SAN BRUNO, Calif. – The Portland Pilots were picked to finish fourth in the annual West Coast Conference Preseason poll, with Dyani Ananiev being named to the WCC Preseason Team.
This is the first time Ananiev has earned any sort of All-WCC Preseason honors. Ananiev played in just 10 games last year, averaging 7.4 points and 1.8 steals off the bench before dealing with an injury. The Australian guard was stellar her freshman season, playing 34 games and leading the team in 3-point percentage (.360). She was first Pilot to make the All-WCC Freshman Team since 2021-22 and put up the highest scoring average of any Pilot freshman since Alex Fowler in the 2019-20 season at 8.2 points per contest.
The Pilots were picked to finish behind the Oregon State Beavers, Goznzaga Bulldogs and Washington State Cougars. At 119 points and nine first place votes, the Beavers were picked first while the Bulldogs, who shared a regular season title with the Pilots last year, were picked second with 11 points and three first-place votes. Washington State was just ahead of Portland at 94 points, and just under Portland was the Santa Clara Broncos at 84 points.
The San Francisco Dons were picked to take sixth in the conference at 70 points, followed by the Saint Mary's Gaels in seventh place at 55 points. Just behind the Gaels at 52 points are the Pacific Tigers, trailed by the LMU Lions in ninth place at 38 points. The Pepperdine Waves, San Diego Toreros and newcomer Seattle U Redhawks rounds out the bottom three.
The Pilots had one of the best seasons in program history in 2024-25, posting a 31-5 record overall and 17-3 record in WCC play. Both win totals broke a program record for regular season wins and wins in conference play, giving Portland a share of the WCC Regular Season title. They advanced to the quarterfinals of the WBIT in their first time ever in the tournament, earning two playoff wins on the road for the first time in program history, including a win over the Stanford Cardinal in the opening round. They advanced to their third straight WCC Tournament Championship game and their fourth in six seasons as well.
Portland opens the regular season on Nov. 4 against the Willamette Bearcats. The two teams play at the Chiles Center, with tipoff set for 6 p.m. Check PortlandPilots.com for tickets, live stats and video options.
See below for the full preseason team and poll.
2025-26 West Coast Conference Women's Basketball Preseason Poll
| RANK |
TEAM (1st Place Votes) |
POINTS |
| 1 |
Oregon State (9) |
119 |
| 2 |
Gonzaga (3) |
111 |
| 3 |
Washington State |
94 |
| 4 |
Portland |
91 |
| 5 |
Santa Clara |
84 |
| 6 |
San Francisco |
70 |
| 7 |
Saint Mary's |
55 |
| 8 |
Pacific |
52 |
| 9 |
LMU |
38 |
| 10 |
Pepperdine |
36 |
| 11 |
San Diego |
31 |
| 12 |
Seattle U |
11 |
2025-26 West Coast Conference Women's Basketball Preseason Team
| Name |
Yr. |
Pos. |
School |
| Dyani Ananiev |
So. |
G |
Portland |
| Zeryhia Aokuso |
Jr. |
G |
Gonzaga |
| Tiara Bolden |
Sr. |
G |
Oregon State |
| Catarina Ferreira |
Sr. |
G |
Oregon State |
| Sophie Glancey |
Gr. |
F |
Santa Clara |
| Maya Hernandez |
Jr. |
F |
LMU |
| Maia Jones |
Jr. |
G |
Santa Clara |
| Kennedie Shuler |
Jr. |
G |
Oregon State |
| Allie Turner |
So. |
G |
Gonzaga |
| Eleonora Villa |
Jr. |
G |
Washington State |
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