The 2026–27 Big West Conference women's basketball season is for the Big West Conference in the 2026–27 NCAA Division I women's basketball season. The basketball teams begin with practices in October followed by the start of season in November 2026. Conference play begins in December 2025, and ends in March, after which the top 8 member teams participate in the 2027 Big West Conference women's basketball tournament at Lee's Family Forum in Henderson, Nevada. The tournament champion will receive the conference's automatic bid to the 2027 NCAA tournament.
The 2026–27 Big West Conference will compete as a 12-team league. Effective July 1, 2026, Hawaiʻi and UC Davis officially departed the conference to join the Mountain West Conference. To offset these departures, the Big West welcomed three new members: California Baptist and Utah Valley University from the Western Athletic Conference (WAC), as well as Sacramento State from the Big Sky Conference. This season is also the final year in the conference for UC San Diego and UC Santa Barbara, both of which accepted invitations to join the West Coast Conference (WCC) beginning in July 2027.
Head coaches Coaches TeamHead coachPrevious jobYears at schoolOverall recordBig West recordBig West titlesBig West tournament titlesCal PolyShanele StiresCal State East Bay500Cal State BakersfieldRay Alvarado100Cal State FullertonSammy DoucetteVanguard100California BaptistJarrod OlsonFlorida Southern1500CSUNAngie Ned300Long Beach StateMinyon Moore100Sacramento StateAaron Kallhoff400UC Irvine1121UC RiversideBrad Langston400UC San DiegoOccidental1512UC Santa BarbaraRenee JimenezCal State San Marcos300Utah ValleyDan Nielson800 Notes:
All records, appearances, titles, etc. are from time with current school only. Year at school includes 2026–27 season. Overall and Big West records are from time at current school only and are through the beginning of the season.
Preseason The Big West basketball season previews were held on October 1, 2026, but no preseason rankings were provided for the women's teams.
Regular season Players of the Week Throughout the conference regular season, the Big West will name one player of the week each Monday.
DatePlayer of the WeekSchool
Early season tournaments
Team Tournament FinishCal State FullertonN/ACalifornia BaptistCBU Thanksgiving ClassicCal PolyN/ACal State BakersfieldASU Thanksgiving TournamentCal State NorthridgeCBU Thanksgiving ClassicLong Beach StateN/ASacramento StateN/AUC IrvineZotGivingClassicUC RiversideN/AUC San DiegoFDU Holiday ClassicUC Santa BarbaraPortland Thanksgiving SeriesUtah ValleyN/A ===Records against other conferences=== 2026-27 records against non-conference opponents. Does not include exhibition matchups but includes postseason matchups. Power 5 ConferencesRecordACC0–0Big East0–0Big Ten0–0Big 120–0SEC0–0Power 5 Total0–0Other NCAA Division I ConferencesRecordAmerica East0–0American0–0A-100–0ASUN0–0Big Sky0–0Big South0–0CAA0–0C-USA0–0Horizon League0–0Ivy League0–0MAAC0–0MAC0–0MEAC0–0MVC0–0Mountain West0–0NEC0–0OVC0–0Pac-120–0Patriot League0–0SoCon0–0Southland0–0SWAC0–0Summit0–0Sun Belt0–0United Athletic Conference0–0WCC0–0Other Division I Total0–0NCAA Division I Total0–0NCAA Non Division I Total0–0Grand Total0–0
Postseason Big West tournament
The 2027 Big West Conference Basketball Tournament will be held at the Lee's Family Forum in Henderson, Nevada, in March 2027.
NCAA tournament
Seed Region School First Four First round Second round Sweet 16 Elite Eight Final Four Championship W–L (%):Total:
National Invitation tournament
Seed Bracket School 1st round 2nd round Quarterfinals Semifinals Championship W–L (%): Total:
Awards and honors All-Big West Teams and Awards
Individual Awards Honor Recipient School Coach of the Year Player of the Year Newcomer of the Year Freshman of the Year Best Defensive Player Best Hustle Player Best Sixth Player
All-Big West First Team Player Pos. Yr. Ht., Wt. Hometown School
All-Big West Second Team Player Pos. Yr. Ht., Wt. Hometown School
Honorable Mention Player Pos. Yr. Ht., Wt. Hometown School
Home game attendance TeamArenaCapacityGame 1Game 2Game 3Game 4Game 5Game 6Game 7Game 8Game 9Game 10Game 11Game 12Game 13Game 14Game 15Game 16TotalAverage% of CapacityCal State FullertonTitan Gym4,000 California BaptistCBU Events Center5,050Cal PolyMott Athletics Center3,032Cal State BakersfieldIcardo Center3,497Cal State NorthridgePremier America Credit Union Arena2,500Long Beach StateWalter Pyramid4,000Sacramento StateHornet Pavilion3,000UC IrvineBren Events Center5,000 UC RiversideSRC Arena3,168UC San DiegoLionTree Arena4,000 UC Santa BarbaraThe Thunderdome5,000 Utah ValleyUCCU Center8,500 Total50,747 Bold – At or exceed capacity; attendance is for regular season only
†Season high
See also
2026–27 Big West Conference men's basketball season
References