SAN DIEGO - The Aztecs open the 2025-26 season against No. 3/4 UCLA at the Honda Center in Anaheim, Calif. in the Orange County Hoops Classic.
Aztec Tidbits
- San Diego State went 25-10 last year and won the Mountain West Tournament championship to advance to their first NCAA Tournament since 2012.
- The Aztecs’ 25 wins were their most since the 2012-13 season (27).
- SDSU was picked to finish second in the Mountain West Preseason poll, their highest preseason selection since the 2012-13 season.
- The Aztecs have 70 wins over the past three seasons, tied for the most in a three-year span in program history (1994-96).
- SDSU scored 68.8 points per game last year, their highest average in 30 years. They also had their best field goal percentage in 15 years.
- The Aztecs had 15 wins away from home last year, a school record. They also had 10 true road wins, which tied the program best.
- SDSU won 11 non-conference games last year, their most since the 1983-84 season.
- This is the first time in program history that SDSU doesn’t return a single scholarship upperclassman.
- The Aztecs have seven newcomers this year, the most ever under head coach Stacie Terry-Hutson (13th season). They added five transfers with four of them coming from Mountain West schools.
- Last year, the Aztecs held their opponent under 40% shooting in 20 games (18-2) and under 60 points 15 times (14-1).
- The Aztecs went 21-3 (.875) last year when scoring 60 or more points. Since the beginning of the 2022-23 season, they are 59-10 (.855) when they score 60 or more and 38-6 (.864) when they score 70 or more.
- SDSU has set a program record for attendance in each of the past two seasons.
- Since the beginning of the 2022-23 season, SDSU is 37-12 (.755) in home games.
Player Notes
Naomi Panganiban (Sophomore, Guard, San Diego, Calif.)
- Naomi Panganiban was named to the preseason All-Mountain West Team.
- Last year, she was named to the Mountain West All-Freshman Team and to the Mountain West All-Tournament Team.
- Her 10.3 points per game led all Mountain West true freshmen last season.
- She averaged 12.3 points in the Mountain West Tournament and scored 17 points on 7-for-14 shooting in 46 minutes in the championship game.
- She was named the Mountain West Freshman of the Week three times, tied with Nat Martinez for the school record.
- Panganiban scored in double-digits 16 times, tied for the second most on the team.
- Playing for the Philippine National Team at the FIBA Asia Cup, she tied for the team lead in scoring (13.2 ppg) despite being the youngest on the team.
- The Philippines clinched a spot in the FIBA World Cup Qualifying Tournament for the first time ever
Nat Martinez (Sophomore, Guard, San Leandro, Calif.)
- Nat Martinez was also named to the Mountain West All-Freshman Team a year ago.
- She shot 41.9% from three last year, the fifth best in a single season in program history.
- She was named the Mountain West Freshman of the Week three times, tied with Naomi Panganiban for the school record.
Nala Williams (Senior, Guard, Long Beach, Calif.)
- Last year at Cal State Dominguez Hills, Nala Williams was named the DII National Player of the Year and the National Defensive Player of the Year.
- She helped lead her school to a 36-2 record and to the national title game.
- She had 152 steals last year (4.0/game), which was the most in the nation across all divisions. No one else had more than 140 steals and only three other players had 130 or more.
- She has 304 career steals, the third most in the nation across all divisions among active players.
- In her career, she has 1,501 points, 506 rebounds, 339 assists and 304 steals in 93 games.
- She has scored in double-digits in 74 of her 93 career games and has scored 20 or more 29 times. Her career-high is 42.
- She shot a career-best 40% from three last year and made 76 three-pointers.
CJ Latta (Sophomore, Guard, Paul, Idaho)
- CJ Latta made 26 starts as a freshman at Utah State last year.
- Her 9.1 points per game were the third most in the Mountain West by a true freshmen, trailing only current teammate Naomi Panganiban (10.3) and former USU teammate Taliyah Logwood (9.7).
- She led the Aggies in three-pointers (56), assists (2.3), and assist-to-turnover ratio (+1.28).
- She ranked third all-time at USU with six games of 15 points or more as a freshman.
Kendall Mosley (Freshman, Guard, Prosper, Texas)
- Kendall Mosley was named the preseason Mountain West Freshman of the Year.
- She was the 2024-25 6A MVP in Texas.
- She was named the District 5-6A Offensive MVP each of the last two years.
Opponent Notebook (UCLA)
- The Bruins are ranked No. 3 and 4 in the preseason polls.
- They went 34-3 last year and won the Big Ten and advanced to the Final Four where they lost to UConn, the eventual champion.
- They return four starters from last year’s team.
- They have four players, the most in the nation, named to the Naismith College Player of the Year preseason Watch List: Gianna Kneepkens, Charlisse Leger-Walker, Kiki Rice and Lauren Betts.
- Betts is a preseason First Team All-American.
- Rice was an honorable mention All-American last year.
- Kneepken was named to the Ann Meyers Drysdale preseason Watch List.
- Head coach Cori Close (15th season) is 321-143 at UCLA. She is the reigning National Coach of the Year (AP, Naismith, USBWA, WBCA).
Series History
- UCLA leads the all-time series 23-6.
- The Bruins’ average margin of victory is 19.1 points.
- This is their first meeting since Dec. 15, 2013, a 56-55 UCLA win in San Diego.
- UCLA has won the last six meetings.
- SDSU’s last win vs. UCLA was Dec. 6, 1992, a 77-52 win at UCLA.
- This is just the second time the two teams have played at a neutral site. They played in Malibu, Calif. March 14, 1981 in the AIAW Regional Tournament.
- The Aztecs are 22-66 against teams currently in the Big Ten. SDSU beat Wisconsin last year and plays Penn State later in the year.