PORTLAND, Ore. - The Great Northwest Athletic Conference announced its Women's Basketball Preseason Coaches Poll on Friday, with Seattle Pacific picked to finish ninth in the standings by the league's coaches.
Western Washington accumulated 93 points thanks in large part to four first-place votes, earning a five-point margin ahead of second-place Central Washington, which also received four first-place votes in the coaches poll. Northwest Nazarene and Alaska Anchorage each received one first-place vote but landed fifth and sixth in the poll, respectively. The Falcons earned 28 points and were slotted in ninth place.
The Falcons return a veteran core led by seniors
Haylie-Anne Ohta,
Layne Kearns and
Naomi Hotchkiss. Junior wing
Grace Mertes and redshirt junior guard
Grace Turley also return, along with sophomore center
Emma Voellger, giving SPU experience across the backcourt and frontcourt.
Ohta returns for her fourth season with the Falcons after starting 26 of 27 games in 2025-26. The Kaneohe, Hawaii, native averaged 6.7 points, 4.0 rebounds, and 3.2 assists per game while logging 33.2 minutes per contest. Ohta also shot 35.8 percent from beyond the arc and earned GNAC All-Academic honors.
Kearns returns after earning GNAC All-Conference honorable mention recognition in 2025-26. The Hamilton, Montana, native averaged 12.9 points and 5.7 rebounds per game while adding 49 assists and 12 blocks in 18 starts before her season was cut short by injury. Kearns scored a season-high 32 points against Alaska Fairbanks and recorded a season-best 11 rebounds against Cal State Dominguez Hills. She entered last season on the GNAC Preseason All-Conference Team and earned GNAC All-Academic honors.
Hotchkiss provides size and experience in the Falcons' frontcourt. The 6-foot-4 Puyallup, Wash., native appeared in 27 games with nine starts during her first season at SPU in 2025-26, averaging 2.6 points and 3.2 rebounds in 10.9 minutes per game. Hotchkiss recorded a season-high 12 points against Western Oregon and grabbed 10 rebounds against Saint Martin's.
Byers welcomes three newcomers to the program: guards
Tessa Orcutt and
Finley Wichers, along with
Natalie Durbin, a transfer from the University of San Diego. Orcutt arrives from Borah High School in Boise, Idaho, where she earned All-State honors as a freshman and sophomore and helped her teams reach the state semifinals in all four seasons.
Wichers comes from Edmonds-Woodway High School, where she earned WESCO South Second Team All-Conference recognition as a junior and senior. Durbin returns to the Seattle area after competing at the University of San Diego.
SPU women's basketball season and single-game tickets for the 2026-27 season are available online. Action starts in November, ahead of the Falcons' home opener on Dec. 3 against Central Washington at 5:15 p.m.
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