On the eve of the 2026 Credit Union 1 Big West Women’s Basketball Championship, the league has unveiled a fresh class of honorees as voted on by the coaches, headlined by Big West Player of the Year Hunter Hernandez of UC Irvine.
The senior guard from San Jose, Calif., has enjoyed a banner season for The Big West co-regular season champions and No. 1 seed in the upcoming Championship brackets, as the centerpiece of UC Irvine’s success, combining scoring, playmaking and leadership throughout the season with averages of 19.5 points per game and 170 total free throws, which stands as 10th in the country. Just last week, Hernandez closed the regular season with a 41-point outing to tie UCI’s single-game scoring mark and has tallied a school-best 603 points on the year and a career 385 career free throws made and counting.
Hernandez is joined on the All-Big West First Team by Big West Newcomer of the Year Jada Wynn. The senior from Yorba Linda, Calif., transferred in to the Anteaters after stops at Colorado and Texas Tech and has proven a pivotal element for UCI with 15.0 points, 7.2 rebounds and 3.8 assists per game. Wynn swishes a league-best 86.0 percent from the free throw line while also connecting at a .399 clip from distance with 2.29 threes per game.
Now in a 10th season at UC Irvine, Big West Coach of the Year Tamara Inoue has guided the Anteaters to a program record 26 wins on the year and their best winning percentage all time (.839). This is Inoue’s second such honor.
The pair of Erin Condron and Makayla Rose are featured for the co-champion UC San Diego Tritons on the All-Big West First Team. Condron, a junior forward/center from Woodend, Victoria, Australia, paces The Big West with a .542 shooting percentage while averaging 15.8 points per game. Rose, a senior guard from Roseville, Calif., can now boast back-to-back Best Defensive Player honors and is co-recipient of the Best Hustle Player as well as a member of the All-Defensive Team.
Sharing the Best Hustle Player with Rose is Cal State Fullerton’s Cristina Jones. The sophomore forward from Lakewood, Calif., possesses an ability to impact the game in multiple ways, which has been a defining trait for the Titans this season. Jones provides 16.2 points on .462 shooting, 9.7 rebounds and 3.79 steals per game. The steals mark is fifth in the NCAA and 4.8 offensive rebounds a night rates second nationally.
UC Riverside is represented on the first team by one of The Big West’s most exciting scorers in Hannah Wickstrom, who pours in a league-high 23.3 points per game, which rates fifth in in the country. The sophomore from Melbourne, Australia, also adds 7.3 rebounds and 2.41 steals per game.
First Team All-Big West center Megan Norris rounds out the top squad. The redshirt senior from Menlo Park, Calif., anchors the Aggies’ presence in the paint with a conference best 12.6 rebounds per game which is fifth in the NCAA, 1.45 blocks per game and 18 double-doubles.
The Second Team sees a trio from Hawai’i with Big West Freshman of the Year Bailey Flavell, Saniyah Neverson and Imani Perez. Ryann Bennett of UC Davis and UC Santa Barbara’s Zoe Borter complete the five-player listing. Perez is also part of the All-Defensive Team for back-to-back seasons. Flavell posts a team-best 12.5 points to go along with 4.0 rebounds and 1.9 assists per game for the Rainbow Wahine.
Last year’s top freshman picked up another specialty award, as Auckland, New Zealand native and center Ritorya Tamilo now adds Big West Best Sixth Player to the resume.
The 2025-26 awards slate has all 11 teams represented, as well as no fewer than six states and two countries. Every first and second team honoree along with five of six freshmen and the full defensive team are set to converge on the court at Lee’s Family Forum this week to vie for the title in Henderson, Nev.
The 2026 Credit Union 1 Big West Women’s Basketball Championship tips off tomorrow, Wednesday, March 11 with the crowning moments coming on Saturday, March 14. For more information on the championship, please visit bigwest.org/2026.