UC San Diego women's basketball doesn't have to prove it belongs at the Division I level anymore.

The Tritons have spent the past two seasons doing exactly that.

UC San Diego finished 24-9 overall and 17-3 in Big West play last season, earning a share of its first Division I regular-season conference championship. The Tritons followed it by winning their second consecutive Big West Tournament title and earning another trip to the NCAA Tournament. In doing so, UC San Diego became just the second Division I women's basketball program to reach the NCAA Tournament in each of its first two seasons of postseason eligibility after reclassifying from Division II.

Now the question surrounding head coach Heidi VanDerveer's program is different.

Can the Tritons keep doing it?

UC San Diego enters the 2026-27 season with six returners, including four players who earned All-Big West recognition last year. But it must also replace two important pieces in Makayla Rose and Sabrina Ma, who combined for nearly 24 points per game while playing significant roles in the Tritons' disruptive defensive style.

All of that comes during UC San Diego's final season in the Big West before the program moves to the West Coast Conference in 2027-28.

After spending its first few Division I seasons building toward championship contention, UC San Diego has reached the point where winning is no longer a surprise.

The challenge is sustaining it.

UC San Diego's rise has happened quickly.

The Tritons began their transition to Division I in 2020, but NCAA reclassification rules prevented them from competing in the NCAA postseason during the transition period. Once that restriction disappeared, UC San Diego didn't waste much time.

The Tritons won the Big West Tournament and reached the NCAA Tournament in their first season of postseason eligibility. One year later, they did it again, this time adding a share of the regular-season championship.

The result is a program entering 2026-27 with a very different standard than it had only a few years ago.

UC San Diego isn't trying to become competitive in Division I anymore. The Tritons are defending champions trying to reach a third consecutive NCAA Tournament.

And they have one of the conference's best returning players to build around.

“You win with people,” VanDerveer said, describing a culture of excellence at UC San Diego that stretches well beyond the athletic department.

Erin Condron became the centerpiece of UC San Diego's offense last season.

The 6-foot-4 forward/center averaged 15.6 points and 8.5 rebounds per game while shooting 53.1% from the field. She also finished with 44 blocks and earned First Team All-Big West honors.

Her return gives VanDerveer something particularly valuable for a team replacing significant production elsewhere: an established interior presence. Condron is a scorer around the basket, a rebounder and a rim protector, and her importance may grow even further with Rose and Ma gone and new roles taking shape.

She won’t have to carry that responsibility alone.

Rosa Smith returns after averaging 10.9 points, 2.9 rebounds and 2.5 assists while earning All-Big West honorable mention. She made 57 3-pointers and started 29 of her 32 appearances.

Dymonique Maxie also returns after receiving All-Big West honorable mention recognition, giving UC San Diego another experienced guard in a backcourt that will otherwise look different.

“We have a core of four returning players that have got a lot of minutes for us,” said VanDerveer. “We have a center, Erin Condron from Australia, who is versatile and very talented. We have a dynamic point guard, … in Dymonique Maxie, Rosa Smith from Washington, and Lev Feiman from Brentwood in L.A. I think the core of our team is really strong, and we have some excellent young players and new additions to our team.”

But replacing what UC San Diego lost isn't simply a matter of replacing points.

Rose and Ma leave two of the largest holes on UC San Diego's roster.

Rose was the Tritons' second-leading scorer at 12.6 points per game, but her greatest impact came at the other end of the floor. She recorded 102 steals last season and was named Big West Defensive Player of the Year for the second consecutive season.

Ma gave UC San Diego something different.

She averaged 11.4 points and 4.5 rebounds while starting all 33 games and playing more than 33 minutes per contest. She was also UC San Diego's most frequent perimeter shooter, making a team-high 72 3-pointers on 227 attempts.

But the bigger concern may be how UC San Diego replaces everything else they did.

Together they provided perimeter scoring, guard rebounding and extensive experience, playing heavy minutes for a team that relied on creating mistakes and turning those mistakes into offense.

That brings UC San Diego to one of its biggest questions entering the season: Can the Tritons maintain their defensive identity without two of the players who made it work?

One of the more interesting parts of UC San Diego's success last season was that the Tritons didn't dominate every traditional category.

Rebounding is the clearest example.

UC San Diego averaged 34.6 rebounds per game compared with 39.7 for its opponents, finishing the season with a minus-5.1 rebounding margin. Yet the Tritons still won 24 games and outscored opponents by an average of 7.5 points.

They found another way to create possessions.

UC San Diego forced 19.5 turnovers per game while committing just 12.8. The Tritons averaged 10.5 steals and scored 20.1 points per game off turnovers, nearly nine more than their opponents.

That ability to disrupt opposing offenses helped compensate for the possessions UC San Diego surrendered on the glass.

It also makes Rose and Ma's departures more important than their scoring averages alone suggest. Their 153 steals combined will have to come from somewhere else if the Tritons want to keep playing with the same defensive identity.

That responsibility could be distributed among the returning guards and a large group of newcomers, but it also creates an opportunity for one of last year's youngest Tritons.

Lev Feiman didn't need many minutes to make an impression as a freshman.

The 5-foot-9 guard averaged 6.5 points in only 15.3 minutes per game while shooting 46.8% from the floor, 39.5% from three and 88.5% from the free-throw line. She scored in double figures 10 times, made six starts and earned a spot on the Big West All-Freshman Team.

Now there are significantly more minutes available.

Ma in particular leaves behind a large volume of perimeter attempts. That doesn't necessarily mean Feiman will step directly into her role, but her efficiency as a freshman makes her one of UC San Diego's most intriguing returning players.

She already provided glimpses of what a larger role could look like.

Feiman scored a career-high 20 points at UC Riverside and recorded four steals in that game. She also scored 15 points with four rebounds and four steals in her collegiate debut at Pacific.

The question entering her sophomore season is what those flashes look like with more consistent playing time.

With Condron established inside and Smith and Maxie providing veteran experience on the perimeter, a sophomore jump from Feiman could give UC San Diego another established scoring option without needing to rely immediately on its newcomers.

UC San Diego will look different even with several important pieces returning.

The Tritons bring back six players from last season's championship roster while adding seven newcomers. The group includes transfers Alexandra Cummins, Jite Gbemuotor and Coryn Watts, along with four freshmen.

For now, there is more uncertainty surrounding that group than UC San Diego's returners.

The program has not yet released detailed information explaining how each newcomer fits into VanDerveer's rotation, making it difficult to project roles before the group takes the floor.

What is clear is that opportunities exist.

VanDerveer doesn't necessarily need one newcomer to replace all of it. With four All-Big West honorees already in place, the newcomers may instead determine how deep UC San Diego can become around that core.

“I think will be as good or better than what we have been, which is the goal,” said VanDerveer. “But I can guarantee you, show up and we'll we'll work hard to compete.”

UC San Diego spent years waiting for the chance to prove itself in the Division I postseason.

It didn't waste that opportunity.

Back-to-back Big West Tournament championships and consecutive NCAA Tournament appearances have transformed the conversation surrounding the program. The Tritons aren't an emerging Division I team anymore. They're the defending champions.

That makes 2026-27 less about proving UC San Diego belongs and more about proving its success can last.

How UC San Diego replaces that production from Ma and Rose may determine whether its final trip through the Big West ends the same way its previous two seasons did: with the Tritons playing for something in March.

And then another challenge awaits.

In 2027, UC San Diego will leave the conference where it established itself as a Division I contender and join the WCC.

For now, there is still one Big West season left to play.

Nov. 7 vs. USD — Bill Walton Classic: UC San Diego's full nonconference schedule has yet to be announced, but one local matchup is already set. The Tritons will face the University of San Diego at Pechanga Arena as part of the inaugural National University Bill Walton Classic. It will be the first women's basketball meeting between the programs since UC San Diego transitioned to Division I and offers an early preview of a future WCC matchup. UC San Diego will join USD in the conference beginning in 2027-28. Purchase tickets here.

Dec. 5 vs. UC Irvine: Two days after opening conference play against California Baptist, UC San Diego gets an early matchup with the program that shared last season's regular-season title. The Tritons and Anteaters both finished 17-3 in Big West play last season, making their first meeting (home at LionTree) an immediate test for UC San Diego's title defense. Purchase tickets here.

Feb. 18-27 — four-game road swing: UC San Diego's late-season schedule could provide one of its biggest tests. The Tritons travel to UC Riverside, UC Irvine, Cal Poly and UC Santa Barbara without returning home. With the Big West Tournament approaching, the stretch could test UC San Diego's depth and consistency at a critical point in the season.

March 6 vs. CSUN: Senior Day will carry additional significance this season. Barring a postseason meeting, it will be UC San Diego's final regular-season game as a member of the Big West. After years spent transitioning into Division I and then quickly climbing to the top of the conference, the Tritons will close that chapter at LionTree Arena. Purchase tickets here.

Top photo: Credit to UC San Diego Athletics