SEATTLE - Seattle University women’s basketball welcomed eleven transfer student-athletes to build up its current roster to 14, as newly tabbed head coach John Bonner has quickly worked since his hiring in mid-March to craft towards his complete 2026-27 roster for the upcoming season.
The newest inked Redhawks join incoming freshman guard Syesha Simanton, who signed with SU through the early signing period, and first years Gabriela Escorial Ferrero and Lindsay Biddle. Of the 11 transfer signees, seven are upperclassmen, with four juniors joining the program from their previous institutions. Four will enter their sophomore seasons alongside Dylan Mogel.
The upperclassmen consist of seniors Milana Nenadic, Shelley Duchemin and Ayanna Jackson along with juniors Cristina Jones, Claire Fraser, Erin Sellers and Nari Powers. Sophie Buzzard, Mahliya Wilson and Alanna Neale make up the sophomore class.
Simanton will join the program upon graduating from nearby Bellevue HS. The three-time varsity guard guided the Wolverines to a runner-up finish in conference play in her junior year while boasting a tenth rank program in the state behind a 25-7 record. Simanton and Bellevue finished fifth in the WIAA 2025 Girls Basketball Hardwood Classic (3A). She scored 10 in the win, while picking up two steals and three rebounds while handing out two assists.
Through her first two seasons, Simanton has averaged 14.5 points, 4.1 rebounds and 2.0 assists per game while shooting 40 percent through 25 appearances. She’s earned four player of the game recognitions since her debut season, with three coming off 20+ point scoring performances.
Escorial Ferrero is one of two international signees new to the Redhawk roster, traveling to Seattle following the conclusion of her competitive season with Itesal Femenino Alcorcon in Spain’s LF2. This season, Escorial is shooting 49.6 percent from the field in 29 games, while averaging 7.9 rebounds a contest. The 6’0 forward has tallied 27 blocks, 27 steals and 28 assists.
A familiar face for both Bonner is incoming junior Cristina Jones, who completed her sophomore campaign at Cal State Fullerton. Jones averaged 16.5 points per game shooting 44.1 percent from the floor and paced the Titans with 495 points scored. The 5’10 guard took home a series of Big West accolades, earning the Big West Hustle Player of the Year along with spots on the All-Big West first and defensive teams.
Jones set the Titans’ program record in single season steals, corralling 118 this past year. In her lone season in Fullerton, Jones recorded the fifth most rebounds in a single season, bringing in 297 on the year. Prior to her stop in Fullerton, Jones completed her freshman year at Cal State Dominguez Hills, playing for Bonner. She helped lead the Toros to the NCAA DII championship game while earning the NCAA West regional championship after securing the CCAA tournament and league championships. Jones was tabbed the CCAA Freshman of the Year in 2024-25.
Entering her junior year alongside Jones is Claire Fraser, who joins the program by way of Northern Colorado. Fraser, a 6’0 forward, spent two seasons with the Bears, appearing in 36 games over her tenure. Averaging 10.3 minutes per game, Fraser shot 30.9 percent from the field while connecting nine times from behind the arc, all recorded in her breakout sophomore year. She recorded 37 rebounds while handing out 26 assists and grabbing 14 steals since her collegiate debut in 2024-25.
New to Seattle U by way of a familiar program to the Redhawks is redshirt junior Erin Sellers, who spent this past season at UT Arlington. Prior to competing at SU’s former WAC foe UTA, Sellers spent two seasons at Menlo College, where she averaged 8.2 points, 1.4 rebounds, 1.3 assists and 1.1 steals per game while averaging 14.1 minutes per game. In her lone season in Arlington, Sellers, a 5’5 guard, appeared in 32 games, averaging 13.2 minutes per game. She recorded 87 points, 25 steals, 40 assists, and 45 rebounds while shooting 33.0 percent from the floor for the Lady Mavs.
Rounding out the quartet of juniors is Nari Powers, who journeys into Seattle from Georgia State. This past season, Powers saw action in 29 games, where she tallied 60 points, averaging 12.0 minutes per game. The 6’0 forward recorded 48 rebounds, six steals and two blocks while connecting for six triples. Powers began her college career at Salt Lake City CC, where she averaged nine points and 5.6 rebounds over her freshman campaign and took home an all-conference recognition. She helped lead the team to a regional championship and a national tournament appearance.
Redshirt senior Milana Nenadic brings in a wealth of experience from the collegiate to international stages. Nenadic, a 6’3 forward, completed her 2025-26 campaign at Valpo, after spending three seasons between Maine and Idaho State. She broke out during her redshirt junior year at Valpo, accumulating 302 points, shooting 37.9 percent from the field in 32 games. Nenadic earned the start in 18 games while averaging 18.1 minutes per game. She knocked down 20 triples while grabbing 169 rebounds, 17 steals and eight blocks. Nenadic represented Canada as a member of its U16 team in 2021 as well as a member of the BALLIN Across Borders Canada v.s USA All-Star game in 2019 prior to her collegiate career.
SU earns a graduate student in Shelley Duchemin from UC Riverside. Duchemin, a 6’0 guard, began her collegiate career at CSUN, where she appeared in 54 games for the Matadors. She tallied 338 points between her freshman and sophomore seasons. Averaging 19.8 minutes between the 2021-22 and 2022-23 seasons, Duchemin shot 38.4 percent from the field and connected for 16 triples, shooting 33.3 percent from behind the arc. Duchemin then spent a season at Northern Colorado before transferring to UCR before the 2024-25 season. While in Riverside, Duchemin logged 338 points, shooting 39.5 percent from the field while connecting for 16 triples. She grabbed 169 rebounds, 41 steals and nine blocks in 34 games and 26 starts while averaging 25.4 minutes per game. Duchemin was an All-Big West second team selection in her junior year while claiming an All-Academic team recognition this past year.
Rounding out the trio of seniors is Ayanna Jackson, a 6’1 forward who joins the team via Texas Southern. This past season, Jackson appeared in 31 games where she tallied 189 points, 19 steals, eight blocks, 19 assists, and 106 rebounds while averaging 20.5 minutes per game. She shot 35.4 percent from the field and connected for eight triples. Jackson spent her sophomore season at UNC Greensboro, where she appeared in 15 games, scoring 31 points and 16 rebounds averaging 4.9 minutes per game. Jackson got her collegiate start at Sacramento State, where she appeared in 30 games and earned the start in three. She recorded 59 points, 28 rebounds, three blocks and three steals while shooting 39.6 percent from the field in 7.6 minutes of action on average.
Returning to the West Coast is Alanna Neale, who spent this past season at Nebraska. Neale, a 5’10 guard, appeared in eight games as a freshman, where she shot 44.4 percent from the field and scored 10 points in her collegiate debut. Coming out of high school, Neale averaged 12.1 points, 6.8 rebounds and 2.2 steals during her senior campaign. She was tabbed All-California interscholastic federation southern section honors in her season year for Ontario Christian. Following her first semester in Lincoln, Neale was named to Nebraska’s scholar athlete honor roll.
Another California native bringing her game up the coast is Mahliya Wilson, a 5’8 guard who spent this past season at Dominican. The rising redshirt sophomore appeared in 25 games while starting in 20. She scored 385 points in her collegiate debut, averaging 15.4 per contest, while shooting 41 percent from the field. Wilson recorded 107 rebounds, averaging 4.3 rebounds per game, 38 assists, eight blocks and 53 steals this past year.
Making her return to Washington is rising sophomore 5’10 guard Sophie Buzzard, who spent her freshman year down I-5 at Portland State. Buzzard, an all-academic All-Big Sky selection, appeared in 31 games for the Vikings, averaging 19.1 minutes per game. Buzzard tallied 129 points, 42 rebounds, 11 assists, four blocks and five steals, while shooting 34.1 percent from the floor in her lone season in Portland.
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