SAN DIEGO – With the transfer portal officially closed, the San Diego State women’s basketball team retained all four eligible starters from last year’s Mountain West regular season championship team.
San Diego State tied a school record with 27 wins in 2025-26 and advanced to the quarterfinals of the WBIT. The Aztecs will return all four eligible starters and every player, except one, who averaged three points or more per game.
SDSU returns 80% of their eligible scoring and 86% of their rebounding from last year’s championship team.
Naomi Panganiban, an All-Mountain West honoree and SDSU’s leading scorer, will return for her third season on The Mesa. She averaged career-highs across the board last year, averaging 14.6 points per game while shooting 39% from three and 86% from the line. The San Diego native was especially efficient down the stretch, averaging 20.3 points in the Mountain West Tournament and WBIT.
Her backcourt mate Nat Martinez (San Leandro, Calif.) will also return for her junior season. She started every game and averaged 9.6 points and finished second on the team in made threes and free throws.
SDSU’s starting forward duo of Kennedy Lee and Bailey Barnhard will come back for their junior and senior seasons respectively. Lee (Louisville, Kent.) made an immediate impact in her first season on The Mesa, averaging 9.3 points and leading the team in rebounding while shooting 38% from three.
The San Diego native Barnhard broke out in her sophomore season, averaging 7.6 points and 5.3 rebounds while starting every game.
The Aztecs will also return their two reserve post players, Alyssa Jackson and Maria Konstantinidou. These two combined to average 6.5 points and 7.1 rebounds.
San Diego State has two incoming 6’2” freshmen joining the team next season as well in Mayenabasi Akpan (South Medford, Ore.) and Mairead Hearty (Denver, Colo.), both of which were first team all-state selections.
The Aztecs, who have won 20+ games in each of the past four seasons, will play in the Pac-12 next season.