The 2025–26 California Golden Bears women's basketball team represented the University of California, Berkeley during the 2025–26 NCAA Division I women's basketball season. The Golden Bears were led by seventh-year head coach Charmin Smith and played their home games at Haas Pavilion. They competed as second-year members of the Atlantic Coast Conference.
The Golden Bears began their season with a trip to Paris, France to participate in the Oui-Play event against nineteenth-ranked Vanderbilt. California lost the game 65–74. They won five straight games upon their return to Haas Pavilion, including both of their Raising the B.A.R Invitational games. They then traveled to Frisco, Texas to participate in the Hoopfest Basketball Women’s Challenge. There, they won their first game against Grand Canyon before losing against Auburn. They lost two straight games against SEC opponents as they were defeated by Missouri in the ACC–SEC Challenge 67–68. The Golden Bears went 3–5 over their next eight games, losing all four ACC games over the stretch. They also were defeated by nineteenth-ranked USC in the Invisalign Bay Area Women's Classic. Their ACC losses included one against rivals Stanford and sixteenth-ranked North Carolina. California rebounded by going 4–2 over their next six games. There losses were a triple overtime thriller against Syracuse and against seventh-ranked Louisville. Their wins included an overtime win over Stanford and an upset of Notre Dame. The Golden Bears won their next three straight games, two of which were on the road. Their fortunes soured slightly to end the season, as they finished 2–3 in their final five games. They defeated Florida State and SMU on the final day of the regular season.
The Golden Bears finished the season 21–15 overall and 9–9 in ACC play to finish in tenth place. As the tenth seed in the ACC tournament, they defeated Wake Forest 75–52 in the First Round. They lost to seventh seed Syracuse by eleven points in the Second Round. They received an at-large invitation to the NCAA tournament and were the eighth-seed in the Spokane 4 region. They lost to ninth seed Mississippi State 69–46 in the First Round to end their season.
Previous season
The Golden Bears finished the season 25–9 overall and 12–6 in ACC play to finish in seventh place. As the seventh seed in the ACC tournament, earned a bye into the second round where they defeated Virginia 75–58. They lost to sixth ranked and second seed Notre Dame by nine points in the Quarterfinals. They received an at-large invitation to the WBIT and were the third seed in the Utah region. They defeated Santa Clara in the First Round and second seed Kansas State in the Second Round. They lost to fourth-seed Columbia 68–74 in the Quarterfinals to end their season.
Offseason Departures California Departures 0 C 6'3" Eastvale, California Graduated 2 G 5'11" Spokane, Washington Graduated 3 G 5'10" Brooklyn, New York Transferred to SMU 4 G 5'7" Los Angeles, California Graduated 7 F 6'3" Oviedo, Spain Graduated; transferred to TCU 14 G/F 6'1" Folsom, California Transferred to Utah 21 G 5'10" Heraklion, Greece Graduated 35 F 6'1" Watsonville, California Graduated
Incoming transfers Incoming transfers 1 G 5'10" Kent, Washington LSU 13 F 6'1" Meridian, Idaho Morgan State 35 G 6'5" Columbus, Ohio South Carolina
Recruiting
Source:
Roster
Schedule and results
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!colspan=9 style=""| Regular season
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Source:
Rankings
References