Completed Event: Women's Basketball versus San Diego State on February 4, 2026 , Win , 57, to, 44
W Basketball
vs San Diego State
W 57-44
Grand Canyon University Athletics
Photo by: David Kadlubowski
Small-town addition returns to Arizona with big plans
6/9/2026 11:36:00 AM | Women's Basketball, Paul Coro, Lopes Insider Blog
Former Pima HIgh, Eastern Arizona College standout transfers after starting at Arkansas
For Ashlynn Chlarson, growing up as the tall girl in a small town was challenging, from comments about her height to not receiving a Division I basketball offer after starring at Pima High School, a 357-student campus that sits 160 miles east of Phoenix.
It was much easier for GCU to spot the potential impact of a 6-foot-3 starting center in the SEC.
After winning two state championships for Pima and reaching two junior college Final Fours for Eastern Arizona, Chlarson was ready to return to winning ways and her home state when she chose to transfer from Arkansas to GCU this offseason.
"Being in the SEC, you're playing against the best athletes," Chlarson said. "It made me stronger. I'm able to make better decisions with all my IQ. Learning from that, I can bring leadership to help the younger girls and bring more of the talent and skill I have to just dominate this year. I'm really excited to be here because I know what I can bring from being at the SEC level."
Chlarson launched her level from Eastern Arizona to Arkansas last year and earned the starting job after four games in Fayetteville, averaging 4.8 points. 4.8 rebounds and 0.8 blocked shots in 16.5 minutes per game as a junior. During a three-game stretch against Missouri, Tennessee and Georgia, she averaged 12.3 points and 5.7 rebounds in 21.3 minutes per game.
"She was a starter in the SEC, and that's not by default, not by mistake," GCU head coach Winston Gandy said. "That's by her consistency and her level of maturity and professionalism.
"We really, really struggled in the forward department last year, and she bring us immediately stability. She brings us immediate presence, which we've lacked. She's going to make the game easier for our guards, and hopefully our guards makes the game a little bit easier for you. She's about as passionate as they come when it comes to basketball. Great personality. Great teammate."
Chlarson flies an Arizona flag for GCU, bouncing around the eastern side of the state from being born in Show Low and living in Snowflake, Pinetop and Pima before attending junior college in Thatcher and now landing in Phoenix.
Her basketball path in Pima, a Gila River valley town of more than 3,000 people, became more serious after helping the Roughriders to the Class 2A state title as a sophomore and joining club basketball for the first time that summer.
"I didn't start seeing my potential until then," said Chlarson, who was 2A titles in 2021 and 2022 and 2A Offensive Player of the Year in 2023. "It was low-key challenging. There were always comments about how tall I am, which is hard with confidence. But I grew to love it. It's great for me in sports and has brought me so many great benefits in my life. I love it now and wouldn't change it for anything."
Chlarson credits Eastern Arizona head coach Angelica de Paulo for developing her into a Region 1 Most Valuable Player who who received 25 Division IÂ offers. She said the GCU coaches appealed to her as a staff that can continue to bring out more in her. Gandy knows that he has a physical paint presence that he felt last season's Lopes lacked.
"We couldn't be more excited," Gandy said. "She looks like an adult on the floor, a low-maintenance player. She plays in and out of pick-and-rolls. She can play out of the post-up. She can defend, can move, can rim-run. When you watch her play, it's no secret why she was able to be a starter. I'm expecting her to be an example as one of the few upperclassmen on the roster.'
After two years of Eastern Arizona practices that were "a battlefield," Chlarson admittedly had a leaning curve for how fouls were called at the Division I level and drew a whistle every 5.6 minutes. Along with avoiding fouls, Chlarson hopes to improve her shot after making 67% of free throws and 4 of 19 attempts from 3-point range last season.
"I didn't get to use it that much," Chlarson said. "I'd like to extend that game and also attacking more. A post is going to be guarding me, and they tend to be a little bit slower than me. I feel like I can take them off the dribble, so that it'll be harder for them to come out to the 3-point line to guard me.
"If you challenge me, I'm going to do it. If I don't know how to do something, it frustrates me so I'm going to push myself until I can do that thing. I just have a strong work ethic. I want to win, so I just try to bring everything I've got to win."
That team success is what she craves to have again at GCU. In turn, she knows she can make her hometown proud and have more of her relatives around Arizona be able to watch her play at Global Credit Union Arena.
"My goal is to have GCU win our conference tournament," Chlarson said. "I'm going to make it happen.
"I have a lot of people who look up to me in Pima. I'm glad that I can be an example to these younger girls that you can come from a small town and achieve big dreams if you really put in the work. Coming from a small town is so different. I really did work to put myself here."
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It was much easier for GCU to spot the potential impact of a 6-foot-3 starting center in the SEC.
After winning two state championships for Pima and reaching two junior college Final Fours for Eastern Arizona, Chlarson was ready to return to winning ways and her home state when she chose to transfer from Arkansas to GCU this offseason.
"Being in the SEC, you're playing against the best athletes," Chlarson said. "It made me stronger. I'm able to make better decisions with all my IQ. Learning from that, I can bring leadership to help the younger girls and bring more of the talent and skill I have to just dominate this year. I'm really excited to be here because I know what I can bring from being at the SEC level."
Chlarson launched her level from Eastern Arizona to Arkansas last year and earned the starting job after four games in Fayetteville, averaging 4.8 points. 4.8 rebounds and 0.8 blocked shots in 16.5 minutes per game as a junior. During a three-game stretch against Missouri, Tennessee and Georgia, she averaged 12.3 points and 5.7 rebounds in 21.3 minutes per game.
"She was a starter in the SEC, and that's not by default, not by mistake," GCU head coach Winston Gandy said. "That's by her consistency and her level of maturity and professionalism.
"We really, really struggled in the forward department last year, and she bring us immediately stability. She brings us immediate presence, which we've lacked. She's going to make the game easier for our guards, and hopefully our guards makes the game a little bit easier for you. She's about as passionate as they come when it comes to basketball. Great personality. Great teammate."
Chlarson flies an Arizona flag for GCU, bouncing around the eastern side of the state from being born in Show Low and living in Snowflake, Pinetop and Pima before attending junior college in Thatcher and now landing in Phoenix.
Her basketball path in Pima, a Gila River valley town of more than 3,000 people, became more serious after helping the Roughriders to the Class 2A state title as a sophomore and joining club basketball for the first time that summer.
"I didn't start seeing my potential until then," said Chlarson, who was 2A titles in 2021 and 2022 and 2A Offensive Player of the Year in 2023. "It was low-key challenging. There were always comments about how tall I am, which is hard with confidence. But I grew to love it. It's great for me in sports and has brought me so many great benefits in my life. I love it now and wouldn't change it for anything."
Chlarson credits Eastern Arizona head coach Angelica de Paulo for developing her into a Region 1 Most Valuable Player who who received 25 Division IÂ offers. She said the GCU coaches appealed to her as a staff that can continue to bring out more in her. Gandy knows that he has a physical paint presence that he felt last season's Lopes lacked.
"We couldn't be more excited," Gandy said. "She looks like an adult on the floor, a low-maintenance player. She plays in and out of pick-and-rolls. She can play out of the post-up. She can defend, can move, can rim-run. When you watch her play, it's no secret why she was able to be a starter. I'm expecting her to be an example as one of the few upperclassmen on the roster.'
After two years of Eastern Arizona practices that were "a battlefield," Chlarson admittedly had a leaning curve for how fouls were called at the Division I level and drew a whistle every 5.6 minutes. Along with avoiding fouls, Chlarson hopes to improve her shot after making 67% of free throws and 4 of 19 attempts from 3-point range last season.
"I didn't get to use it that much," Chlarson said. "I'd like to extend that game and also attacking more. A post is going to be guarding me, and they tend to be a little bit slower than me. I feel like I can take them off the dribble, so that it'll be harder for them to come out to the 3-point line to guard me.
"If you challenge me, I'm going to do it. If I don't know how to do something, it frustrates me so I'm going to push myself until I can do that thing. I just have a strong work ethic. I want to win, so I just try to bring everything I've got to win."
That team success is what she craves to have again at GCU. In turn, she knows she can make her hometown proud and have more of her relatives around Arizona be able to watch her play at Global Credit Union Arena.
"My goal is to have GCU win our conference tournament," Chlarson said. "I'm going to make it happen.
"I have a lot of people who look up to me in Pima. I'm glad that I can be an example to these younger girls that you can come from a small town and achieve big dreams if you really put in the work. Coming from a small town is so different. I really did work to put myself here."
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