The 2025–26 UC Irvine Anteaters women's basketball team will represent the University of California, Irvine in the 2025–26 NCAA Division I women's basketball season. They will play their home games at the Bren Events Center in Irvine, California as a member of the Big West Conference. The Anteaters will be led by 10th-year head coach Tamara Inoue. On the final game of the regular season versus UC Davis, UC Irvine recorded their 26th win, a new program record. After losing to Hawai'i in the semifinals of the Big West tournament, the Anteaters were not selected to play in the NCAA tournament. They received an automatic bid to the Women's Basketball Invitation Tournament, as they won the Big West regular season. It is their first such appearance, as the tournament was created in 2024. They lost to San Diego State in the first round.
Previous season
The 2024–25 Anteaters team finished 21–10, including a 15–5 conference record. They were ousted in the Big West tournament final by UC Davis, losing 56–63. They did not receive a bid to the WBIT, as conference regular season champion Hawai'i did.
Offseason Preseason Polls The Big West Media Poll was released on October 13, 2025. This is the inaugural media poll for the Big West Conference, conducted by the UCSD Guardian. It was sent out to student journalists and radio broadcasters from other member schools across the conference. The Big West Coaches' Poll was released on October 16, 2025. This is the third consecutive year UC Irvine is predicted to finish second in the Big West Conference. Media Poll 1 Hawai'i 83 (5) 2 UC Irvine 80 (3) 3 UC Davis 68 (1) 4 UC San Diego 62 5 UC Santa Barbara 54 6 Long Beach State 44 7 UC Riverside 42 8 Cal Poly 34 9 Cal State Fullerton 16 10 Cal State Bakersfield 8 11 Cal State Northridge 4 Coaches' Poll 1 Hawai'i 91 (4) 2 UC Irvine 90 (4) 3 UC Davis 83 (1) 4 UC San Diego 77 (2) 5 UC Santa Barbara 61 6 Long Beach State 57 7 UC Riverside 51 8 Cal Poly 34 9 Cal State Northridge 27 10 Cal State Fullerton 20 11 Cal State Bakersfield 14
Roster
Schedule and results
!colspan=12 style=""| Regular season
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Source
Rankings
References