LA JOLLA, Calif.—Junior forward Erin Condron has been named to the Big West Women's Basketball Preseason Coaches' Team and the Tritons were picked to finish fourth in the Coaches' Preseason Poll, as announced by the conference on Thursday.
 
Condron (Woodend, Victoria) was one of seven scholar-athletes recognized by the conference's 11 head coaches, earning the first all-conference honor of her career.
 
Condron had a breakout sophomore season for the Tritons in 2024-25, averaging 8.1 points and 4.7 rebounds in 18.6 minutes per game. Condron appeared in 22 games after missing the first 14 games due to injury, recording 10 double-figure scoring efforts and one double-double. 
 
In the preseason poll, Hawai'i was picked to finish first with 91 points and four of the 11 first-place votes, followed closely by UC Irvine with 90 points and four first-place votes as well. UC Davis received one first-place vote and 83 points for third, while UC San Diego received the remaining two first-place votes and 77 points to rank fourth.
 
UC Santa Barbara was picked to finish fifth with 61 points, followed by Long Beach State (57 points), UC Riverside (51), Cal Poly (34), CSUN (27), Cal State Fullerton (20), Cal State Bakersfield (14).
 
UC San Diego will look to build on a historical 2024-25 campaign after winning the Big West Championship as the No. 4 seed and recording its first 20-win season of the program's Division I era. The Tritons made history as the first program to send both its men's and women's basketball teams to the NCAA Tournament in their first season of Division I eligibility.
 
The Tritons will return 2025 Big West Newcomer of the Year, Sabrina Ma, for her senior season and 2025 All-Big West Honorable Mention Gracie Gallegos. UC San Diego will also add a pair of talented transfers, including 2025 Big West Defensive Player of the Year, Makayla Rose, and a strong freshman class to replace key pieces to last season's lineup.

Head coach Heidi VanDerveer will discuss the upcoming season on Friday afternoon as part of The Big West's Basketball Preview on The Field of 68 with Tammy Blackburn and Tracy Warren. VanDerveer is scheduled to appear at approximately 3 pm PDT, with the interview available on-demand following the show.

2025-26 Big West Women's Basketball Preseason Coaches' Poll

Rank	Institution	Points (First Place)
1	Hawai'i	91 (4)
2	UC Irvine	90 (4)
3	UC Davis	83 (1)
4	UC San Diego	77 (2)
5	UC Santa Barbara	61
6	Long Beach State	57
7	UC Riverside	51
8	Cal Poly	34
9	CSUN	27
10	Cal State Fullerton	20
11	Cal State Bakersfield	14

 
2025-26 Big West Women's Basketball Preseason Team

Name	School	Pos.	Yr.
Skylar Burke	UC Santa Barbara	G	Sr.
Erin Condron	UC San Diego	F/C	Jr.
Shelley Duchemin	UC Riverside	G	Sr.
Hunter Hernandez	UC Irvine	G	Sr.
Megan Norris	UC Davis	C	R-Sr.
Imani Perez	Hawai'i	F	Sr.
Ritorya Tamilo	Hawai'i	C	So.

 
About UC San Diego Athletics
After two decades as one of the most successful programs in NCAA Division II, the UC San Diego intercollegiate athletics program began a new era in 2020 as a member of The Big West in NCAA Division I. The 23-sport Tritons earned 30 team and nearly 150 individual national championships during its time in Divisions II and III and helped guide 1,400 scholar-athletes to All-America honors. A total of 84 Tritons have earned Academic All-America honors, while 38 have earned prestigious NCAA Post Graduate Scholarships. UC San Diego scholar-athletes exemplify the academic ideals of one of the world's preeminent institutions, graduating at an average rate of 91 percent, one of the highest rates among institutions at all divisions.