PORTLAND, Ore. – Seattle Pacific University's
Layne Kearns has been named to the Great Northwest Athletic Conference Women's Basketball Preseason All-Conference Team, the conference announced Tuesday afternoon. The senior guard was also a preseason selection last year and earned GNAC Honorable Mention in 2025-26.
"
Layne Kearns is a strong, physical player who isn't afraid to attack through contact," head coach
Karen Byers said. "She does a great job of getting into passing lanes and using her anticipation and effort to create opportunities for her team. Just as importantly, Layne leads authentically, setting an example through how she competes, supports her teammates and shows up every day."
Kearns returns to the Falcons as a senior this season. The Hamilton, Mont., native averaged 12.9 points and 5.7 rebounds per game in 2025-26, up from 10.6 points and 5.0 rebounds the year before. She started all 18 games she played, averaging 31.5 minutes, and shot 80.4 percent from the free throw line. She also dished out 49 assists and blocked 12 shots.
Kearns' season highs came in a pair of road games. She set a career high with 32 points against Alaska Fairbanks on Jan. 24, going 14-for-18 from the free throw line, and played a season-high 38 minutes in that game. She grabbed a season-high 11 rebounds against Cal State Dominguez Hills on Nov. 15 and dished out a season-high six assists against Alaska Anchorage on Jan. 22.
Kearns' time at SPU has earned her accolades. Last season she was named GNAC Honorable Mention and earned GNAC All-Academic honors for the second time. She was also a member of the 2025-26 GNAC Preseason All-Conference Team. In 76 career games, she has scored 716 points and pulled down 370 rebounds.
Kearns started all 31 games as a sophomore in 2024-25, one of just two Falcons to do so. She averaged 10.6 points, second on the team, and 5.0 rebounds per game, and she set career bests across nearly every major category. Kearns made 68 of 78 free throws, the seventh-best single-season free throw percentage in program history and second-best in the GNAC. That included a streak of 20 straight makes from Nov. 29 through Jan. 16. She scored 20 points and grabbed 11 rebounds against Northwest Nazarene on Feb. 13, 2025, for her second career double-double.
Kearns played in 27 games as a freshman in 2023-24, starting 13 of them. She averaged 5.7 points and 4.1 rebounds per game, and her 112 rebounds ranked third on the team. She posted a career-best 16 points and 12 rebounds in a 59-47 win over Western Oregon on Feb. 10, 2024. She also hit a last-second reverse layup to lift SPU to a 73-71 comeback win over Northwest Nazarene on Feb. 3.
The GNAC announced its Women's Basketball Preseason Coaches Poll on Oct. 16, with the Falcons slotted for a ninth finish by the league's coaches.
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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