By: Evan O'Kelly, Associate Commissioner for Communications

PORTLAND, Ore. – Not much more could have been achieved in a basketball season – or career – than what Central Washington senior Asher Cai did in 2025-26.
 
She became the Great Northwest Athletic Conference all-time scoring leader and earned first-team All-America all while leading the Wildcats fearlessly on an NCAA playoff run while hobbled by an injury. On Thursday, Cai capped off one of the greatest careers the conference has seen in any sport by earning the GNAC Female Athlete of the Year award. The GNAC Athlete of the Year award is presented annually to one male and one female deemed to have achieved the highest performance athletically. Laurenz Waldbauer of Northwest Nazarene (track & field) was announced as the male winner on Tuesday.
 
"This is a big honor given the high caliber of female athletes who span across the GNAC in every sport,” said CWU head women’s basketball coach Randi Richardson. “I'm very happy for Asher and it is well deserved. Asher's work ethic and how she operates is different, and this recognition is a direct reflection of that. She has invested so much of herself into our program, her teammates, and her own personal growth and development over the past four years. She has stayed committed to the process of being a collegiate athlete and being a part of something bigger than herself through the highs and lows, which is becoming rarer these days, and she has and will continue to reap the benefits of that commitment and loyalty.”
 
On her way to GNAC and D2CCA West Region Player of the Year honors, Cai led the conference and ranked fourth nationally with 22.2 points per game. Her 710 total points scored were third-most in GNAC single-season history and were enough to make her the conference’s career leader with 2,257 points by the time all was said and done. She became just the second woman in conference history to surpass 2,000 points in a career, as she broke Montana State Billings’ Alisha Breen’s GNAC record of 2,001 points set in 2018. Cai also broke the GNAC career records for made field goals with 746 and made 3-pointers with 290, while her career average of 18.2 points per game ranked her third in league history and her 475 made free throws were second-most all-time.
 
“I am incredibly honored and grateful to be named GNAC Female Athlete of the Year,” said Cai, a native of Colfax, Wash. “To be recognized among so many talented student-athletes across our conference is truly amazing. While this is an individual award, it’s a reflection of the people who’ve supported me throughout this journey. I am especially thankful for my teammates and the commitment they made this season was so special. Every practice, game and challenge we faced together helped shape me into the player I am today, and I share recognition with them in this.”
 
Cai scored in double figures in all but one of CWU’s 32 games played this season, reached 20 points on 20 occasions and producing five games with 30 or more points. She shot 43.1% overall from the floor and was stellar from the free-throw line at 87.6%, while maintaining a positive assist-turnover ratio of 1.34 and contributing 5.8 rebounds per game. Those statistics translated into success for the Wildcats as a team, as they went 25-7 overall and finished second in the conference standings at 14-4 in league games.
 
A late-season leg injury significantly impacted Cai’s comfort on the court but playing at far less than 100% she still managed to deliver some of her gutsiest performances on the biggest stage. Earning a spot in the NCAA West Region Championships for the third time in Cai’s career, CWU stifled Montana State Billings 63-36 in the opening game to earn a vengeful victory against the team that knocked them out of the GNAC Championships the previous week. What Cai did next in the regional second-round game was nothing short of heroic. Seemingly ignoring her nagging injury, Cai made 8 of 15 field goals including 6 of 12 3-pointers on her way to 31 points to help the Wildcats take down Vanguard 81-73. That earned CWU its second consecutive appearance in the NCAA Sweet 16, where its season ended with a hard-fought, 57-51 defeat against Cal Poly Pomona. In Cai’s career, CWU carried a 4-3 record in NCAA regional contests and had its two highest finishes since joining the national organization.
 
“She has impacted our program in such a positive way each and every year she has been here and during her time CWU women’s basketball has not had a more successful four-year stretch in the NCAA D2 era,” said Richardson. “Then when the spotlight on her was biggest going into her senior season, she stepped up and answered that pressure with the highest statistical output of her career and led our program to new heights and expectations. Most importantly, during all of this she has operated with a high level of integrity, and has been a great student, teammate, and representative of our program. I am happy for her and proud of her to receive this well-deserved recognition."
 
Cai was unanimously voted a first-team all-region selection, before becoming the fourth CWU woman since the GNAC was formed in 2001 to earn All-America honors joining 2025 selection Sunny Huerta, 2023 selection Samantha Bowman and 2002 pick Rose Shaw. She became the first-ever Wildcat to also earn first-team Academic All-America in addition to All-America, as she completed her degree in exercise science with a stellar 3.89 grade point average. The 2023 GNAC Freshman of the Year, Cai became just the third woman in league history to earn both that award and the Player of the Year award. Alaska Anchorage’s Rebecca Kielpinski was GNAC Freshman of the Year in 2006 before winning three straight player of the year awards from 2007-09, and Western Washington’s Amanda Dunbar was the 2008 top freshman before earning player of the year in 2011.
 
“I also want to thank my coaches for their dedication, belief and countless hours they invested in helping our team succeed,” Cai said. “Their guidance has made a massive impact on my growth both on and off the court. Finally, I want to recognize the incredible athletes throughout the GNAC. The talent, dedication and competitiveness across our conference are what make this award so meaningful, and it has been an honor to compete against such outstanding student athletes. I am truly grateful for this recognition and proud to represent my teammates, coaches, and university. Thank you to everyone who played a part in making this achievement possible.”
 
It marks the second year in-a-row that Central Washington earned the league’s top female athlete award, with track & field national champion Emy Ntekpere taking the honor in 2024-25. Overall Cai is the third woman in school history to receive the league’s top recognition, joining Ntekpere and 2005-06 recipient LeAnne McGahuey (volleyball). Cai is the fifth women’s basketball player to earn the honor and the first in a decade with 2015-16 recipient Megan Mullings of Alaska Anchorage being the most recent in the sport. Other women’s basketball players to earn GNAC Female Athlete of the Year were Bobbi Knudsen of Montana State Billings (2013-14), Hanna Johansson of Alaska Anchorage (2011-12) and Kerie Hughes of Seattle Pacific (2002-03).
 
2026 GNAC Athlete of the Year Awards
GNAC Male Scholar Athlete of the Year – John Peckham, Alaska Anchorage, Cross Country/Track & Field
GNAC Female Scholar Athlete of the Year – Scottie Ellsworth, Central Washington, Volleyball
GNAC Male Athlete of the Year – Laurenz Waldbauer, Northwest Nazarene, Track & Field
GNAC Female Athlete of the Year – Asher Cai, Central Washington, Women’s Basketball