DETROIT -- Wayne State University women's basketball senior guard McKenna Ferguson (Grandville, Mich. / Byron Center) has been named to the 2026-27 Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (GLIAC) Preseason First Team, as announced by the conference. 

Ferguson enters the 2026-27 campaign following an impressive junior season in which she earned First Team All-GLIAC and GLIAC All-Defensive Team honors.  She played in all 32 games in 2025-26, making 31 starts, and led the Warriors with 528 points, while averaging 16.5 points per game.  She scored in double figures 28 times, including eight performances of 20 or more points. 

Ferguson's season included a career-high 32-point performance against Ferris State on Dec. 6, when she shot 10-of-12 from the field, including 4-of-6 from three-point range, and 8-of-9 from the free-throw line.  She also made an impact defensively, recording 91 steals, the sixth-highest single-season total in program history.  Her efforts earned her GLIAC Offensive Player of the Week recognition and GLIAC Defensive Player of the Week honors during the season. 

Ferguson continued to deliver in the postseason, scoring a game-high 21 points and recording a career-best eight steals against Northern Michigan in the first round of the NCAA Midwest Regional.  She added 16 points and five steals in Wayne State's NCAA Round of 32 match-up against Grand Valley State. 

Ferguson surpassed 1,000 career points on Feb. 14, 2026, against Michigan Tech, becoming the 21st player in Wayne State women's basketball history to reach the milestone.  Through three seasons, she appeared in 92 games, making 63 starts, and ranks 13th in program history with 1,148 career points.  She also ranks second in school history in career three-point percentage at .386. 

Ferguson and the Warriors enter the 2026-27 season looking to return to the NCAA Midwest Regional after advancing to the tournament for the second consecutive year in 2025-26. 

The GLIAC preseason teams are listed below. 

2026-27 GLIAC Women's Basketball Preseason Teams 

Preseason Player of the Year
MacKenzie Bisballe, Grand Valley State

First Team 
Cassidy Arni, Parkside
MacKenzie Bisballe, Grand Valley State 
McKenna Ferguson, Wayne State
Megan McCalla, Ferris State
Sydney Whitehouse, Northern Michigan 

Second Team 
Dara Capaldi, Lake Superior State
Katie Hamill, Parkside
Ava Scanlon, Grand Valley State
Soraya Timms, Michigan Tech 
Alyssa Wypych, Michigan Tech

Season Outlook
The Wayne State University women's basketball team looks to build on another successful season in 2026-2027 after finishing the 2025-26 campaign with a 24-8 overall record and advancing to the second round of the NCAA tournament for the second straight year.  The Warriors earned the No. 2 seed for the GLIAC Tournament after going 17-3 and advanced to the conference semifinals.  Wayne State also went undefeated at home, posting a 13-0 record. 

The Warriors return senior guard McKenna Ferguson (Grandville, Mich. / Byron Center), the team's lone returning starter, who will help lead a roster featuring a mix of returning players, newcomers and transfers.  Ferguson had a standout junior campaign, averaging 16.5 points, 4.0 rebounds and 2.8 steals per game, while shooting 40.3 percent beyond the arc.  She reached the 1,000-point milestone during the 2025-26 season and enters her senior year ranked among the program's career leaders in several categories.  

WSU will look to replace the production of graduate student Gabi Lutchka and senior Taylor Thompson, who each averaged 15.3 points per game during the 2025-26 season.  Lutchka finished with 489 points and 199 rebounds, shooting 50.3 percent from the field and 41.9 percent from three-point range.  Thompson totaled 490 points and a team-high 238 rebounds, while adding 108 assists.  Both were named First Team All-GLIAC, helping lead Wayne State to a successful season. 

WSU also graduated forward Mackenzie Miller and guards Jaci Tubergen and Karrington Gordon.  Miller wrapped up her Wayne State career in 2025-26 after appearing in all 32 games, including three starts.  She led the Warriors in field-goal percentage, shooting 53.5 percent from the floor in her senior campaign.  Tubergen averaged 7.0 points and 3.4 rebounds per game.  She shot 42.3 percent from three-point range and dished out 87 assists across 32 appearances.  Gordon provided the Warriors with a versatile presence, averaging 6.8 points and 3.4 rebounds per game, while adding 57 assists, 25 steals and 17 blocks over 32 games. 

Wayne State returns Koko Sylvester, Emily Homan, DeMaya Asberry and Annabel Ayrault from last season's squad.  Homan appeared in all 32 games and recorded career-highs in several statistical categories, including points, rebounds, assists and steals.  Sylvester averaged 3.3 points per game in 27 appearances, while Ayrault contributed 3.0 points per contest and shot 34.5 percent from three-point range.  Asberry gained valuable experience as a freshman, appearing in 26 games.  The returning group will look to build on that experience and take on larger roles in 2026-27. 

The Warriors welcome three incoming freshmen for the 2026-27 season in guards Averie Zinn (Genesee, Mich.), Olivia Miller (Avon Lake, Ohio) and  Keira Roehm (Saline, Mich.).  The trio will look to make an impact as they begin their collegiate careers. 

WSU added four transfers for the upcoming season in forward Kylee Fears (Hamilton, Ohio / Talawanda [Merrimack]), guards Halen McLaughlin (Sanford, Mich. / Sanford Meridian [Lake Superior State]) and Tayla Dillard (Kalamazoo, Mich. / Kalamazoo Central [Grand Valley State]), and guard/forward Rayven McQueen (Grand Blanc, Mich. [Detroit Mercy]).  The newcomers bring a range of collegiate experience, with Dillard coming off a season at Grand Valley State and McLaughlin, Fears and McQueen arriving from their respective programs to strengthen Wayne State's lineup.

The Warriors will open the 2026-27 campaign at the DII CCA Tip-Off Classic in Owensboro, Ky., facing Carson-Newman (Nov. 6) and Union (Nov. 7).  Wayne State then begins a four-game road stretch against Findlay (Nov. 13), Northwood (Nov. 15), Hillsdale (Nov. 18) and Cedarville (Nov. 21), before hosting McKendree on Nov. 25 for its lone non-conference home game prior to December.  GLIAC play begins at home against two-time defending National Champion Grand Valley State (Dec. 3) and Purdue Northwest (Dec. 5), before the Warriors host Gannon on Dec. 12.  Wayne State will close its non-conference schedule at the Saint Pete Invitational in St. Petersburg, Fla., facing Truman State (Dec. 18) and West Texas A&M (Dec. 19). 

The Warriors open 2027 with four straight road games at Parkside (Jan. 2), Roosevelt (Jan. 4), Northern Michigan (Jan. 9) and Michigan Tech (Jan. 10).  WSU then returns home to host Ferris State (Jan. 16) and Davenport (Jan. 18), before  heading back on the road for contests at Saginaw Valley State (Jan. 23), Lake Superior State (Jan. 25), Purdue Northwest (Jan. 30) and Grand Valley State (Feb. 1).  A six-game homestand begins with Roosevelt (Feb. 6) and Parkside (Feb. 8), followed by Lake Superior State (Feb. 13), Saginaw Valley State (Feb. 15), Michigan Tech (Feb. 20) and Northern Michigan (Feb. 22).  The regular season concludes with road games at Davenport (Feb. 25) and Ferris State (Feb. 27).  The GLIAC Tournament is scheduled for March 3-7.

UP NEXT
Wayne State will open the 2026-27 season at the DII CCA Tip-Off Classic in Owensboro, Ky.  The Warriors will face Carson-Newman on Friday, Nov. 6, before taking on Union (Tenn.) on Saturday, Nov. 7.