Loaded transfer class announced for 2026-27

Grand Canyon's most-touted transfer class signed to join Lopes head coach Winston Gandy for the 2026-27 season, bringing established college basketball credientials and giving the Lopes three incoming players who ranked in the top 100 out of high school.

Keana Foz
5-8 guard | junior* | previous school: Wagner
Mississauga, Ontario, Canada | Fort Erie International Academy

Keana Foz, the older of two Foz sisters joining the program, Keana enters GCU after two seasons at Wagner, where she starred on both ends of the floor. Keana averaged 8.5 points, 3.4 rebounds and 2.1 steals over two seasons with All-NEC Defensive Team honors.

A starter in 45 of 46 games, Keana averaged 9.3 points, 3.7 rebounds, 2.2 assists and 2.0 steals last season. She ranked third on the Seahawks in scoring and rebounding and led the team in steals and assists.. A premier on-ball defender, the 5-foot-8 Canadian was second in the Northeast Conference in steals per game while helping Wagner average 20.1 turnovers per game, which ranked 32nd in the nation.

She took no time adjusting to the Division I game, ranking 75th in the nation and first in the NEC in steals per game (2.2) as a freshman.

Keana is the founder of Point Goddess, a platform created to empower, inspire and uplift women through sports, personal development and community-building initiatives. More information on her nonprofit organization can be found here.

Maya Foz
5-9 guard | sophomore* | previous school: Bradley
Mississauga, Ontario, Canada | Fort Erie International Academy

Maya Foz, the younger Foz sister, had about as good of a freshman campaign as could be expected at Bradley last season, when she averaged 14.4 points, 3.7 rebounds, 2.2 assists and 1.4 steals in 27.5 minutes per game to be named the Missouri Valley Conference's Freshman of the Year.

Maya helped the Braves to a 20-13 season and WNIT appearance by ranking second on team for points and assists and leading Bradley in steals. She ranked 16th among D-I freshmen for scoring average (14.4) while shooting 43.5% from the field, 37.1% from 3-point range and 71.3% from the free throw line.

The 5-foot-9 Canadian only got better as the season progressed, scoring in double figures in each of her last 25 games with 30 of 33 games in double-digit points on the season. She scored a season-high 29 points at Murray State and posted a double-double with 12 points and 10 rebounds at Evansville.

Prior to her season at Bradley, Maya was the winner of the Grind Session 3-Point Contest while notching MVP of the Grind Session All-Star Game. She was named an All-Canadian and selected to the NPA Second Team All-Star list.

Nyadieng "Nidi" Yiech
6-3 forward | sophomore* | previous school: Florida
Calgary, Alberta, Canada | Fort Erie International Academy

One of three GCU transfer signees hailing from Fort Erie International Academy, Nidi Yiech spent last season ranking among the top contributors at Florida as a freshman. In 33 games, Yiech averaged 5.7 points and 3.3 rebounds in 15.9 minutes per game, ranking fourth on the Gators in scoring and rebounding in a reserve role.

Yiech shot 48% from the floor as a versatile forward who can shoot from the outside, notching a 37% clip from beyond the arc with the Gators. Yiech also has rebounding prowess with nearly one in every three boards coming on the offensive glass.

The 6-foot-3 Canadian scored a season-high 18 points in 15 minutes on 8-for-8 shooting against Samford and posted a double-double with 14 points, 10 rebounds and four steals against South Alabama.

Yiech was a top recruit coming out of high school, ranking No. 59 in the 2025 SportsCenter Next 100 rankings and helping Canada to the silver medal at U18 AmeriCup. She also competed in the 2024 All-Canada 3-Point Shootout Game and played on a national schedule for Become One Canada Elite. Other accolades include Ontario Scholastic Basketball Association Second Team All-Star and 2023 Canada Basketball Nationals First Team All-Star.

Ashlynn Chlarson
6-3 center | senior* | previous school: Arkansas
Pima, Arizona | Pima High School

Returning to her home state for her senior season, Ashlynn Chlarson enters Grand Canyon after being one of the nation's best junior college players in 2024-25 and getting high-level starting experience at Arkansas last season.

Chlarson started in 28 of 32 games for the Razorbacks, averaging 4.8 points, 4.8 rebounds and 0.8 blocked shots in 16.5 minutes per game. A terrific rebounder at 6 feet 3, Chlarson recorded 15 games with at least five boards, including nine of seven or more. Her SEC playing experience included tallying 35 points, 17 rebounds and four blocks over a three-game span against Missouri and NCAA Tournament qualifiers Tennessee and Georgia.

From about 160 miles east of GCU's campus near the New Mexico border in Pima, Chlarson starred at Eastern Arizona College in nearby Thatcher, where she made the 2024-25 all-conference first team and 2025 NJCAA All-Tournament Team. She was just shy of posting double-double averages in 2024-25, notching 10.9 points and 9.2 rebounds per game with 17 double-digit rebounding performances for the Gila Monsters.

Chlarson was named the Class 2A Offensive Player of the Year in her senior season at Pima, which she led the Roughriders to back-to-back state championships.

Jana "Tika" Sallman
6-3 center | senior* | previous school: William & Mary
Cairo, Egypt | Western Reserve Academy (Hudson, Ohio)

Tika Sallman will enter Grand Canyon with extensive playing time at the college and international levels, playing two seasons at William & Mary and one at Memphis prior to joining GCU.

Sallman was a two-time Coastal Athletic Conference Player of the Week last season, when the 6-foot-3 center averaged 8.7 points, 6.0 rebounds and 1.0 blocks. She shot 47% from the floor and 77% from the free throw line while ranking second on the team in rebounding.

In two seasons at William & Mary, Sallman shot 49% from the floor and 74% from the free throw line with 11 starts, four double-doubles and three 20-point games in 57 appearances. She scored a career-high 25 points against Towson on Feb. 15, when she also grabbed 12 rebounds and blocked four shots.

Like Yiech, Sallman has valuable international experience playing for her home country of Egypt. She was a member of the Egpytian National Team in the FIBA U16 and U18 Women's African Championships in 2021 and 2023, averaging over 10 points per game in both tournaments. She also represented Egypt in the FIBA U17 and U19 World Cups in 2022 and 2023, averaging 11.1 points and 6.9 points per game in those contests, respectively. Her career rebounding high came a month earlier with 17 boards against Hampton in 24 minutes.

Dasha Biriuk
6-1 guard | sophomore* | previous school: Ohio State
Berdiansk, Ukraine | The Webb School (Bell Buckle, Tennessee)

A 3-point sharpshooter, Dasha Biriuk spent last season at Ohio State with averages of 3.2 points and 1.2 rebounds and a 25-point season high in 20 games. In those contests, she notched a 46% field goal percentage while tallying 11 made 3s with 34% accuracy and sinking 8 of 9 free throws.

Biriuk, a 6-foot-1 guard, went 5 for 6 on 3-pointers for her 25-point game against Niagara and added 15-point and 10-point games against Bellarmine and Norfolk State, respectfully.

A highly touted player out of The Webb School in Bell Buckle, Tennessee, Biriuk ranked No. 83 in the 2025 SportsCenter NEXT 100 rankings, making her one of three incoming Lopes ranked in the top 100 of the SportsCenter NEXT 100 rankings over the last two seasons (Yiech, No. 59 in 2025 and incoming freshman Lanelle Wright, No. 79 in 2026).

Biriuk is also one of five Lopes on the 2026-27 roster who have played internationally or have been invited to national team training camps. She competed for Ukraine's U16 and U18 teams, averaging 17.4 points and 8.9 rebounds with U16 and averaged 11.7 points and 5.6 rebounds at the U18 level.

A two-time state champion, Biriuk was named the state tournament MVP as a senior for totaling 26 points, 10 rebounds and three steals to help The Webb School win its second state title in a three-year span.

*academic class for 2026-27 season

Grand Canyon University Athletics

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