Retaining Top Players Key to Cal Women’s 2026-27 Success

Only one of the nine Cal players who played in the Bears’ loss to Columbia on Thursday in the Women’s Basketball Invitation Tournament played her last college game.

The other eight have eligibility remaining. It suggests the Cal women’s team could be something special in 2026-27 . . . if Charmin Smith can prevent those eight potential returning players from transferring.

Smith says she is confident she can keep the majority of those players.

The Bears will lose center Sakima Walkers, the Bears’ second-highest scorer (12.5 points) and top rebounder (6.9 boards), and Claudia Langarita, who did not play Thursday but started six games this season and averaged 1.7 points and 1.5 rebounds.

Those who could return include junior Lulu Twidale, Cal’s leading scorer at 16.2 points and already the school career leader in three-pointers made, as well as junior Mjracle Sheppard, sophomore Gisella Maul, sophomore Naya Ojukwu, freshman Taylor Barnes and freshman Puff Morris.

“I am,” said Smith regarding whether she is confident she can retain the key players. “I just said to them in the locker room, you know, Sakima and Clau [Langarita] are graduating, and we wish them the best; we’re going to miss them. And everyone else, ‘Bring your butts back.’

“We like this team, and we like what we can do, and we have more we can do together.”

Smith likens the prospects for 2026-27 to the 2024-25 Cal squad, which went 25-9 and earned an NCAA tournament berth after retaining nearly all the players from the previous season.

“You saw that with a team last year that had a lot of veterans that stuck around and stayed with us,” Smith said.

However, Twidale was the only starter who returned to Cal from last year’s squad, so Smith had to fit new pieces together this season.

The 2023-24 Cal squad went 19-15 and won one game in the WBIT, which is nearly identical to the results of this year’s squad, which went 21-15 and won two games in the WBIT.

Smith expects experience to be an important factor in 2026-27 as it was in 2024-25.

“I think this team can have that same type of growth,” Smith said. “That second year around we did some special things. And we need another year of this group together, and obviously losing Sakima and Clau, we’re going to get a big, if I’m allowed to say that.

“We need a big, and then we’ve got some really big pieces that I think can make a nice run and get a ton of wins next season."

Smith's comments on next season's team are in the last two minutes of the video below:

The transfer portal window for women’s basketball starts April 6, the day after the national championship game, and closes on April 20.

Smith’s mission is to keep all – or nearly all – of the key members of this year’s team from transferring while landing a center from the transfer portal.