2025–26 Western Athletic Conference women's basketball season
| 2025–26 WAC women's basketball season | |
|---|---|
| League | NCAA Division I |
| Sport | Basketball |
| Teams | 7 |
| TV partner(s) | ESPN, ESPN+ |
| Regular season | |
| WAC tournament | |
| Conf. | Overall | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Team | W | L | PCT | W | L | PCT | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Southern Utah | 0 | – | 0 | – | 7 | – | 3 | .700 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Utah Valley | 0 | – | 0 | – | 7 | – | 3 | .700 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Abilene Christian | 0 | – | 0 | – | 6 | – | 4 | .600 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Tarleton | 0 | – | 0 | – | 5 | – | 4 | .556 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| California Baptist | 0 | – | 0 | – | 6 | – | 5 | .545 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| UT Arlington | 0 | – | 0 | – | 6 | – | 5 | .545 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Utah Tech | 0 | – | 0 | – | 5 | – | 5 | .500 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| † 2026 WAC tournament winner As of December 17, 2025 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
The 2025–26 WAC women's basketball season began with practices in October followed by the start of the 2025–26 NCAA Division I women's basketball season in early November 2025. The conference begins play in December 2025. This is the WAC's 64th season of basketball. The WAC competes with seven teams due to two teams having left the conference since the prior season. Seattle and Grand Canyon both joined the other conferences since the prior year.[1] The WAC tournament will be held in March 2026 with all seven teams competing for the automatic bid to the 2026 NCAA Division I women's basketball tournament. All rounds will be played at the Orleans Arena in the Las Vegas-area community of Paradise, Nevada.[2]
This will be the last season under the WAC's current identity. California Baptist and Utah Valley will join the Big West Conference and Southern Utah and Utah Tech will join the Big Sky Conference on July 1, 2026.[3] At that time, the WAC will rebrand as the United Athletic Conference (UAC), previously a football-only alliance between the WAC and the Atlantic Sun Conference (ASUN).[4] The WAC membership of the three remaining teams—Abilene Christian, Tarleton State, and UT Arlington—will transfer to the UAC.[5]
Pre-season
WAC Preseason polling
| Place | Team | Points | First place votes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | Abilene Christian | 32 | 2 |
| 2. | California Baptist | 31 | 4 |
| 3. | UT Arlington | 25 | 1 |
| 4. | Utah Valley | 23 | |
| 5. | Tarleton | 18 | |
| 6. | Utah Tech | 12 | |
| 7. | Southern Utah | 6 |
WAC Preseason All-Conference
- First Team
| Name | School | Yr. | Pos. |
|---|---|---|---|
| Payton Hull† | Abilene Christian | Junior | G |
| Meredith Mayes | Abilene Christian | Junior | C |
| Khloe Lemon | California Baptist | Junior | G |
| Jakoriah Long | Tarleton State | Senior | G |
| Amanda Barcello | Utah Valley | Senior | G/F |
† Denotes Preseason Player of the Year
Regular season
Early season tournaments
| Team | Tournament | Finish |
|---|---|---|
| Abilene Christian | Fort Myers Tip-Off[7] | |
| California Baptist | CBU Classic[8] | |
| Southern Utah | LMU Christmas Tournament[9] | |
| Tarleton | ACU Christmas Classic[10] | |
| UT Arlington | Hawaii North Shore Showcase[11] | |
| Utah Tech | N/A | N/A |
| Utah Valley | N/A | N/A |
Records against other conferences
2025–26 records against non-conference foes:
Regular season
| Power Conferences & Gonzaga | Record |
|---|---|
| ACC | 0–0 |
| Big East | 0–0 |
| Big Ten | 0–1 |
| Big 12 | 0–6 |
| Pac-12 | 0–0 |
| SEC | 1–1 |
| Power Conference Total | 1–8 |
| Other NCAA Division I Conferences | Record |
| America East | 0–0 |
| American | 1–1 |
| A-10 | 1–0 |
| ASUN | 0–0 |
| Big Sky | 5–2 |
| Big South | 0–0 |
| Big West | 5–4 |
| CAA | 0–0 |
| C-USA | 1–2 |
| Horizon | 0–0 |
| Ivy League | 0–0 |
| MAAC | 0–0 |
| MAC | 0–0 |
| MEAC | 0–0 |
| MVC | 0–1 |
| Mountain West | 2–5 |
| NEC | 0–0 |
| OVC | 2–0 |
| Patriot League | 0–0 |
| SoCon | 0–0 |
| Southland | 4–4 |
| SWAC | 1–0 |
| Summit | 2–0 |
| Sun Belt | 1–1 |
| WCC | 4–1 |
| Other Division I Total | 29–21 |
| Non-Division I Total | 9–0 |
| NCAA Division I Total | 30–29 |
Record against ranked non-conference opponents
This is a list of games against ranked opponents only (rankings from the AP poll/Coaches poll):
| Date | Visitor | Home | Score |
|---|---|---|---|
| November 20, 2025 | Tarleton State | #10/8 TCU | L, 80–32 |
| December 21, 2025 | California Baptist | #25/23 Nebraska | |
| December 21, 2025 | UT Arlington | #5/5 LSU | |
Team rankings are reflective of AP poll/Coaches poll when the game was played, not current or final ranking.
Rankings
| Improvement in ranking | ||
| Drop in ranking | ||
| RV | Received votes but were not ranked in Top 25 | |
| NV | No votes received |
| Pre | Wk
2 |
Wk
3 |
Wk
4 |
Wk
5 |
Wk
6 |
Wk
7 |
Wk
8 |
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19 |
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20 |
Final | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Abilene Christian | AP | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | ||||||||||||||
| C | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | |||||||||||||||
| California Baptist | AP | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | ||||||||||||||
| C | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | |||||||||||||||
| Southern Utah | AP | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | ||||||||||||||
| C | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | |||||||||||||||
| Tarleton | AP | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | ||||||||||||||
| C | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | |||||||||||||||
| UT Arlington | AP | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | ||||||||||||||
| C | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | |||||||||||||||
| Utah Tech | AP | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | ||||||||||||||
| C | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | |||||||||||||||
| Utah Valley | AP | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | ||||||||||||||
| C | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV |
Head coaches
Coaching changes
No coaching changes were made during the offseason.
Coaches
Note: Stats shown are before the beginning of the season. Overall and WAC records are from time at current school.
| Team | Head coach | Previous job | Seasons at school | Overall record | WAC record | WAC titles | NCAA tournaments | NCAA Final Fours | NCAA Championships |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Abilene Christian | Julie Goodenough | Charleston Southern | 14th | 248–142 (.636) | 147–82 (.642) | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| California Baptist | Jarrod Olson | Florida Southern | 14th | 145–73 (.665) | 85–33 (.720) | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| Southern Utah | Tracy Mason | St. Mary's (associate HC) | 8th | 93–108 (.463) | 29–25 (.537) | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| Tarleton | Bill Brock | McLennan Community College | 3rd | 32–34 (.485) | 17–19 (.472) | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| UT Arlington | Shereka Wright | Vanderbilt (associate HC) | 6th | 81–61 (.570) | 51–33 (.607) | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| Utah Tech | JD Gustin | Weber State (assistant) | 10th | 54–72 (.429) | 29–43 (.403) | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Utah Valley | Dan Nielson | BYU (associate HC) | 7th | 75–93 (.446) | 46–55 (.455) | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
Notes:
- Overall and WAC records, conference titles, etc. are from time at current school and are through the end of the 2023–24 season.
- Records and season totals only include time spent at Division I as head coach.
- NCAA tournament appearances are from time at current school only.
- NCAA Final Fours and Championship include time at other schools.
Post season
WAC tournament
The WAC tournament will be held in March 2026 with all seven teams competing for the automatic bid to the 2025 NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament. All rounds will be played at the Orleans Arena in the Las Vegas-area community of Paradise, Nevada.
NCAA tournament
Teams from the conference that were selected to participate: 0
| Seed | Region | School | First Four | First round | Second round | Sweet Sixteen | Elite Eight | Final Four | Championship |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
–
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–
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–
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–
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–
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–
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–
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| Bids | W-L (%): | 0–0 (–) | 0–0 (–) | 0–0 (–) | 0–0 (–) | 0–0 (–) | 0–0 (–) | TOTAL: 0–0 (–) |
Women's Basketball Invitation Tournament
Number from the conference that were selected to participate: 0
| Seed | School | First round | Quarterfinals | Semifinals | Finals |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
–
|
–
|
–
|
–
| ||
| W-L (%): | 0–0 (–) | 0–0 (–) | 0–0 (–) | TOTAL: 0–0 (–) |
Women's National Invitation Tournament
Number from the conference that were selected to participate: 0
| Seed | School | First round | Second round | Super 16 | Great 8 | Semifinals | Finals |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
–
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–
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| W-L (%): | 0–0 (–) | 0–0 (–) | 0–0 (–) | 0–0 (–) | 0–0 (–) | TOTAL: 0–0 (–) |
| Index to colors and formatting |
|---|
| WAC member won |
| WAC member lost |
*Denotes overtime period
Awards and honors
Players of the week
Throughout the conference regular season, the WAC offices name a player of the week and a newcomer of the week each Monday.
| Week | Player of the Week | School | Newcomer of the Week | School |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| November 10 | Brooklyn Fely | Southern Utah | Brooklyn Fely | Southern Utah |
| November 17 | Sierra Chambers | Southern Utah | Lauren Olsen | California Baptist |
| November 24 | Filipa Barros | California Baptist | Kaylee Borden | Utah Tech |
| December 1 | Kira Reynolds | UT Arlington | Kira Reynolds | UT Arlington |
| December 8 | Meredith Mayes | Abilene Christian | Kira Reynolds | UT Arlington |
| December 15 | Payton Hull | Abilene Christian | Kaylee Headrick | Utah Valley |
Totals per school - Players of the week
| School | Player of the week | Newcomer of the week | Total |
|---|---|---|---|
| Abilene Christian University | 2 | 2 | |
| California Baptist University | 1 | 1 | 2 |
| Southern Utah University | 2 | 1 | 3 |
| Tarleton State University | |||
| University of Texas at Arlington | 1 | 2 | 3 |
| Utah Tech University | 1 | 1 | |
| Utah Valley University | 1 | 1 | |
| Total | 6 | 6 | 12 |
All-Americans
All-WAC
- First team
| Name | School |
|---|---|
- ‡ WAC Player of the Year
- Second team
| Name | School |
|---|---|
All-Freshman team
| Name | School |
|---|---|
† Freshman of the Year
All-Defensive team
| Name | School |
|---|---|
- ‡WAC Defensive Player of the Year
Other awards
Sixth Woman of the Year:
Coach of the Year:
2025 WNBA draft
| Round | Pick | Player | Position | Nationality | Team | School/club team |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| − | − | − |
Home game attendance
| Team | Stadium | Capacity | Game 1 | Game 2 | Game 3 | Game 4 | Game 5 | Game 6 | Game 7 | Game 8 | Game 9 | Game 10 | Game 11 | Game 12 | Game 13 | Game 14 | Game 15 | Game 16 | Game 17 | Game 18 | Game 19 | Total | Average | % of Capacity |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Abilene Christian | Moody Coliseum | 3,600 | 1,002 | 575 | 1,080 | 1,500 | 4,157 | 1,039 | 29% | |||||||||||||||
| California Baptist | CBU Events Center | 5,050 | 1,085 | 1,029 | 421 | 515 | 354 | 368 | 3,772 | 629 | 12% | |||||||||||||
| Southern Utah | America First Event Center | 5,300 | 366 | 423 | 313 | 236 | 831 | 2,169 | 434 | 8% | ||||||||||||||
| Tarleton State | EECU Center | 8,000 | 753 | 1,103 | 723 | 953 | 1,090 | 4,622 | 924 | 12% | ||||||||||||||
| UT Arlington | College Park Center | 7,000 | 586 | 695 | 912 | 2,193 | 731 | 10% | ||||||||||||||||
| Utah Tech | Burns Arena | 4,779 | 436 | 552 | 572 | 613 | 616 | 538 | 537 | 3,864 | 552 | 12% | ||||||||||||
| Utah Valley | Lockhart Arena/UCCU Center | 2,000/8,500[12] | 581 | 671 | 520 | 539 | 2,311 | 578 | 7% | |||||||||||||||
| Total | 42,229 | 23,088 | 4,887 | 13% |
Bold – At or exceed capacity; capacity ratios for Utah Valley computed based on larger home arena; attendance is for regular season only
- †Season high
- ‡Lockhart Arena
See also
References
- ^ "Grand Canyon flips from WCC, to join MWC by '26". ESPN.com. November 1, 2024. Retrieved November 6, 2025.
- ^ "2026 WAC Basketball Tournament - Western Athletic Conference". wacsports.com. Retrieved November 6, 2025.
- ^ Press, Associated (June 5, 2025). "Utah Valley set to join Big West Conference for 2026-27 athletic year". KJZZ. Retrieved November 6, 2025.
- ^ "Atlantic Sun Conference and Western Athletic Conference to Forge Strategic Alliance: WAC to Rebrand as United Athletic Conference" (Press release). United Athletic Conference. June 25, 2025. Retrieved June 25, 2025.
- ^ "Making sense of FCS conference realignment | NCAA.com". www.ncaa.com. Retrieved November 6, 2025.
- ^ "Abilene Christian Selected as 2025-26 WAC Women's Basketball Preseason Favorite". wacsports.com. October 30, 2025. Retrieved November 6, 2025.
- ^ Tip-Off, Women's Fort Myers. "Women's Fort Myers Tip-Off". Women's Fort Myers Tip-Off. Retrieved November 6, 2025.
- ^ Collom, Ryley; Communications, Assistant Director of Athletic; Media, Digital (November 3, 2025). "CBU Women's Basketball Rolls Out Non-Conference Schedule for 2025-26". CBU Athletics. Retrieved November 6, 2025.
- ^ "Women's Basketball Announce Full 2025-26 Season Schedule". Southern Utah University Athletics. August 1, 2025. Retrieved November 6, 2025.
- ^ Trujillo, Derryl. "WBB: Tarleton State Texans Preview". www.wachoopsnation.com. Retrieved November 6, 2025.
- ^ "Tournaments & Events". J5 inc. Retrieved November 6, 2025.
- ^ Utah Valley uses two home arenas for women's basketball: Lockhart Arena and the UCCU Center, both of which are located on campus in Orem, Utah.