Cal Poly Mustangs women's basketball

Cal Poly began playing women's basketball at the intercollegiate level in 1974 in the AIAW, with NCAA-sponsored play beginning in 1981.

The Mustangs have had three teams tie for the school record for wins (21) in a season: the 1981-82 squad coached by Marilyn McNeil and the 2008–09 and 2012-13 squads coached by Faith Mimnaugh.

Following Sharon Chatman (1974–75) and Mary Stallard (1975-79), McNeil coached Cal Poly from 1979 to 1986 before becoming an athletics administrator on campus. In 1994, McNeil departed Cal Poly to become the athletic director at Monmouth University,[2] from which she retired in 2021.[3] Taking over after Jill Orrock (1986–95) and Karen Booker (1995-97), Mimnaugh served as head coach from 1997 to 2022, when she retired.[4] McNeil's overall-games winning percentage of .488 (98-103) ranks tops in program history, while Mimnaugh ranks as the winningest coach in the school's history of conference games percentage, at .482 (191-205).

The furthest the team has advanced came in March 2013,[5] when Cal Poly defeated Pacific 63-49 to win the Big West Conference women's basketball tournament, their first conference tournament championship[6] after two previous years of regular-season titles.[7] Seeded 14th in their ensuing NCAA Tournament appearance,[8] they lost 85-55 to Penn State in the first round. Cal Poly qualified for the semifinal round of the Big West Tournament in March 2020, but the postseason was abruptly canceled due to COVID-19 after the Mustangs had won comfortably[9] twice in the tournament's earlier rounds.[10]

The team has made three WNIT appearances, losing to California (Berkeley) in 2011,[11] Washington in 2012[12] and San Diego in 2014.[13]

Shanele Stires, former WNBA player[14] and head coach at Cal State East Bay, was hired as the team's seventh head coach on April 14, 2022.[15]

• Former Cal Poly forward Kristina Santiago won three consecutive (2013–15) Bulgarian NBL Playoffs MVP awards after leading her club, Dunav 8806, to consecutive titles. After a stint with Hapoel Rishon LeZion in Israel, Santiago rejoined Dunav 8806 in December 2013. The former All-America honorable mention then signed with Helios in Vétroz, Switzerland, before being acquired by BC Alte Kanti Aarau of the Swiss Ligue Nationale. She averaged 22.4 points (on 55.6-percent shooting) and 9.3 rebounds for Aarau in 2016-17.[16][17]
• Rachel Clancy, a former third-team Academic All-American,[18] played for Real Canoe Natación in Madrid during the fall of 2011.[19][20]
• Molly Schlemer signed with the ChemCats Chemnitz of Germany in October 2014. In September 2015, following her All-EuroBasket rookie season, Schlemer was picked up by Urla Belediyesi Gencli in Turkey, where she was the TKBL’s third-leading scorer on the way to all-league second-team honors. Most recently in 2018, Schlemer led Edirne Belediyesi averaging 22.3 points (ranking No. 1 in the Turkish league) along with 11.7 rebounds (fourth throughout the TKBL).[21][22]
• In 2019, alumni Dynn Leaupepe and Lynn Leaupepe became the fourth and fifth former Mustangs women's basketball players to embark on pro careers. Dynn Leaupepe, with Basketball Klubben Amager[23] in the Copenhagen suburb of Kastrup, Denmark, finished her rookie year winning the Dameligaen Player of the Year accolade after leading her club to the Danish title, 3-1 in a five-game series over Stevnsgade.[24]
• Meanwhile Lynn Leaupepe plays for the Sunbury Jets in Victoria, Australia.[25] Sunbury, coached by Kennedy Kereama, trains at Boardman Stadium just over 25 miles northwest of Melbourne.[26]
• In 2021-22, former Mustang Sierra Campisano played in the preseason with the WNBA's Chicago Sky,[27] before signing with BKG Prima in Hungary. She averaged 16.7 points and 6.8 rebounds as a rookie overseas.[28]
• Cal Poly graduate Kirsty Brown signed with the Leicester Riders of the Women's British Basketball League in August 2022.[29]

• Laura Buehning, a first-team WBCA College Division All-American in 1982[30] while playing for Cal Poly, played for Team USA at the 1980 William Jones Cup in Taiwan.[31]

• Official website