Where are the Pac-2 now?
Oregon State and Washington State were left behind when ten Pac-12 schools decided to join other conferences.
Eight players entered the transfer portal from Oregon State (OSU) following the close of the 2023-2024 women’s college basketball season. Four key starters opted to join teams of larger conferences: Timea Gardiner (UCLA), Talia von Oelhoffen (USC), Raegan Beers (Oklahoma), and Donovyn Hunter (Texas Christian University).
After making it to the Elite Eight during the 2024 Women’s NCAA Tournament, losing to eventual national champion South Carolina. There was no denying that Scott Rueck’s team of youngsters had made it to the big leagues. But, the future was uncertain for Oregon State.
At that point in 2024, the Pac-12’s end was nigh, and the NCAA’s transfer window was nearing.
“All year with conference realignment, all the things that could be distractions and that you could talk about, we just put our heads down and controlled what we could control and got to work and stayed together and stayed connected, and it has gotten us really far,” said Talia von Oelhoffen in a press conference after the Elite Eight game against South Carolina.
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For the 2024-25 season, the following schools announce their plan to leave the Pac-12 for other conferences.
Summer 2022
USC and UCLA → Big Ten
Summer 2023
Arizona, Arizona State, Colorado, and Utah → Big 12
Oregon and Washington → Big Ten
Stanford and California → ACC
All of these decisions leave Oregon State and Washington State’s fates unknown.
December 2023
West Coast Conference extends an invite to Oregon State and Washington State, effective fall 2024.
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Oregon State and Washington State (WSU) got left behind in the Pac-2 before joining the West Coast Conference (WCC) for the 2024-25 season. Though WSU did not have the same championship run OSU did last year, they were the Pac-12 champs the year prior, led by the 2023 Pac-12 tournament’s most outstanding player winner, Charlisse Leger-Walker. Leger-Walker entered the transfer portal after four years at WSU, committing to the UCLA Bruins alongside former OSU forward Timea Gardiner.
Both teams looked much different entering the 2024-25 season, and so did their competition.
“One of the biggest differences is each week we would be playing top ten teams, power five schools. I signed up for it, coming to WSU, I wanted to play in the Pac-12 Conference, and I wanted to play against the top schools, not saying these WCC teams are not as good,” said WSU senior point guard Tara Wallack to 5wins.
Wallack has been a starting guard with the Cougars for most of her four years on the team, playing with greats like Charlisse Leger-Walker. For her first three years on the team, Wallack listened to her predecessor and took in the knowledge that she had to offer. Losing
Leger-Walker was tough, but it was also what showed Wallack it was time for her to be the leader she had spent the last three years learning to be.
“Charlisse is the type of player that will make anyone better in the gym. She is the highest IQ player I’ve played with,” Wallack said. “That ultimately just helped me become a better player and become the leader I am for the team today.”
Every team currently ranked in the top 25 by the Associated Press is in a Power Four conference.
But that means very little to Associate Head Coach Laurie Koehn of WSU.
“This league has forced us to be a lot more versatile and to figure out how to take advantage of the size and athleticism we do have,” associate head coach Laurie Koehn said to 5wins.
You could see it in the Cougar’s game against the University of San Francisco. Alex Covill, a 6’6” center, at some point was matched up against 5' 8” guard Cami Fulcher.
“She had to figure out how to guard the perimeter, protect the paint, and play so-so active. In Santa Clara, she matched up with a 6 '2 ", 6' 3” player that could really shoot the three,” Koehn said to 5wins. “Once again she’s stretched and pulled and can’t just be the prototypical five-player that just plants herself in the paint and bangs the whole game. That to me has been a great positive.”
With new conference opponents, the challenge is getting to know the players of the other teams according to Wallack. That means long hours of watching film and focusing on the takeaways.
But more than the opponents, it’s the travel that’s on everyone’s minds.
“This schedule is a little bit challenging, and everyone has to do it, so it’s not a complaint. We can be at Saint Mary’s on Thursday night and the game starts at 7:30 pm and then a noon game back at Pullman on Saturday,” Koehn added. “The challenge is the day in between when you need to catch two planes back home and prepare for a team like Gonzaga. We are not used to traveling in the day between from the Pac-12.”
Teams in all conferences have had to change the way they prepare for game days. For the Cougars, it’s about making sure the players have legs and are physically their best. Koehn said with the seven new players, the challenge is to have a 45 minute film session, where the players have physically zero tax on them, but are able to mentally soak in everything they need and transfer that onto the on game day.
Ahead of the realignment, many worried about the physical toll the new schedules would take on the athletes.
“I am a lot more tired, and there’s not a lot of time to do other things. Since I’m a senior, I am pretty much done with my major, but I know that my freshman and sophomores are having a harder time handling school,” Wallack said to 5wins. “Even on the road last year, we would have a lot of study halls and now, it’s just more traveling. It’s hard to study when you’re not in the same place.”
But that’s not stopping the Cougars, who are vying for a top seed as the WCC conference tournament nears.
“Yes, you sign up for a conference, but also, you sign up for the program and the coaches. That’s one of the main reasons I decided to come here,” Wallack said. “I wanted to play for [head coach] Coach Ethridge and Laurie. My decision was to stay where I started, stay with what we have built.”
Oregon State’s guard AJ Marotte had a similar thing to say about coach Scott Rueck’s team. Marotte, who had crucial minutes playing in OSU’s 2023-2024 NCAA tournament run, was worried when so many of her teammates announced their transfer bids. The worry quickly dissipated because she realized it was her chance to step up. Now a senior, she decided to finish what she started.
“I think Scott just prepares us really well for anything. His system is great, and I think that all the new people have adapted really well to that, so it hasn’t been that big of an issue. I also like change, I welcome change, and it’s worked out pretty good so far […] I have been here for four years because I want to play for him, and I am really happy I am still here.” Marotte said in an interview with Pac in Action.
Realignment has an effect on travel, viewership, and schedules, but soon enough the former Pac-2 may return to the the Pac-12. Beginning July 1, 2026, six new teams will join the OSU and WSU in the Pac.
“It’s been a little bit different because naturally there aren’t as many eyes with some of the names we are playing. The competition is still very strong, but not having a USC to play with and having those thousands of extra eyes on your program just naturally obviously is not there,” said Riley Baker, WSU Women’s Basketball Sports Information Director to 5wins. “It’s been a little bit different but the day to day is pretty much the same. We don’t really need to change too much, especially with a year and half or so with the new Pac-12 rolling in.”
At the end of the day, both teams' end goals are to compete at the highest level regardless of conference, opponent, or situation.
“Why can’t we be the first to win the WCC in this new alignment and just leave everything out on the floor?” said Wallack to 5wins. “I know [the younger players] see it in my eyes, that I want to win and leave WCC on the best note possible. I am really trying to fire us up.”