson". Utah Valley University Athletics. May 2, 2025. Retrieved May 24, 2025.