Are the Wesmen poised to make a return to the postseason after missing in back-to-back years?
With some new faces, it is possible.
Here's everything you need to know ahead of the 2025-26 Winnipeg Wesmen women's basketball season.
Coaching Staff
Alyssa Grant Cox returns for her fourth year as head coach of the program. She carries a 27-33 record through 60 career regular-season games and a 1-1 playoff record, both from the 2022-23 season, when the Wesmen last qualified for the playoffs.
Roster Breakdown
1st Years: 4
2nd Years: 1
3rd Years: 4
4th Years: 2
5th Years: 2
Guards: 5
Forwards: 8
Strengths & Weaknesses of 2024-25
Scoring: Winnipeg ranked in the bottom 10 in USPORTS with an average of 59.6 points per game on offence last year. The Wesmen had four 100-plus point players, but none reached the 200-plus mark. However, Raia Guinto and Jazmin Birch came close with 198 and 197 points. The issue with not having a 200-point scorer is that it places a tremendous weight on the rest of the team to contribute offensively on a nightly basis. Most teams that finish in the top 10 for points scored have multiple players who score 200 points or more. Winnipeg will need to reach that level in 2025-26 to avoid missing the playoffs for a third consecutive year.
Shooting: A byproduct of not scoring enough points is usually a poor shooting percentage. The Wesmen shot 32.1 per cent from the field last — the 10th-worst in USPORTS. And it did not get any better from beyond the arc either. Winnipeg shot 21.8 per cent from three-point range, ranking them third-worst in the country.
Defence: Winnipeg ranked 11th and 13th worst in points allowed per game and opponents' field goal percentage. The Wesmen's opponents scored an average of 72.2 points per game while shooting 38.8 per cent from the field. Along with the offensive struggles, the defence will also need to improve to achieve better results this year.
New Additions:
1st Year, Guard, Jennifer Edwards: The first-year 5'6" guard from Winnipeg graduated from Vincent Massey Collegiate as a provincial champion. Edwards was ranked No. 3 in the annual Winnipeg Free Press coaches poll released in March of 2025 and was named a tournament all-star at AAAA provincials, where she helped her school claim a championship.
5th Year, Forward, Briana Ehrmantraut: The fifth-year transfer, 5'10" guard from Winnipeg, comes to the Wesmen from Canadian Mennonite University in the Manitoba Collegiate Athletic Conference. Ehrmantraut won the conference player of the year award twice before moving to USPORTS.
1st Year, Guard, Avneet Kainth: The first-year 5'8" guard from Winnipeg joins the Wesmen from Maples Collegiate. She is the second of three guards in the recruiting class.
1st year, Forward, Eliana Stark: The first-year 6'3" forward from Winnipeg and Miles Macdonell Collegiate is the tallest of the recruiting class and the team. Stark also played for the Manitoba U17 provincial team in 2024 and was a former volleyball player before turning to basketball in 2022.
3rd Year, Guard, Missy May Valdez: The third-year 5'2" guard from Las Vegas transfers in from Olympic College in Bremerton, Oregon. Valdez averaged 12.5 points per game across 50 career games played over two seasons while south of the border.
Roster Analysis
The team's third-leading scorer, Anna Keroghan, graduated in the offseason and will hurt the Wesmen's offence. But Winnipeg will return most of its impact players, aside from Keroghan.
Raia Guinto, Jazmin Birch and Jennifer Kallon, the team's other top-four leading scorers, are all returning and will provide a solid baseline of consistency for Winnipeg to improve off of. The good news with that is all three are now in their junior or senior years, which means they could be in store for their best seasons yet.
That will also extend to the entire team. Eight players are in their third year or later, which means this group's time to start competing is now. And there is no reason to think that wouldn't be possible. The team has added veteran leaders and is bringing back several key players.
The loss of Keroghan will force the team to find a replacement from within, but it should open the door for a new scoring avenue to emerge.
Position Battles
There are several spots open to battle for going into opening night.
The most obvious spots locked down are Raia Guinto and Jazmin Birch at the guard and forward spots. Down in the post, a few people might get the start. Jasia Hayden has seen a lot of playing time through the preseason, and she should get one of those spots. Jennifer Kallon has also been dominating the preseason. It seems inevitable that she makes her way into the lineup in the front court as well.
The spot with the most question marks is the second guard spot. There is no clear frontrunner. Carmen Heibert, Jennifer Edwards, and Missy May Valdez have all had the opportunity to showcase their talent, and any of them could be named the starter. But, if judging by the makeup of the general roster, it could mean the fifth-year Carmen Heibert gets the nod for opening night due to her veteran edge.
My Projected Lineup
G - Raia Guinto
G - Jennifer Kallon
F - Jasia Hayden
F - Jazmin Birch
F - Carmen Hiebert
Schedule Overview
October: 1 Home Games (HG), 1 Away Games (AG)
November: 4 HG, 3 AG
December: 0 HG, 1 AG
January: 5 HG, 3 AG
February: 0 HG, 2 AG
Oct. 26 - vs. Brandon
Oct. 31 - @ MacEwan
Nov. 1 - @ MacEwan
Nov. 7 - vs. Mount Royal
Nov. 8 - vs. Mount Royal
Nov. 21 - @ Calgary
Nov. 22 - @ Calgary
Nov. 28 - vs. Alberta
Nov. 29 - vs Alberta
Dec. 5 - @ Manitoba
Jan. 9 - @ Brandon
Jan. 10 - @ Brandon
Jan. 16 - vs. Regina
Jan. 17 - vs. Regina
Jan. 23 - vs. Lethbridge
Jan. 24 - vs. Lethbridge
Jan. 29 - @ Manitoba
Jan. 31 - vs. Manitoba
Feb. 6 - @ Saskatchewan
Feb. 7 - @ Saskatchewan
Closing Thoughts
The playoffs seem very achievable for this team. The Wesmen possess a great deal of talent that should improve their performance from the 2024-25 season. The team stats from last year may not show it, but this group has a lot of potential. If they can jump to the next level, there is no reason why they can't be one of the better teams in the conference.