Cal Women’s Basketball Signs 2026 Class

The California women’s basketball team added two incoming freshmen to its 2026 class, it was announced by head coach Charmin Smith on Thursday. The class features Ruby Perkins and Zara Russell, both from Australia who are currently playing in the WNBL, the top professional league in the country.

Perkins, a 5-foot-8 guard out of East Killara, Australia, has been a longtime member of Australia’s youth national teams at multiple levels. She most recently played for the U20 NSW (New South Wales) women’s basketball team, considered the state’s top team for athletes under 20. In February, Perkins guided her team to a gold medal at the 2025 Footlocker Under 20 National Championships and was named the tournament MVP after scoring 25 points in the championship game. In July, she also played on the U19 Australian GEMS basketball team at the U19 FIBA Women’s Basketball World Cup, held in the Czech Republic. She helped her team to a silver medal and averaged 4.2 points, 3.7 assists and 2.2 rebounds over the course of the tournament.

"Ruby is a quick guard who plays with tenacity on both ends of the floor,” Smith said. “She does a great job of setting up her teammates for easy buckets and can create opportunities for herself as well. She is a menace on the defensive end of the floor and will pick up 94 feet. I love the competitive energy that she brings every time she steps on the court.”

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Russell, a 6-foot-2 forward from Canberra, Australia, has also played for several Australian youth national teams. She was teammates with Perkins at the 2025 FIBA U19 World Cup where she averaged 7.2 points and shot 60% from 3-point range during the tournament. She tied for the team high with 14 points, including 3-for-3 from deep, in the semifinal win over Canada. As a junior, Russell also played in the NBL1, a semi-professional basketball league in Australia run by the National Basketball League (NBL) and averaged 17.0 points, 2.8 points and 5.0 rebounds per game.

"Zara is an extremely versatile player with great size and athleticism,” Smith said. “Her ability to stretch the floor and score in the paint creates matchup problems for opponents. Zara is also committed to the defensive side of the ball and accepts the challenge of locking people up. I’m excited about adding someone of Zara’s caliber to our circle.”