Sports season
The 2024–25 WAC women's basketball season began with practices in October followed by the start of the 2024–25 NCAA Division I women's basketball season in early November 2024. The conference began play in January 2025. This is the WAC's 63rd season of basketball. The WAC competed with nine teams due to two teams having left the conference since the prior season. UTRGV and Stephen F. Austin both joined the Southland Conference since the prior year.[ 1] The WAC tournament will be held in March 2025 with all nine teams competing for the automatic bid to the 2025 NCAA Division I women's basketball tournament . The opening round will be held at Burns Arena in St. George, Utah with the remaining rounds at the Orleans Arena in the Las Vegas -area community of Paradise, Nevada .[ 2] This was the last WAC season for both Grand Canyon and Seattle , which announced that they would join the West Coast Conference the following year.[ 3]
Pre-season
The WAC's 2024 women's basketball media day was held on October 16.[ 4]
Men's Basketball Coaches Preseason Poll
Place
Team
Points
First place votes
1.
Grand Canyon
59
4
2.
California Baptist
58
4
3.
UT Arlington
53
1
4.
Abilene Christian
37
--
5.
Southern Utah
33
--
6.
Tarleton
28
--
7.
Utah Tech
24
--
8.
Utah Valley
17
--
9
Seattle U
15
--
WAC Preseason All-Conference
First Team
Name
School
Yr.
Pos.
Trinity San Antonio†
Grand Canyon
Senior
G
Payton Hull
Abilene Christian
Sophomore
G
Tiarra Brown
Grand Canyon
Graduate
G/F
Daylani Ballena
Southern Utah
Graduate
G
Avery Brittingham
UT Arlington
Fifth year
F
† Denotes Preseason Player of the Year
Regular season
Early season tournaments
Team
Tournament
Finish
Abilene Christian
FIU Thanksgiving Classic[ 5] & Lobo Invitational[ 6]
1st & 1st
California Baptist
FGCU Homewood Suites Classic[ 7]
3rd
Grand Canyon
Talking Stick Resort Thanksgiving Classic & Have Fayth Christmas Classic[ 8]
1st & 1st
Seattle U
Talking Stick Resort Thanksgiving Classic[ 8]
2nd
Southern Utah
Nugget Classic[ 9]
4th
Tarleton
Big Easy Classic[ 10]
2nd
UT Arlington
N/A
---
Utah Tech
N/A
---
Utah Valley
USD Thanksgiving Classic[ 11]
2nd
Conference USA-Western Athletic Conference Challenge
Date
Conference USA team
WAC team
Score
Location
Leader
November 4
UTEP
Tarleton
52–49
Don Haskins Center • El Paso, TX
CUSA (1–0)
November 7
New Mexico State
Utah Tech
85–63
Pan American Center • Las Cruces, NM
CUSA (2–0)
November 8
Florida International
Abilene Christian
76–73
Ocean Bank Convocation Center • Miami, FL
CUSA (2–1)
Middle Tennessee
Grand Canyon
57–47
Murphy Center • Murfreesboro, TN
CUSA (3–1)
November 9
Kennesaw State
Utah Valley
64–61
Convocation Center • Kennesaw, GA
CUSA (3–2)
Jacksonville State
Southern Utah
77–58
Pete Mathews Coliseum • Jacksonville, FL
CUSA (4–2)
Liberty
California Baptist
72–44
Liberty Arena • Lynchburg, VA
CUSA (5–2)
Sam Houston
Seattle
69–57
Bernard Johnson Coliseum • Huntsville, TX
CUSA (6–2)
November 10
Louisiana Tech
UT Arlington
71–60
Thomas Assembly Center • Ruston, LA
CUSA (7–2)
November 21
Western Kentucky
Abilene Christian
68–64
Moody Coliseum • Abilene, TX
CUSA (8–2)
November 27
Liberty
Grand Canyon
79–50
Global Credit Union Arena • Phoenix, AZ
CUSA (8–3)
December 14
UTEP
Utah Tech
71–57
Burns Arena • St. George, UT
CUSA (9–3)
December 16
Sam Houston
Southern Utah
72–61
America First Event Center • Cedar City, UT
CUSA (10–3)
Kennesaw State
Seattle
64–41
Redhawk Center • Seattle, WA
CUSA (11–3)
Jacksonville State
Utah Valley
49–45
UCCU Center • Orem, UT
CUSA (11–4)
New Mexico State
Tarleton
65–55
Wisdom Gym • Stephenville, TX
CUSA (11–5)
Florida International
UT Arlington
72–56
College Park Center • Arlington, TX
CUSA (11–6)
December 17
Middle Tennessee
California Baptist
74–54
Fowler Events Center • Riverside, CA
CUSA (12–6)
WINNERS ARE IN BOLD . HOME TEAM IN ITALICS.
Rankings from AP Poll released prior to the game. Did not participate: none
Records against other conferences
2024–25 records against non-conference foes:
Regular season
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 18
Grand Canyon
#23 Oregon
L, 54–70
November 20
Tarleton
#4 Texas
L, 41–83
December 3
Cal Baptist
#6 USC
L, 52–94
December 11
Tarleton
#24 Nebraska
L, 50–63
December 18
Utah Tech
NR/#21 Baylor
L, 34–97
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
Wk 9
Wk 10
Wk 11
Wk 12
Wk 13
Wk 14
Wk 15
Wk 16
Wk 17
Wk 18
Final
Abilene Christian
AP
NV
NV
NV
NV
NV
NV
NV
NV
NV
C
NV
NV
NV
NV
NV
NV
NV
NV
NV
California Baptist
AP
NV
NV
NV
NV
NV
NV
NV
NV
NV
C
NV
NV
NV
NV
NV
NV
NV
NV
NV
Grand Canyon
AP
NV
NV
NV
NV
NV
NV
NV
NV
NV
C
NV
NV
NV
NV
NV
NV
NV
NV
NV
Seattle U
AP
NV
NV
NV
NV
NV
NV
NV
NV
NV
C
NV
NV
NV
NV
NV
NV
NV
NV
NV
Southern Utah
AP
NV
NV
NV
NV
NV
NV
NV
NV
NV
C
NV
NV
NV
NV
NV
NV
NV
NV
NV
Tarleton
AP
NV
NV
NV
NV
NV
NV
NV
NV
NV
C
NV
NV
NV
NV
NV
NV
NV
NV
NV
UT Arlington
AP
NV
NV
NV
NV
NV
NV
NV
NV
NV
C
NV
NV
NV
NV
NV
NV
NV
NV
NV
Utah Tech
AP
NV
NV
NV
NV
NV
NV
NV
NV
NV
C
NV
NV
NV
NV
NV
NV
NV
NV
NV
Utah Valley
AP
NV
NV
NV
NV
NV
NV
NV
NV
NV
C
NV
NV
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
13th
228–130 (.637)
138–75(.648)
2
1
0
0
California Baptist
Jarrod Olson
Florida Southern
13th
133-54 (.711)
76-26 (.745)
2
1
0
0
Grand Canyon
Molly Miller
Drury
5th
85-35 (.708)
50-18 (.735)
0
0
0
0
Seattle U
Skyler Young
Portland (assistant)
2nd
6-23 (.207)
6-14 (.300)
0
0
0
0
Southern Utah
Tracy Mason
St. Mary's (associate HC)
7th
84-87 (.491)
22-16 (.579)
1
1
0
0
Tarleton
Bill Brock
McLennan Community College
2nd
12-20 (.375)
7-13 (.350)
0
0
0
0
UT Arlington
Shereka Wright
Vanderbilt (associate HC)
5th
64-48 (.571)
41-27 (.603)
0
1
0
0
Utah Tech
JD Gustin
Weber State (assistant)
9th
48-47 (.505)
28-28 (.500)
0
0
0
0
Utah Valley
Dan Nielson
BYU (associate HC)
6th
57-81 (.413)
37-48 (.435)
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 2025 with all nine teams competing for the automatic bid to the 2025 NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament . The opening round will be held at Burns Arena in St. George, Utah with the remaining rounds 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
–
–
–
–
–
–
–
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
Quarterfinals
Semifinals
Finals
–
–
–
–
–
W-L (%):
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 11
Bella Earle
Abilene Christian
Danja Stafford Collins
Utah Valley
November 18
Alyssa Durazo-Frescas
Grand Canyon
Alyssa Durazo-Frescas
Grand Canyon
November 25
Chardonnay Hartley
Utah Tech
Aaliyah Ibarra
Utah Tech
December 2
Payton Hull
Abilene Christian
Taisiya Kozlova
Seattle
December 9
Trinity San Antonio
Grand Canyon
Koi Love
UT Arlington
December 16
Laura Erikstrup
Grand Canyon
Alyssa Durazo-Frescas
Grand Canyon
December 23
Payton Hull
Abilene Christian
Koi Love
UT Arlington
December 31
Laura Erikstrup
Grand Canyon
Koi Love
UT Arlington
Totals per school - Players of the week
School
Player of the week
Freshman of the week
Total
Abilene Christian University
3
3
California Baptist University
Grand Canyon University
4
2
6
Seattle University
1
1
Southern Utah University
Tarleton State University
University of Texas at Arlington
3
3
Utah Tech University
1
1
2
Utah Valley University
1
1
Total
8
8
16
All-Americans
All-WAC
First team
‡ WAC Player of the Year
‡‡ WAC Defensive Player of the Year
Second team
All-Freshman team
† Freshman of the Year
All-Defensive team
‡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
652
2,207
709
624
348
728
705
5,973
853
24%
California Baptist
CBU Events Center
5,050
740
758
461
427
395
181
2,962
494
10%
Grand Canyon
GCU Arena
7,000
552
534
482
398
511
407
298
134
512
325
1,689
5,842
531
8%
Seattle U
Redhawk Center /Climate Pledge Arena
999 /18,100 [ 12]
536
164
247
143
1,090
273
27%
Southern Utah
America First Event Center
5,300
355
369
349
266
201
309
1,849
308
6%
Tarleton State
Wisdom Gymnasium
3,000
840
677
927
581
676
527
627
4,855
694
23%
UT Arlington
College Park Center
7,000
1,161
256
901
734
795
3,847
769
11%
Utah Tech
Burns Arena
4,779
1,841
327
665
467
260
377
358
4,295
614
13%
Utah Valley
UCCU Center
8,500
539
636
457
474
381
422
2,909
485
6%
Total
62.329
33,622
5,020
14%
Bold – At or exceed capacity; capacity ratios for Seattle U computed based on smaller home arena; attendance is for regular season only
†Season high
‡Climate Pledge Arena
‡‡Bert Ogden Arena
See also
References
^ "CONFIRMED: SFA returning to the Southland Conference" . Dave Campbell's Texas Football . Retrieved October 19, 2024 .
^ "Championship Format And Dates For 2025 Hercules Tires WAC Basketball Tournament Set" . wacsports.com . October 15, 2024. Retrieved October 19, 2024 .
^ "WCC to add Grand Canyon, Seattle in 2025-26" . ESPN.com . May 10, 2024. Retrieved October 19, 2024 .
^ "Grand Canyon Tabbed as 2024-25 WAC Women's Basketball Preseason Favorite" . wacsports.com . November 2, 2024. Retrieved November 8, 2024 .
^ "Women's Basketball Releases Full 2024-25 Slate" . FIU Athletics . November 8, 2024. Retrieved November 10, 2024 .
^ "ACU hopes to make statement in year four in the WAC" . Abilene Christian University Athletics . November 1, 2024. Retrieved November 10, 2024 .
^ "Women's basketball unveils non-conference slate for 2024-25 season" . FGCU Athletics . September 12, 2024. Retrieved November 10, 2024 .
^ a b "Challenging nonconference schedule unveiled" . Grand Canyon University Athletics . September 12, 2024. Retrieved November 10, 2024 .
^ "Women's Basketball announces 2024-25 schedule" . University of Nevada Athletics . September 24, 2024. Retrieved November 10, 2024 .
^ "2024 Big Easy Classic - NCAA Women's Basketball Tournaments" . Alario Center . Retrieved November 10, 2024 .
^ "USD Women's Basketball Reveals Full 2024-25 Schedule" . University of San Diego Athletics . September 26, 2024. Retrieved November 10, 2024 .
^ Seattle U uses two home arenas: Redhawk Center, which is located on campus, and the newly renovated Climate Pledge Arena in uptown Seattle.
Teams Championships & awards Seasons