The 2026–27 UMBC Retrievers women's basketball team will represent the University of Maryland, Baltimore County during the 2026–27 NCAA Division I women's basketball season. The Retrievers, led by third-year head coach Candice Hill, will play their home games at the Chesapeake Employers Insurance Arena in Catonsville, Maryland, and compete as a member of the America East Conference.

Previous season

The Highlanders finished the 2025–26 season 17–15 overall and 10–6 in America East play, finishing in a tie for third in the conference with Binghamton. As the No. 4 seed in the America East tournament, they defeated No. 5 NJIT 65–66 in the quarterfinals with a game-winning two-point shot by forward Jade Tillman. They then advanced to the semifinals, where they lost in double overtime 65–68 to reigning conference champions and top-seeded Vermont.

Following the America East tournament, the Retrievers earned and accepted an at-large bid to the WNIT, their second overall and first since 2011. They defeated Ohio 62–58 in overtime in Round 1, before falling 53–66 to Marshall in Round 2 to end their season.

Offseason Departures UMBC departures Lauren Thompson 12 Guard 5'6" Sophomore Branford, CT Entered transfer portal Kenya Ramsey 13 Guard 6'0" Sophomore Virginia Beach, VA Transferred to Morgan State Delaney Yarborough 14 Center 6'3" Senior Ellicott City, MD Graduated Carmen Yánez 15 Guard 5'6" Senior Las Palmas, Spain Graduated, returned as team graduate assistant Jade Tillman 24 Forward 6'1" Junior Rockville, MD Transferred to Ole Miss

Incoming transfers UMBC incoming transfers Shariah Baynes 0 Guard 5'7" Junior Philadelphia, PA Towson Jeanine Brandsma 9 Center 6'2" Senior Éguzon-Chantôme, France Austin Peay Angela Williams 11 Forward 6'0" Junior New Orleans, LA James Madison Alden Yergey 12 Guard 5'9" Junior Nokesville, VA Siena

Recruiting class There was no 2026 recruiting class.

Preseason On September 28, 2026, the America East Conference released its preseason poll. UMBC was picked to finish second in the conference.

Preseason rankings +America East Preseason Poll Place Team Votes 1 60 (6) 2 57 (2) 3 48 (1) 4 41 5 40 6 29 7 25 8 16 9 8 Source:

Preseason All-America East Team Preseason All-America East Team Heidi Williams Sophomore Guard Source:

Roster

Schedule and results

!colspan=9 style=""| Non-conference regular season

!colspan=9 style=""| America East regular season

Sources:

References

Footnotes