Florida Atlantic women’s basketball officially opened its 2026-27 season with practice Sept. 22 on Abessinio Court at Eleanor R. Baldwin Arena in Boca Raton, Fla. The session began the program’s 43rd season and Freeland’s second season leading the Owls.
After stretching, the team worked through offensive, defensive and transition drills before moving into live, full-court action against the practice players. The practice marked the first official on-court work of the season ahead of Florida Atlantic’s 12-contest nonconference schedule.
“Our staff is so excited to get the season officially underway,” said Head Coach LeAnn Freeland. “We appreciate how focused and eager all our players are to continue to work to build something special. It has been great to see how far we’ve come in such a short amount of time, and we give a lot of credit to our six returning players for helping us build a strong foundation!”
Florida Atlantic returns six players
Florida Atlantic returns Zahira Arizmendi, Grace Carstensen, Madi Gewirtz, Vivian Onugha, Erin Rodgers and Haley Walker from last year’s roster. Those six players form the returning group Freeland credited after the opening practice.
The Owls also welcome eight newcomers: Keke Butler, Jazzy Gipson, Jaelynn Housey, Mia Jordan, Juju Leroux, Mani Piljevic, Janiah Suprius and Skyla Tuthill. Freeland is entering her 20th season as a head coach.
Florida Atlantic opens at Miami
Florida Atlantic will open the 2026-27 regular season Monday, Nov. 2, at Miami inside the Watsco Center. The 12-contest nonconference schedule also includes road matchups at Florida and UCF.
The Owls will host the Thanksgiving Classic and Holiday Classic during the nonconference portion of the schedule. The home tournaments follow the season-opening road matchup at Miami.
FSB Take
Florida Atlantic’s first official practice established the early-season roster picture: six returning players and eight newcomers will work together under Freeland. The Owls now turn toward their 12-contest nonconference schedule, which begins Nov. 2 at Miami.
Source: Original report