HEAD COACH TAMARA INOUE (10 SEASONS)
All-Time Winningest Head Coach in Program History
2025-26 & 2022-23 Big West Regular Season Champions
2023-24 Big West Tournament Champions
5 National Postseason Tournament Berths
2026 WBIT
2024 NCAA Tournament
2023 WNIT Second Round
2022 WNIT First Round
2018 Women's Basketball Invitational
Six 20-win seasons (Five-straight from 2021-26)
Broke the school wins record in 2022-23 (25) & 2025-26 (26)
Two-time Big West Coach of the Year
3-Time Big West Finalists (2020-21, 2021-22, 2023-24)
2 Big West Players of the Year
1 Big West Best Defensive Player
2 Big West Best Sixth Player Awards
2 Big West Freshman of the Year Awards
2 Big West Newcomers of the Year
30 All-Big West Selections
3 Big West All-Defensive Team Selections
1 Big West Championship MVP
7 Big West Championship All-Tournament Selections
21 Big West Player of the Week Honors
9 CSC Academic All-District Selections
28 Big West All-Academic Selections
Recruited 10 McDonald's High School All-American Nominees and a Gatorade Hawaii Player of the Year
The Anteaters have thrived since Coach T was hired as the ninth head coach in UC Irvine women's basketball history. Prior to her arrival, the 'Eaters were in a drought with one winning season in 13 years.
But once Coach T took over in 2016-17, she quickly turned the program around, leading UCI to eight winning seasons, six 20-win campaigns and five national postseason tournament berths, including their first NCAA appearance since 1995.
In just her second year at the helm, and first with her own recruits, UC Irvine finished 18-14 overall, marking a 13.5-game improvement. It was the second-best turnaround in all of NCAA Division I. The season opener set the tone for the exciting campaign as the 'Eaters erased a double-digit deficit in the final minutes and capped the rally with a game-winning half-court buzzer beater to take down Utah State. The play was featured at No. 1 on SportsCenter's Top-10.
The Anteaters continued to make strides in 2018-19, recording the program's third 20-win season and first since 1984-85. UC Irvine advanced to the Big West semifinals for the first time in five years.
In 2019-20, UCI tied for second in the Big West regular-season standings, which at the time, was their best finish in Coach T's tenure.
Despite facing extremely unique and challenging circumstances due to the COVID-19 pandemic during the 2020-21 campaign, Coach T continued to forge a path forward for the 'Eaters, leading them to a second-place Big West finish and their highest tournament seed since 1998. UC Irvine went on to make its first appearance in the Big West championship game in 24 years.
In 2021-22, the Anteaters made it back to the Big West title game and earned the program's first-ever bid to the WNIT. Their 21 overall victories tied a school record, while their 14 conference wins were the most in program history. UCI also posted its third-straight top-two Big West regular-season finish.
The 'Eaters reached new heights in 2022-23, claiming the program's first Big West regular-season title, earning UCI's first postseason victory and setting school records in overall (25) and conference (16) wins. They also finished the year ranked seventh in the nation in scoring defense with a program-best 53.2 points allowed per game.
UC Irvine continued to make history in 2023-24, winning the program's second Big West Championship, and making their first NCAA Tournament appearance in 29 years. The Anteaters finished with a 23-9 overall record, marking their third-straight 20-win season. They also tied the school record they set in 2022-23 with 16 Big West victories. Déja Lee was named The Big West Player of the Year, another first for the program.
In 2024-25, the 'Eaters recorded their fourth consecutive 20-win season, closing out the campaign with a 21-10 overall record. They placed among the top-two in the conference for the sixth-straight year. It was a milestone-filled season as Tamara Inoue became the all-time winningest head coach in program history, Nikki Tom broke the all-time steals record and Déja Lee became the 15th member of UCI's 1,000-point club.
UC Irvine continued to raise the bar in 2025-26, once again breaking the program record in overall (26) and conference (17) wins. The Anteaters went 26-7 and claimed a share of their second Big West regular season title with a 17-3 mark in league play. They earned an automatic bid to the WBIT. It was UCI's fifth-straight 20-win season, and fourth postseason appearance in five years. Hunter Hernandez was named the Big West Player of the Year, while Jada Wynn was tabbed the Newcomer of the Year. Tamara Inoue also earned her second career Big West Coach of the Year award. Hernandez broke UC Irvine's 42-year-old single-season scoring record with 655 points (19.8 ppg). She also tied the single-game school record with 41 points at Cal Poly on March 5, 2026. In addition, Hernandez is the program's all-time leader in career free throws made (402), and ranks second in career points (1,477).
Over the last six years, the Anteaters have been dominant in The Big West with a conference-leading 89-22 (.802) record in regular-season league games and seven-straight top-two finishes.
'EATERS ABROAD
UC Irvine women's basketball has embarked on two foreign tours under head coach Tamara Inoue. In July 2023, the Anteaters traveled to Guadeloupe where they played two games against the select team, participated in a 3x3 tournament and hosted a youth clinic. The 'Eaters also had a chance to visit a few local tourist spots including Plage de Sainte-Anne, the Memorial ACTe Museum and Le Tapeur for some zip lining!
In August 2019, the UC Irvine women's basketball team took the program's first ever foreign tour, traveling across the Pacific Ocean to Japan. The Anteaters hosted a youth clinic, and played two games against Tokyo Healthcare University and Ritsumeikan University, while immersing themselves in the local culture. They had the opportunity to spend some time in Tokyo, Kyoto, Hiroshima and Osaka.
THIS IS UCI WOMEN'S BASKETBALL
52 Seasons of NCAA Division I Basketball
2026 WBIT Automatic Qualifier
2024 & 1995 NCAA Tournament Berths
2023 & 2022 WNIT Appearances
2024 & 1995 Big West Tournament Champions
2025-26 & 2022-23 Big West Regular Season Champions
2 All-Americans
87 All-Big West Selections
3 Big West Coach of the Year Award Winners
2 Big West Players of the Year
4 Big West Defensive Players of the Year
3 Big West Freshman of the Year Award Winners
3 Big West Best Sixth Player Award Winners
2 Big West Newcomers of the Year
14 Big West All-Tournament Selections (2 MVPs)
The Bren Events Center, with a capacity of 5,000, is built on two levels and features state-of-the-art design in lighting, sound system, and acoustic engineering.
In 2024, a new videoboard was installed on the south wall, along with ribbon boards around the arena, enhancing the overall experience in the facility.
Located on the UC Irvine campus, the Bren Events Center provides an exciting and prestigious location in Orange County for a full array of sporting, musical performance, exhibition, and other public events.
Home of UC Irvine’s basketball and volleyball programs, the Bren Events Center provides top quality, dynamic entertainment to thousands of fans, annually.
BETTER IN THE BREN
Since 2017-18, UC Irvine women's basketball is 95-27 (.779) at the Bren Events Center. The Anteaters have posted a winning home record in each of the last eight years.
The 'Eaters set a program record with a crowd of 2,294 in attendance for a 74-59 victory over Long Beach State on Jan. 25, 2024. It was the Anteaters' second Kids Day where they welcomed local elementary schools to the game.
Over 300 student-athletes in 18 varsity sports
- Baseball
- Men's & Women's Basketball
- Men's & Women's Cross Country
- Men's & Women's Golf
- Men's & Women's Soccer
- Men's & Women's Tennis
- Men's & Women's Track and Field
- Men's & Women's Volleyball
- Men's & Women's Water Polo
- Women's Indoor Track and Field
Achievements
- 128 Conference Players of the Year
- 48 Conference Freshman / Newcomer of the Year Awards
- 109 Conference Coaches of the Year
- 103 Conference Championships
- 32 Conference Tournament Championships
- 4,000+ Scholar-Athletes
BLUE & GOLD
Seventy-one UC Irvine affiliates have participated as either an athlete or coach at the Summer Olympics, including nine former Anteaters at the 2024 Paris Games.
UCI's affiliates who have competed as Olympic athletes, have brought home 19 Gold Medals, 22 Silver Medals and four Bronze Medals.
WHY THE ANTEATER?
The idea for the Anteater mascot came from Pat Glasgow and Bob Ernst, two water polo players, who were inspired by the anteater in the Johnny Hart comic strip “B.C.” The two students, along with the creative marketing genius of fellow student Schuyler Hadley Bassett, organized a campaign for the unusual mascot. The Anteater was elected as the official UCI mascot on Nov. 30, 1965. It received 559 votes, beating out such alternatives as Seahawks, Bison and “none of these”.
Peter won the 2015 Mashable Mascot Madness Award and recently took home the trophy at the Big West mascot challenge.
THIS IS UC IRVINE
Founded in 1965, UCI is the youngest member of the prestigious Association of American Universities. The campus has produced three Nobel laureates and is known for its academic achievement, premier research, innovation and anteater mascot. Led by Chancellor Howard Gillman, UCI has more than 30,000 students and offers 192 degree programs. It’s located in one of the world’s safest and most economically vibrant communities and is Orange County’s second-largest employer, contributing $5 billion annually to the local economy.
On a brilliant day in 1964, President Lyndon B. Johnson stepped from a helicopter into an undeveloped Irvine Ranch meadow and dedicated the land that would become UCI. The founding administration and faculty established traditions of rigorous academics, progressive research, interdisciplinary teaching and independent thinking. From the classrooms and labs, businesses were born, jobs created and discoveries made.
President Barack Obama delivered the commencement address on Saturday, June 14, 2014, at Angel Stadium of Anaheim, commemorating the 50th anniversary of the campus’s dedication by President Lyndon B. Johnson. Obama gave kudos to UCI for being “ahead of the curve."
BUILDING FOR THE FUTURE
Meeting academic responsibilities while competing at the highest level is top priority for UCI student-athletes. It’s a challenging task, with the requirements of practice time, away-game travel, and year-round conditioning. Add the demands of class work and community service, and it is a full life indeed.
The Al Irwin Academic Center sends a clear and powerful message to scholar-athletes, coaches, the surrounding community, and alumni about UCI’s commitment to transforming the student-athlete experience by providing a quality learning environment. The center provides a comprehensive area which houses services such as academic consultation for course selection, class scheduling, and skills development classes (including study strategy workshops, note and test taking), orientation for freshmen and transfer student-athletes as well as academic and life management skills.
The Al Irwin Academic Center also assists with summer school assessment, tutoring and mentoring opportunities, computer and printer lab access. Other possible uses for the center include post-eligibility programs for internships, resumé building opportunities, networking, and job searches for the department’s 300+ student-athletes. The center provides intellectual and social community support that contributes to the holistic development of student-athletes and stimulates camaraderie among all students throughout UCI’s 18 Division 1 sports.
Stronger Together
UCI’s strength and conditioning program plays a key role in the success of Anteater Athletics. All student-athletes are trained and closely monitored throughout the year by head strength coach Mike Nagler and his staff in the Santora Elite Training (SET) Center.
The weight room sets the tone for the team and the season. Winning a championship begins in the off-season. Strength and preparation breeds confidence.
UC Irvine student-athletes often use the local beaches as another training facility. Orange County features 42 miles of Pacific Ocean coastline, including Newport, Corona del Mar, Huntington and Laguna beaches, which are all within a short distance from campus and provide year-round training possibilities. The average temperature in Orange County is a perfect 68 degrees.
Leadership & Community Outreach
Success is about great leadership, great chemistry, and athletes that possess a winning mindset. These skills are honed through Coaching, Life Skills, Community Outreach as well as the Student-Athlete Advisory Committee.
The UC Irvine Athletics Department sponsors a comprehensive Community Outreach program which takes advantage of the skills, experience, and popularity of our 300+ students-athletes, coaches, and staff members to reinforce positive messages to K-12 children and community members in Orange County.
The program allows our student-athletes, coaches, and staff members the opportunity to promote sportsmanship, citizenship, volunteerism, and a healthy lifestyle through various campus and community initiatives throughout the year.
A Great Place to Live
Welcome to Anteater Country. UCI is located in the heart of beautiful Orange County, nestled between Los Angeles and San Diego counties and just five miles from SoCal’s sunny shores. A cornerstone of Irvine, one of the safest cities in the U.S. and home to Southern California’s burgeoning tech coast, UCI is the perfect place to study, work, live and play. Our close proximity to shopping, amusement parks, premier arts and cultural centers, and industry leaders make UCI a destination unlike any other.
Destination beaches. Pristine hiking and bike trails. World-class entertainment. Elite education. Exciting career prospects. Unlimited possibilities.
THINGS TO DO
In addition to the pristine beaches nearby, Irvine is centrally located to shopping, entertainment, museums and the fine arts:
- Disneyland & Downtown Disney
- Knott's Berry Farm
- Irvine Spectrum
- Fashion Island
- South Coast Plaza
- Irvine Town Center
- The Outlets at Orange
- FivePoint Amphitheatre
- Honda Center
- Irvine Barclay Theatre
- Orange County Performing Arts Center
- Orange County Fair
- Taste of Newport
- Newport Film Festival
- Laguna Festival of Arts
- Orange County Museum of Art
- Bowers Museum
- Dana Point Harbor
Orange County's Finest
UCI's location combines the cultural and economic resources of an urban area with access to Southern California's spectrum of recreational, scenic, and entertainment venues.
Orange County is a diverse community that embraces music, fashion and the arts. It was once dubbed “America’s Hip Factory” by VH1 and “Cathedral of Cool” by USA Today.
The FBI heralded Irvine, California, as the number one safest large city in America several times.
Irvine is centrally located so that getting to Los Angeles, Palm Springs or San Diego is only an hour or so away.
About 40 percent of UC Irvine alumni live in Orange County and 84 percent live in California.
The famed sailing and surfing beaches of Newport, Laguna, and Huntington are a short distance from campus, while hiking trails, desert camping, or mountain resorts for snow boarding and skiing are within two-hour's travel distance from Irvine. The campus itself is a natural arboretum of native species, as well as trees and shrubs from all over the world.
UCI's Anteater Recreation Center is a 92,000-square foot, state-of-the-art facility that includes a pool, gymnasiums, racquetball courts, weight room, and jogging track.
Across Campus Drive, and linked by a pedestrian bridge, an area of shops and restaurants also features a movie theatre complex, post office, and other services. Complementing UCI on-campus sports and cultural events throughout the year is the vigorous Orange County arts and entertainment environment. It offers everything from small venues for bands and performers to galleries, museums, the Irvine Barclay Theatre, Orange County Performing Arts Center, and Pacific Symphony.
Campus Living
UCI provides many housing options for students on campus and off.
On campus, the newest student housing development the Middle Earth Towers opened in the Fall 2019. The $130 million expansion of the housing complex added the 500-bed twin towers, providing such amenities as a dining hall, a multipurpose room, a two-story study pavilion, and a fitness and recreation center. In 2017, Mesa Court Towers opened featuring three six-story buildings with 932 beds and zero-waste food service operations. Both Mesa Court and Middle Earth provide quality housing with close proximity to classes.
American Campus Communities provides housing such as Vista del Campo, Vista del Campo Norte, Camino del Sol, Puerta del Sol and Plaza Verde which are privately owned and managed and serve sophomores, juniors, seniors and graduate students. All apartments on the east campus are furnished and offer individual 12-month leases. Vista Del Campo won the 2005 Pillars of the Industry Award from the National Association of Home Builders for Best Student Housing Community. Units feature full kitchens, living rooms, high speed internet access and cable TV. Public spaces include a five screen mini-theater, billiard tables, 24-hour fitness facilities, pools, gas barbecues, WiFi in the common areas and a basketball court.
Arroyo Vista - A unique community housing students on the basis of campus involvement, academic interests or Greek membership. Altogether, there are 40 houses accommodating 16, 24, or 32 residents each.
Off campus, Irvine features many housing options a short distance to campus, while Newport Beach and Balboa Island provide oceanfront living. Campus buses travel down to the beach communities providing easy transportation for students.
TRAINING LIKE A PRO
Many professional athletes train at UC Irvine in the off-season, while nearby cities are also home to many top athletic organizations. Both the Los Angeles Rams and New Orleans Saints have held their training camp at UCI's Crawford Athletic Complex.
Also within a short distance are many professional teams, organizations and events:
- Los Angeles Clippers, Lakers and Sparks
- Los Angeles Chargers and Rams
- Los Angeles Angels and Dodgers
- Anaheim Ducks and Los Angeles Kings
- L.A. Galaxy and LAFC soccer clubs
- U.S. Men's & Women's Volleyball in Anaheim
- USA Water Polo in Los Alamitos and Irvine
- U.S. Open of Surfing in Huntington Beach
- AVP Huntington Beach Open
- The Hoag Classic (PGA) in Newport Beach