Gandy, Foz, Yiech spoke at MW Basketball Media day about GCU's season prospects
By: Paul Coro
LAS VEGAS – In assessing his first season at Grand Canyon, women's basketball head coach Winston Gandy landed on a conclusion that could come with a fill-in-the-blank spot after it: "Not enough _____."
The feeling in-house, and now outside it, is that GCU's roster is equipped with the talent and maturity to flip a season defined by close losses into a Mountain West championship contender. The Lopes were tabbed in the MW preseason poll to finish second to UNLV but have earned everyone's attention before going public with a home Oct. 27 exhibition game against Utah State.
"It's night and day," Gandy said at MW Basketball Media Day of the program's one-year advancement. "I'm very blessed and grateful to have the administrative support and an outstanding staff to be able to go out and get the players we were able to. I'm not here to say we have enough, but I know we have more. For those who have been in the gym and were in the gym last year, you can see that and feel that.
"The level of professionalism is higher. We're not begging kids to get in the gym. We're not begging kids to work on their games. Everybody looks to their left and right and knows that, 'If I don't bring it, they will.' You can't get comfortable."
The staff certainly was not comfortable with returning players such as junior guard Chloe Mann, who was selected to the Preseason All-MW Team.
"We're a competitive group, but also I think we have a really good relationship off the court," Yiech said. "That's good to translate on the court because if you don't like your team outside of basketball, it's hard to translate on the court."
The roster makeup includes nine freshmen and sophomores, but many of those have substantial experience or credentials and have the balance of upperclassmen who can lead. After getting a late recruiting start after his 2025 hiring, GCU took on an ambitious schedule that led to a 1-10 start and a 12-9 finish. Within that, the Lopes were 0-9 in games decided by five points or fewer.
Starting at the same point in high school and transfer portal recruiting, Gandy landed the program's highest-ranked preps recruit ever in Wright, who is from Minnetonka, Minnesota, and pulled in Yiech, Maya Foz and her Foz's sister, Keana (Wagner), early in the portal.
"From the moment Lanelle has stepped on campus now, I've never asked her to go harder," Gandy said. "I've never asked her to do more. That speaks to the way she was raised. That's a separator for her, and what is going to allow her to impact early for us."
Maya Foz, a 5-foot-9 guard, was the Missouri Valley Freshman of the Year last season, when she averaged 14.4 points, 3.7 rebounds and 2.2 assists in 27.5 minutes per game with 37% 3-point shooting.
"It's going to look a little different this season, considering we have a lot more scorers," Foz said. "He (Gandy) told me if I want to go pro, I need to be more comfortable being the 1 and the 2. I'm really trying to focus on getting better at that because I know I can score, but can I get my teammates open and can I be a leader on the court and off the court."
All-MW voters were not ready to project Yiech's growth after playing a smaller role as a Florida freshman. In 15.9 minutes per game, the versatile 6-foot-2 forward from Calgary, Alberta, averaged 5.7 points, 3.3 rebounds and 0.9 steals with 37% 3-point shooting.
"Nidi's about as talented as we have," Gandy said. "She's a rare combination of size, athleticism and skill – not lacking in any of that. She comes into a situation where we are going to rely on her, game in and game out. She has an ability to impact the game both ways. I think it's a task she's up for. She helps move the needle in a super-positive way for us."
Gandy calls many of his additions "needle movers" because of more than skill level. Yiech is emblematic of the maturity and work ethic in the group. She arrived in Phoenix early in the summer to get in more individual work with Lopes staff.
"It was a really good opportunity to find myself and how much I really used to love basketball," Yiech said. "Once everyone else came (to GCU), I had a better sense of what I really wanted to do this year.
"Being able to do all those things makes the game more fun for me and my teammates because whatever I bring is something that helps the whole team."
The overlooked aspect of the additions is how GCU improved in the middle, where it has two established options at center in seniors Jana "Tika" Sallman and Ashlynn Chlarson. Sallman, a 6 -3 Egyptian, averaged 8.7 points, 6.0 rebounds and 1.0 blocks in 18.5 minutes per game at William & Mary last season, while Chlarson, a 6-3 Pima, Arizona, native, started 28 games for Arkansas last season for 4.8 points and 4.8 rebounds in 16.5 minutes per game.
"That is definitely the hands-down biggest upgrade," Gandy said.
But GCU also has five key returnees, with Mann headlining that group after carrying a heavy scoring and playmaking load last season. The 5-8 guard from Fort Worth, Texas, ranked 10th in the Mountain West with 13.0 points per game and added 3.0 assists, 3.2 rebounds and 1.2 steals.
"Chloe's grown tremendously, physically, mentally, on and off the court," Gandy said. "She's going to have the ability to impact the game in different ways that compliments everybody on the floor. Having somebody who has performed in this league coming back is a huge advantage for us."
"It's going to look a little different this season, considering we have a lot more scorers," Foz said. "He (Gandy) told me if I want to go pro, I need to be more comfortable being the 1 and the 2. I'm really trying to focus on getting better at that because I know I can score, but can I get my teammates open and can I be a leader on the court and off the court."
"It was a really good opportunity to find myself and how much I really used to love basketball," Yiech said. "Once everyone else came (to GCU), I had a better sense of what I really wanted to do this year.
