PORTLAND, Ore.--Western Oregon, 15-13 a year ago with a 9-9 record in Great Northwest Athletic Conference play, is picked to finish seventh in the annual coaches poll, announced today by the GANC office.
Western Washington, the defending conference champs, are picked to finish there again in 2026-27.
The Wolves, under fourth-year head coach
Jessica Peatross, made the GNAC Tournament last year for the just the third time in program history. They also won their first-ver tournament game with a opening round victory over Northwest Nazarene.Â
But WOU will have a completely new look this winter, returning only two players from that roster. Peatross has reloaded with eight transfers and three freshmen as they attempt to climb the conference ladder.
The 2026-27 women's basketball season officially kicks off on Oct. 30 with the D2CCA Tip-Off Classic in Ellensburg, Wash. The Wolves will open on November 9 with a non-conference home game against Willamette at 6 pm.
The first round of GNAC contests runs Dec. 3-5 with the remaining 16 games following after the new year. The top-six teams in the regular-season standings will earn spots in the
2027 GNAC Basketball Championships, which run March 4-6 at Johnson Sports Center on the campus of Northwest Nazarene. The winner of the conference tournament will earn the GNAC's automatic berth into the NCAA West Region Championships, which follow March. 11-15 at the site of the top seed in the region.
To see the complete GNAC preseason release,
click here.
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| 2026-27 GNAC Women's Basketball Preseason Coaches Poll |
| Rank |
Team (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 |
10 |
0-26 |
0-18 (10th) |
| Â Points awarded on a 10-9-8-7-6-5-4-3-2-1 basis. |
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