Arizona Women's Basketball

New-look Arizona women’s basketball molded by Burke features high-character talented players

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Members of the 2026-2027 Arizona women’s basketball team practice during Media Day in McKale Center (Lori Burkhart/AllSportsTucson.com)

To say last year was a tough one for Arizona women’s basketball may be an understatement. Becky Burke was hired in the middle of recruiting season and had to scramble to build a team from scratch with only one returning player.

Burke hit the ground running, but the options at that point in the recruiting cycle were limited.

A whole new team, learning a completely new system, was bound to have residual effects. But one thing was clear. Burke was willing to put in the hard work to build a winning program at Arizona.

The Wildcats went 12-18 overall and 3-15 in the Big 12 in Burke’s first season.

This year, Burke went into her first full recruiting season with three returning players and the goal of building a team of hard working, talented, high-character players.

Burke did just that, bringing in four transfers, four four-star freshmen and one international player.

Arizona’s 2026 recruiting class ranks No. 17 overall by ESPN and No. 20 by 247Sports. The freshman class is also the top ranked class in the Big 12.

“We recruited high character young women that came here to Arizona to impact, to win, because they are grateful for this opportunity. To go with all that stuff, they are definitely, definitely talented,” Burke said.

“The fact that it’s just Callie (Hinder), Sumayah (Sugapong) and Molly (Ladwig) coming back, those three are of the highest of character which is why those three came back and we wanted them back. It’s been nice to have nine new ones and then three that are just showing them how we do things, what we do, and I couldn’t have picked a better three to be honest with you from a leadership, maturity and character standpoint.”

Local media had the opportunity to interview each player last week at Media Day and All Sports Tucson is sharing the interviews.

Makayla Presser-Palmer

A four-star recruit out of East Springfield, Pa., Presser-Palmer was recruited while Burke was still at Buffalo. The freshman guard/forward was a 2026 McDonald’s All-American nominee and a two-time Erie County Girls Basketball Player of the Year.

Anastasiia Semenova

The graduate transfer came to Arizona from Boston University where she was team captain and started 19 out of 28 games played her senior year.

Originally from Saint Peterburg, Russia, Semenova followed her brother Andrey who played at James Maddison from 2011-2014 to the United States.

Once Arizona’s coaching staff reached out to her, she committed quickly because of the connection she felt with the staff.

Priyanka Ponnam

The four-star, 2026 McDonald’s All-American nominee from Pennington, N.J., was a three-time HFF Scholarship recipient for leadership and academic achievement in high school.

Ponnam received an offer from Burke during her freshman year in high school while Burke was still at Buffalo.

“Her (Becky Burke) mindset, her culture, like what she wants, her vision and I always like strive to be the best I can be and just knowing that she instills that in us every single day just pushes me to like keep working harder,” Ponnam said on why she committed to Arizona and Burke.

Aliyahna “Puff” Morris

The 2025 McDonald’s All-American transferred to Arizona from California where she started 18 out of 26 games played as a freshman.

The 5’5″ guard on the advantage of being a smaller guard, “Being short I’m obviously like closer to the ground so it’s easier to play defense, easier to bend my knees, I’m much faster than the taller people.”

Sumayah Sugapong and Molly Ladwig

Sugapong and Ladwig are the only two returning players who saw floor time last year.

Sugapong transferred to Arizona from UC San Diego last year and started for the Wildcats in 27 out of 29 games played. She took on a bigger role in running the offense later in the season as injuries sidelined multiple players.

Ladwig committed to Arizona last year as a freshman. The Omaha, Neb., native started six out of the 27 games she played. She shot 41% from the field during her freshman season with the Wildcats.

“I definitely think it’s been easier than last year just knowing what to expect every day and knowing what coach Burke is looking for. We’ve been trying a lot to just help the other girls,” Sugapong said on retuning this year.

Breanna Williams

The redshirt sophomore out of Billings, Mont., transferred to Arizona from Maryland where she played for ex-Wildcat Brenda Frese.

Williams was a two-time Montana Gatorade Player of the Year in high school and played on her high school golf team her freshman and sophomore year.

On the coaching differences between Frese and Burke Williams said, “They are so different because you know, coach (Brenda) Frese she’s already established she’s very well known, she has a national championship like very well known in the Big Ten. Here coach Burke she’s fresh, fresh new but I think her hunger and drive to win helps a lot. She knows what she’s talking about she pushes us to be better every single day so I think our hard work and everything will just pay off.”

Gerda Raulusaityte and Callie Hinder

Senior USC transfer Gerda Raulusaityte from Verena, Lithuania, started 10 games for the Trojans during her junior year. She was named the 2024-2025 Lithuanian Women’s Basketball League MVP.

“The kid is so talented she’s so tough, hardnosed and so versatile.” Burke said about Raulusaityte.

Hinder returns to Arizona after enrolling early last year. She joined the team but did not see any playing time for the Wildcats. The freshman from Chandler was ranked the No. 2 overall player in Arizona and was named 6A Arizona Defensive Player of the Year in 2023 and 2024.

“I know how loud McKale is, I know how much energy there always is so having a glimpse of already what I’m going to experience at McKale it’s so exciting to actually now get to wear the jersey.” Hinder said about having the experience with the team for part of last year.

Arynn Finley

Originally committed to Florida, Finley entered the transfer portal after a coaching change. The four-star guard out of Rancho Cucamonga, Calif., was ranked the No. 48 recruit in the country by ESPNW and No. 55 overall by 247Sports. She wanted to go to a school that would develop and play freshman.

On why she chose Arizona, Finley said, “Here, they want to develop freshman, they want freshman to play their first year so that was another thing that was important to me.”

Jasleen Green and Karolina Ulan

Four-star freshman guard Jasleen Green out of Ocala, Fla., was ranked No. 60 overall by ESPN, was the 2026 Florida Gatorade Player of the Year and a McDonald’s All-American nominee.

“Coach Burke for sure. Just how hard she coaches and how bad she wants to win makes me want to play for a coach like that.” Green said on why she chose Arizona.

Karolina Ulan was recruited out of Warsaw, Poland. She was a member of the Polish National Team and averaged 14-points per game and 3.7 rebounds.

“The thing that brought me here was actually the fan base,” she said. “When I heard that 5,000 are at a single game here, how can you say no to that? I love the adrenaline; I love the emotions. That actually brought me here. I love when people are loud and supportive so yeah, that adrenaline is why I’m here.”

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