SAN DIEGO — University of San Diego junior guard
Kylie Ray was named to the 2026-27 West Coast Conference Women's Basketball Preseason Team on Monday, and the Toreros were picked to finish sixth in the league's preseason coaches poll.
Ray, a La Crescenta, Calif., native, is USD's lone selection on the 10-player team. She earns the nod after an All-WCC Second Team campaign in her first season with the Toreros following a transfer from Utah.
Ray led San Diego in 2025-26 in scoring (15.9 points per game), minutes (31.5 per game), assists (2.7 per game) and free throw percentage. Her 89.5 percent clip at the line led the WCC, ranked 15th nationally and stands as the second-best single-season mark in program history (minimum 50 attempts), trailing only Amanda Bishop's 92.7 percent in 1997-98. She also ranked second on the team in steals (1.4 per game) and third in rebounding (5.4 per game).
She was at her best against league competition, averaging 17.1 points and 5.1 rebounds per game in WCC play in 2025-26. Ray posted two double-doubles on the season, going for 27 points and 13 rebounds at San Francisco on Jan. 22 and 19 points and 10 rebounds against Saint Mary's on March 5 in the WCC Tournament, where the 11th-seeded Toreros won 66-62.
San Diego collected 35 points in the coaches poll, one ahead of seventh-place Pacific. The sixth-place projection is a five-spot jump from a year ago, when USD was picked 11th in a 12-team field. Santa Clara was tabbed the preseason favorite with 74 points and four first-place votes, edging Portland (71 points, four first-place votes) and LMU (63 points, two first-place votes).
The Toreros, in their second season under Alverson, open the 2026-27 season Monday, Nov. 2, at New Mexico State. They meet crosstown foe UC San Diego on Saturday, Nov. 7, at Pechanga Arena in the inaugural National University Bill Walton Classic before opening the home slate Tuesday, Nov. 10, against Portland State at 6 p.m. at the Jenny Craig Pavilion.
2026-27 WCC WOMEN'S BASKETBALL PRESEASON COACHES POLL
| Rank |
School (First-Place Votes) |
Pts. |
| 1 |
Santa Clara (4) |
74 |
| 2 |
Portland (4) |
71 |
| 3 |
LMU (2) |
63 |
| 4 |
Pepperdine |
59 |
| 5 |
San Francisco |
58 |
| 6 |
San Diego |
35 |
| 7 |
Pacific |
34 |
| 8 |
Seattle U |
24 |
| 9 |
Saint Mary's |
22 |
| 10 |
Denver |
10 |
2026-27 WCC WOMEN'S BASKETBALL PRESEASON TEAM
| Name |
Yr. |
Pos. |
School |
| Dyani Ananiev |
Sr. |
G |
Portland |
| Aina Cargol |
So. |
G |
San Francisco |
| Florence Dallow |
5th |
G |
Portland |
| Candy Edokpaigbe |
Jr. |
G |
San Francisco |
| Lina Falk |
Sr. |
G |
Pepperdine |
| Elli Guiney |
Jr. |
G |
Pepperdine |
| Maya Hernandez |
Sr. |
F |
LMU |
| Maia Jones |
Gr. |
G |
Santa Clara |
| Kylie Ray |
Jr. |
G |
San Diego |
| Ava Schmidt |
Sr. |
F |
Santa Clara |
