Point Loma won the Pacific West Conference women's basketball title for the first time last winter and also captured their first-ever conference tournament trophy.

In doing so, the Sea Lions knocked off Azusa Pacific, who had won four of the previous five PacWest regular season championships. Will there also be a first-time champion in 2025-26?

According to the league's coaches, yes, there will be.

Former NAIA powerhouse and second-year PacWest member Vanguard is the pick to win it all this winter. The Lions earned nine of the 13 first place votes and finished with 164 poll points, 17 more than runner-up Point Loma (147). Finishing a very close third in the poll was Westmont (145). 

Dominican, who reached the tournament final last year, was tabbed fourth (126), followed by Azusa Pacific (110) and Menlo (107) to round out the top six. 

Vanguard, who wasn't postseason eligible in the NCAA or PacWest last year, would have qualified for the conference tournament with their 16-4 league record (tied with Azusa Pacific). They Lions lost First Team All-PacWest selection Sarah Matossian from that team, but five players with starting experience are back for head coach Russ Davis.

That includes Emma Schaaf, the PacWest Freshman of the Year and a Third-Team All-PacWest pick. Also returning is Halle Si`i (Second Team). Schaaf is a 6-foot-3 post who averaged 11.1 points and 8.6 rebounds a contest. Si`i, a 5-7 guard, added 12.3 points a game and had 109 assists on the season. Ashlin Crabtree, Jaryn Madsen, and Aryanna Hudson have starting experience, part of a group of 11 returnees.

Additionally, Davis welcomes Point Loma transfers Kaylee Byon and Shayla O'Neil. Byon was a All-PacWest Second Team pick for the Sea Lions last year, averaging 9.5 points a game. Merging those pieces together will be Davis, in his 30th season with a career record of 695-193.

Point Loma lists second in the poll, despite losing Byon, O'Neil and All-PacWest selections Tavia Rowell and Alli McDonald to graduation. Head coach Charity Elliott does return 6-foot-3 post Eiley Tippins, a Second-Team All-PacWest selection that averaged 6.7 rebounds and 1.4 blocked shots. Starter Maddie Mersch is also back to give Point Loma just six returning players. 

But, Elliott and the Sea Lions reloaded with the addition of six Division I or II transfers, including one of the top players in the PacWest, Izzy Navarro. Navarro was the PacWest Freshman of the Year in 2023-24 and was a Second Team All-PacWest pick last year while with Concordia. She averaged 16.6 points per game last winter, second in the conference, was seventh in the league in assists with 2.7 a game and topped the PacWest in steals with 2.8 . Additionally, the Sea Lions now have Ruby Vlahov (Saint Mary’s), Maddie Morrow (Academy of Art), Alyssa Malla (San Jose State), and Sheriene Arikat (Sonoma State).

The Sea Lions had 147 poll points and Westmont was just two digits behind with 145 and one first place vote. The Warriors have the only returning First Team All-PacWest player in Sage Kramer and they also have the conference's Defender of the Year in Lisa Kiefer. Kramer averaged 15.8 points a contest (sixth in the conference) while Kiefer was second in the conference in rebounds (11.6) and blocked shots (2.2) while taking away 2.3 steals a game (third). 

Head coach Kirsten Moore, in her 21st season (452-159), has 11 total returnees including experienced seniors Mariah Brown, Noemie Bariteau, Bailey Fong, and Jazmyn Shipp. Last year, the Warriors went 18-11 overall and 13-7 in conference play, qualifying for the conference tournament in their first year of eligibility. 

Dominican had an exhilarating run in the conference tournament last March, reaching the final and pushing Point Loma to the brink in front of a robust home crowd in San Rafael. The Penguins received one first place vote and 126 poll points and are led by senior guard Keyonee Neal. Neal is a two-time Second Team All-PacWest selection and was the 2022-23 PacWest Freshman of the Year. 

Head Coach Tim LaKose (544-312 career) also has returning starters Kaylyn Buchanon and Adia Walker back. The Penguins went 22-12 overall and 14-6 in league play last year, but will have to work on replacing two of the PacWest's best in Tayor Linzie and Alaiyah San Juan. 

Azusa Pacific sits in a unfamilair spot in the preseason poll in fifth with 110 poll points. The Cougars, who coming into last season had won five of the six previous PacWest titles, return Third Team All-PacWest selection Audrey Sayoc, but have a lot of other pieces to replace including two-time Player of the Year Kelly Heimburger and First Team choice Amayah Kirkman. Also gone is longtime successful coach T.J. Hardeman. First-year leader Dan Ploog will work to rebuild the Cougars in their final year of the PacWest before moving to Division III in 2026-27.  

Menlo (107 poll points) is right behind the Cougars in sixth. The Oaks return Third Team All-PacWest honoree Alberte Frisch, who averaged 15.7 points per contest last year. Head coach Shannon Spataro (17th season, 290-180) has 11 total returnees to work with from a team that went 16-11 last year. The Oaks were 12-8 in conference play would have qualified for the PacWest tournament if they were yet NCAA eligible (they are this year). 

Seventh in the poll is Fresno Pacific (87 poll points). The Sunbirds feature returning starters Angela Whitfield and Kira Wilmont among their six returnees for tenth-year head coach Tim Beauregard. Last season, FPU went a dead even 14-14 overall and 10-10 in the PacWest. Eighth in the poll is Biola, one poll point behind Fresno Pacific (86). The Eagles have three returning starters in Jessa Thurman, Camden Miller and Alyssa Kubo, and second-year head coach Mike Simonsen has four transfers, including Point Loma's Grace Moyers. 

Jessup follows in ninth (59 poll points). The Warriors, under head coach Corey Laster, went a solid 14-14 last season and 9-11 in their first year in the PacWest. Laster has one returning starter in Amari Guiton and eight total returnees. Concordia follows (54), where head coach Christine Collins-Kiernan knows her top returning player well. Camryn Kiernan averaged 12.5 points a game last season for the Golden Eagles, and she has two fellow returning starters in Cadence Tarrant and Hannah Vela.

The three island schools round out the poll. Hawai`i Hilo (50) has a full cupboard coming back with nine returnees and five starters. Head coach David Kaneshiro (16th season) returns Keirstyn Agonias, KeanuMarie Huihui, Kaile Cruz, Mindy Kawaha, and Noelle Su‘a-Godinet. Hawai`i Pacific (12) has a new coach in Brent Gibson, who welcomes two returning starters in Alana Roberts and Serenity Santos and he also signed four Division II transfers. Chaminade also has a new leader in Travis Brewster and two returning starters in Dezeray Carter and Julien Parado. 

The official tip-off of the 2025-26 season is still three weeks away, beginning the weekend of November 14-15. PacWest play will start for real on December 2-4, with all 13 teams playing for the six  positions in the conference tournament, hosted by defending champion Point Loma this year in San Diego, March 5-7.