PORTLAND, Ore. – The Central Washington University Women's Basketball Team was picked to finish second in yet another tight race in the GNAC Preseason Coaches Poll.
CWU Women's Basketball had another historic season in 2025-26, posting their highest win total since the 2021-22 season with a 25-7 record including a 14-4 GNAC record that saw them tie for second in conference play. The Wildcats were honored with hosting their first-ever West Region Championship where the 'Cats found their way back to their second-straight Sweet 16 where they fell in a tight 57-51 game to Cal Poly Pomona in front of a rowdy crowd.
On top of the successful year for the team, the 'Cats saw individuals find major success as well. Former Wildcat
Asher Cai became both the CWU and the GNAC all-time leading scorer and finished her career with 2,257 points. She also grabbed First Team All-American and Academic All-American while also being named the GNAC Female Athlete of the Year, GNAC Player of the Year, and West Region Player of the Year.
Capri Sims also had a standout junior year, surpassing 1,000 career points, and was a member of the NCAA West Region Tournament Team and was joined by
Fiona Snashall as members of the Second Team All-GNAC squad.
Looking toward the 2026-27 season the 'Cats have welcomed six newcomers to the program. Joining CWU from the transfer portal is Kirkland, Wash. native and former Alaska Anchorage Seawolf guard junior
Kimberly Carrada Sanchez. Also transferring into the program is NCAA Division I transfer from Cal State Bakersfield and Inchelium, Wash. native, senior forward
Zalissa Finley. Four freshmen have also come into the fold for this season as Washington natives
Baylee Maldonado and
Rylee Jacox join the 'Cats as a pair of guards from Pasco and Maple Valley while another guard comes to CWU from Big Sky Country in
Amaya Jarvis who is from Havre, Montana. Rounding out the freshman class is
Lauren Burnside who is a forward from Rigby, Idaho.
The 'Cats will have an experienced squad this season with six seniors on the squad including Sims, Snashall, Finley, and guards
Kayla Thornton,
Sierra Eddie, and
Rylee Leishman. Sims, Snashall, and Thornton started every game last season for the 'Cats while Leishman adds 29 starts from a season ago and posted career-high numbers.
The Wildcats will begin their season hosting the CWU D2 Tip-Off Classic that will feature six men's and six women's teams including both squads from fellow GNAC members Montana State Billings and Western Washington. The Women's squad will first face Minnesota State Moorhead on Friday, Oct. 30 followed by a Halloween showdown against Midwestern State before wrapping up the weekend on Nov. 1 against UT Tyler with all three games happening at 1:00 p.m. from inside Nicholson Arena.
2026-27 GNAC Women's Basketball Preseason Coaches Poll
| RANK |
SCHOOL (1ST PLACE VOTES) |
POINTS |
2025-26 RECORD |
2025-26 GNAC RECORD (FINISH) |
| 1 |
Western Washington (4) |
93 |
25-8 |
15-3 (1st) |
| 2 |
Central Washington (4) |
88 |
25-7 |
14-4 (T2nd) |
| 3 |
Saint Martin's |
73 |
18-10 |
14-4 (T2nd) |
| 4 |
Montana State Billings |
68 |
20-15 |
9-9 (T5th) |
| 5 |
Northwest Nazarene (1) |
63 |
17-10 |
12-6 (4th) |
| 6 |
Alaska Anchorage (1) |
61 |
16-11 |
8-10 (7th) |
| 7 |
Western Oregon |
44 |
15-13 |
9-9 (T5th) |
| 8 |
Simon Fraser |
31 |
10-19 |
5-13 (8th) |
| 9 |
Seattle Pacific |
28 |
7-20 |
4-14 (9th) |
| 10 |
Alaska Fairbanks |
10 |
0-26 |
0-18 (10th) |
The full 2026-27 CWU Women's Basketball schedule can be found
HERE
The full GNAC release can be found HERE
