The562’s coverage of Long Beach State athletics for the 2026-27 season is sponsored by Marilyn Bohl.
It took nearly two years to construct the LBS Financial Credit Union Pyramid at Long Beach State. Minyon Moore was given less than six months to build a program to play inside it.
The new Long Beach State women’s basketball coach was hired in mid-May after her predecessor, Amy Wright, took a job at Alabama. The foundation that remains from the 2025 season is sophomore forward Rosie Akot and Director of Basketball Operations Ashley Arroyo—end of list.
That created a hefty workload for a first-time head coach, who had to assemble an entire roster and coaching staff in short order. Moore recruited players from seven different states plus two foreign countries, bringing in five freshmen and seven collegiate transfers, ranging from the junior college, Division II and Division I level.
The new-look Beach opened the season at Cal last Thursday, suffering a 100-46 defeat against the Golden Bears.
A trio of newcomers led the way as Sac State transfer Noemi Arvai, JUCO transfer Kailyn Berry (from Howard College in Texas), and freshman Ebony Taylor-Smith each had nine points in the opener.
This will be the tallest LBSU team in recent memory, with five players listed at 6-foot-1 or higher, led by 6-5 junior forward Selene Romero Olvera, a transfer from Florida International.
Akot should be a regular starter for the Beach after showing improvement in the second half of last season. The 6-foot-2 Australian has heaps of athleticism and should be an asset as a rebounder, defender and scorer this season.
She joined Arvai and Berry in the starting lineup against Cal, along with freshman guard Lucia Chico Fernandez from Spain and senior transfer guard Amber Furch. A native of Los Angeles, Furch returned home after playing three seasons in Vermont for Division II Saint Michael’s, where she averaged 8.4 points per game with 60 career starts.
Arvai brings valuable DI experience to Long Beach State, but sat out all of last year due to injury. In the 2024-25 campaign with Sacramento State, the 6-foot-1 forward played in 31 games for the Hornets, scoring 10 points and snagging seven boards in her debut against Eastern Washington.
Another frontcourt transfer is 6-foot-1 sophomore Danijela Kujovic. The Aussie played her first two seasons at Hawai’i, appearing in 21 games for the Rainbow Wahine. Junior guard Ashanti Dias transferred in from Laney College in Northern California, where she averaged 15.9 points, 4.8 rebounds, 6.3 assists, and 1.9 steals per game.
Taylor-Smith may be the freshman to watch with this group, after connecting on three triples against Cal in her collegiate debut. A product of Rancho Christian High School in Temecula, Taylor-Smith averaged over 16 points per game and amassed over 1,900 career points as a high schooler.
With every role on the court up for grabs, it will surely be a journey of self-discovery for the Beach this season. Moore was handed difficult circumstances for her debut season, and growing pains should be expected, but that shouldn’t curtail the excitement of having a promising young coach patrolling the sidelines.
Long Beach State hosts Santa Clara (2-0) on Monday night at 6 p.m. in the team’s home debut, then hits the road again to visit Portland on Saturday.
