Four members of the Portland Pilots Women’s Basketball team were named to the College Sports Communicators Academic All-District Team on March 24. The honorees are Dyani Ananiev, Rhyan Mogel, Lainey Spear, and Ella Zimmerman.
The recognition highlights student-athletes who have excelled both academically and athletically. To qualify for the team, athletes must participate in at least 90% of their team’s games or start in two-thirds of them while maintaining a cumulative grade point average of at least 3.50. Only those with sophomore standing or higher are eligible.
Ananiev played in 31 games this season and led the Pilots with an average of 11.5 points per game. She was selected for the All-West Coast Conference (WCC) Second Team and received WCC All-Academic Honorable Mention honors. Ananiev leads both her team and conference in steals per game and total steals, recording 78—the most by a Portland player since the 2019-20 season—and is one of four players nationally averaging at least 2.5 steals and one block per game.
Mogel appeared in all 33 games this year, averaging 9.3 points and leading with an average of 4.6 assists per contest. Her total assists rank fourth in the conference, while her assists-per-game mark places her fifth among peers; she also reached milestones not seen since Haylee Andrews’ performance during the 2021-22 season.
Spear contributed significantly as well, posting averages of 9.7 points, 4.4 rebounds, and ranking second on her team with nearly two steals per game—sixth best in the WCC overall—and set a recent record with eight steals against Seattle U Redhawks on January 17.
Zimmerman rounds out the group as a mechanical engineering major who played all season while earning WCC All-Academic Honorable Mention honors herself; she scored a career-high against Pepperdine Waves earlier this year.
The Pilots are currently competing in the Women’s National Invitation Tournament (WNIT), advancing to its Super Sixteen round for their first time after winning home postseason matches against Sam Houston Bearkats and Lamar Lady Cardinals under head coach Michael Meek.
