Cal Sports Report

Versatile Australian Forward Commits to Cal Women’s Basketball

Zara Russell commits to Cal for the class of 2026, and she is a good three-point shooter who should fit coach Charmin Smith's style
Jake Curtis|
Cal women's basketball coach Charmin Smith
Cal women's basketball coach Charmin Smith | Robert Hanashiro-Imagn Images

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California Golden Bears

Cal’s women’s basketball program picked up an important commitment for the class of 2026 when Zara Russell, a 6-foot-2 forward from Australia, announced on social media that she has committed to the Golden Bears.

She picked Cal after also receiving offers from Louisville, Ohio State, Oregon, Texas A&M, Utah and Wake Forest.

A versatile athlete who is effective as a penetrator and a three-point shooter, Russell should fit in nicely with the style Cal coach Charmin Smith likes to play. Smith prefers to put four versatile players on the perimeter who can both drive and shoot from long range.

Cal led the ACC in three-pointers attempted (856) and three-pointers made (297) last season while making 34.7% of her shots from beyond the arc.

Russell, who turned 18 years old in June, averaged 17.0 points, 2.8 points and 5.0 rebounds per game in the National Basketball League Division 1 (NBL1), a women’s semi-pro league in Australia.

Russell was a member of the Australian squad that reached the finals of the FIBA Under-19 Women's Basketball World Cup this summer. Russell scored 14 points while going 3-for-3 on three-pointers in 21 minutes of action in the 87-75 semifinal victory over Canada.

In the six games of the World Cup, Russell averaged 7.2 points while hitting 53.1% of her field goals attempts. She averaged 18.7 minutes of playing time, and 1.5 rebounds and 1.0 assists. Most importantly she was 6-for-10 on three-point shots.

In the gold medal loss to the United States, Russell was 3-for-7 from the floor and scored six points in 18 minutes of court time. She did not attempt a three-pointer in that contest.

This summer it was announced she will be a member of the Canberra Capitals, a successful team in the  Women’s National Basketball League (WNBL), which is the highest professional women’s basketball league in Australia.

Cal opens the 2025-26 season with an exhibition game against Westmont College on October 28 in Berkeley, then plays its first regular-season game in Paris, France, when the Golden Bears face Vanderbilt on November 3.

Cal is coming off a 25-9 season in which it reached the NCAA tournament for the first time since 2019. The Bears exceeded expectations by going 12-6 in the ACC play, but lost four of its starters from that squad.

Lulu Twidale, who is also from Australia, is the only returning starter, but the Bears added freshman guard Puff Morris, a high school McDonald's All-American last season

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Jake Curtis
JAKE CURTIS

Jake Curtis worked in the San Francisco Chronicle sports department for 27 years, covering virtually every sport, including numerous Final Fours, several college football national championship games, an NBA Finals, world championship boxing matches and a World Cup. He was a Cal beat writer for many of those years, and won awards for his feature stories.

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