With the 2025-26 college basketball season now concluding with the NCAA Tournament in the books, the transfer portal is now open for business. In today’s landscape, mid-major programs have it tough, with top players departing for more fruitful ventures left and right. This rings true for both Men’s and Women’s basketball.
The ability to retain players has become harder than ever before, making retention have a much bigger impact at the same time when a program is able to pull it off, especially in high numbers.
For Florida Atlantic Women’s Basketball and head coach LeAnn Freeland, the Owls were able to do just that, announcing that not one, not two..but SIX players will be staying in paradise for next season.
The team announced via their socials on Instagram and Twitter/X that the following players will be returning to Boca Raton for the 2026-27 season:
– Zahira Arizmendi (5’8″ rising Senior guard)
– Erin Rodgers (6’0″ rising Junior guard)
– Madi Gewirtz (5’11” rising Junior guard)
– Vivian Onugha (6’2″ rising Senior forward)
– Haley Walker (5’8″ rising Redshirt-Senior guard)
– Grace Carstensen (5’11” rising Senior guard)
This level of retention for the Owls marks a 72% recoup in scoring from last season, where FAU finished 14-18 overall, their highest win-total since 2016.
Erin Rodgers, who missed the majority of non-conference play rehabbing an injury suffered nearly halfway through her freshman season, led the Owls in scoring with 9.8 points, scoring 20+ in three games this past year. Vivian Onugha was right behind Rodgers, scoring 9.3 points a game while leading FAU with 6.1 rebounds. Grace Carstensen was FAU’s primary sharpshooter, knocking down 3-pointers at a 41% clip, the 24th-highest in the country and 2nd-highest in the Conference. Haley Walker scored 5.2 points per game and was the Owls’ second-leading rebounder with 5.4 per game. Madi Gewirtz and Zahira Arizmendi combined to score 12.7 points per game and both proved to be rock-steady on defense, accounting for a combined 2.5 steals per game with Gewirtz also adding a team-high 1.0 block per game.
The Owls currently have eight players on roster going into next season, with the aforementioned core of players returning, along with two incoming freshman guards in Jaelynn Housey and Juju Leroux. For head coach LeAnn Freeland, she will be entering her second season at the helm for Florida Atlantic as she looks to not only build out the rest of the roster through the portal and recruiting, but to also build on this past season and hopefully bring her Owls to new heights in 2026-27.
Cover Photo Credits: FAU Athletics
