Completed Event: Women's Basketball versus Santa Clara on December 14, 2025 , Loss , 72, to, 91
W Basketball
vs Santa Clara
L 72-91
Grand Canyon University Athletics
Gandy signs 4 in 1st signing class as head coach
11/13/2025 2:54:00 PM | Women's Basketball
Wright, McNealy, Bennett, Schmidt form strong incoming class
On National Signing Day, Grand Canyon women's basketball head coach Winston Gandy announced the program's signing of four players for the 2026-27 season.
Lanelle Wright | Guard
Minnetonka, Minn. | Minnetonka High School
Wright joins GCU from Minnesota, where she helped lead Minnetonka High School to back-to-back state championships and is seeking a third this winter. Wright, ranked No. 76 nationally in 2026 SportsCenter NEXT high school recruiting rankings, is the highest-rated signee in program history via national recruiting rankings.
Wright has earned multiple high school accolades, including Adidas All-American twice, Minneapolis Star Tribune all-state and all-metro teams, All-Lake Conference twice, all-state honorable mention and McDonald's All-America nominee. Her play caught eyes on the national stage, earning her a Team USA invitation.
The 5-foot-9 guard is a 1,000-point scorer and broke the Minnetonka school record for assists with more than 500 in her ongoing career.
Gandy on Wright:
"Lanelle brings innate leadership and playmaking ability, and her work ethic and determination will allow her to quickly become a contributor to our program."
Kaelani "K.J." McNealy | Guard
Knoxville, Tenn. | Farragut High School
McNealy hails from Tennessee and has scored more than 1,000 points and grabbed more than 800 rebounds at Farragut High School. McNealy earned honors for all-district regular-season and tournament honors, all-regional tournament and all-league first team in each of her first three high school seasons. She was named the region tournament MVP as a sophomore, when she broke the program's single-game rebounding record with 22 boards.
McNealy was picked for 5StarPreps first team as a sophomore and second team as a junior. She has 1,108 points and 864 rebounds with a senior season to finish.
Gandy on McNealy:
"K.J.'s unique blend of size and skill enables her to create offensive connectivity from multiple positions and areas on the floor. I am excited to welcome her to Grand Canyon next season."
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Cora Bennett | Forward
San Antonio, Texas | Kingdom Collegiate Academy
Bennett will join GCU form Texas, where she ranks No. 13 in the state via 2026 Premier Basketball. A forward from Kingdom Collegiate Academy, Bennett has notched 6A all-district first team twice and was an all=county honorable mention selection as a freshman.
Prior to Kingdom Collegiate Academy, Bennett helped Judson High School achieve a top-20 national ranking. Bennett's accolades stem off the court too, holding a 4.0 GPA and ranking academically in the top 10% (37 of 609) in her class.
Gandy on Bennett:
"Cora is a dynamic forward with a tremendous IQ that will allow her to impact the game for us on both ends of the floor. Not only are we excited to have her on our team, but looking forward to having her be a part of the GCU community as well. We can't wait to have her in purple and white next year."
Yasmeen Schmidt | Guard
San Antonio, Texas | Cornerstone Christian School
Schmidt is the second San Antonio, Texas, native to sign for the Lopes and joins Bennett in Texas' top-25 rankings via 2026 Premier Basketball at No. 23. A 6-foot guard, Schmidt is known for her accurate 3-point shooting, breaking the greater San Antonio single-season record for most 3s in a season with 142.
Schmidt's ability to score is prevalent, registering 2,760 points over the past three seasons and helping her school win the Texas Christian Athletic League State Championship. She was also named to Texas Sports Writers Association's all-state team in 2023-24 and 2024-25. In Cornerstone's first game of the 2025-26 high school season, Schmidt scored 32 of the team's 78 points in a season-opening win.
Gandy on Schmidt:
"We are happy to add Yasmeen to the Lopes family. She is a high-character kid, has a good head on her shoulders, and brings elite-level shotmaking ability. We are excited for Lope Nation to see her bring her talents into Global Credit Union Arena."
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Lanelle Wright | GuardMinnetonka, Minn. | Minnetonka High School
Wright joins GCU from Minnesota, where she helped lead Minnetonka High School to back-to-back state championships and is seeking a third this winter. Wright, ranked No. 76 nationally in 2026 SportsCenter NEXT high school recruiting rankings, is the highest-rated signee in program history via national recruiting rankings.
Wright has earned multiple high school accolades, including Adidas All-American twice, Minneapolis Star Tribune all-state and all-metro teams, All-Lake Conference twice, all-state honorable mention and McDonald's All-America nominee. Her play caught eyes on the national stage, earning her a Team USA invitation.
The 5-foot-9 guard is a 1,000-point scorer and broke the Minnetonka school record for assists with more than 500 in her ongoing career.
Gandy on Wright:
"Lanelle brings innate leadership and playmaking ability, and her work ethic and determination will allow her to quickly become a contributor to our program."
Kaelani "K.J." McNealy | GuardKnoxville, Tenn. | Farragut High School
McNealy hails from Tennessee and has scored more than 1,000 points and grabbed more than 800 rebounds at Farragut High School. McNealy earned honors for all-district regular-season and tournament honors, all-regional tournament and all-league first team in each of her first three high school seasons. She was named the region tournament MVP as a sophomore, when she broke the program's single-game rebounding record with 22 boards.
McNealy was picked for 5StarPreps first team as a sophomore and second team as a junior. She has 1,108 points and 864 rebounds with a senior season to finish.
Gandy on McNealy:
"K.J.'s unique blend of size and skill enables her to create offensive connectivity from multiple positions and areas on the floor. I am excited to welcome her to Grand Canyon next season."
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Cora Bennett | ForwardSan Antonio, Texas | Kingdom Collegiate Academy
Bennett will join GCU form Texas, where she ranks No. 13 in the state via 2026 Premier Basketball. A forward from Kingdom Collegiate Academy, Bennett has notched 6A all-district first team twice and was an all=county honorable mention selection as a freshman.
Prior to Kingdom Collegiate Academy, Bennett helped Judson High School achieve a top-20 national ranking. Bennett's accolades stem off the court too, holding a 4.0 GPA and ranking academically in the top 10% (37 of 609) in her class.
Gandy on Bennett:
"Cora is a dynamic forward with a tremendous IQ that will allow her to impact the game for us on both ends of the floor. Not only are we excited to have her on our team, but looking forward to having her be a part of the GCU community as well. We can't wait to have her in purple and white next year."
Yasmeen Schmidt | GuardSan Antonio, Texas | Cornerstone Christian School
Schmidt is the second San Antonio, Texas, native to sign for the Lopes and joins Bennett in Texas' top-25 rankings via 2026 Premier Basketball at No. 23. A 6-foot guard, Schmidt is known for her accurate 3-point shooting, breaking the greater San Antonio single-season record for most 3s in a season with 142.
Schmidt's ability to score is prevalent, registering 2,760 points over the past three seasons and helping her school win the Texas Christian Athletic League State Championship. She was also named to Texas Sports Writers Association's all-state team in 2023-24 and 2024-25. In Cornerstone's first game of the 2025-26 high school season, Schmidt scored 32 of the team's 78 points in a season-opening win.
Gandy on Schmidt:
"We are happy to add Yasmeen to the Lopes family. She is a high-character kid, has a good head on her shoulders, and brings elite-level shotmaking ability. We are excited for Lope Nation to see her bring her talents into Global Credit Union Arena."
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