The additions continue to roll in for the Cal Poly Humboldt women’s basketball team this offseason, with the ‘Jacks having added 11 players to the program since their season ended in early March.
Humboldt went just 9-19 (five games back of a CCAA Tournament appearance) this past season with the ‘Jacks offense ranking 11th of 12 teams in the CCAA. The ‘Jacks began the recruiting season by landing guards Sienna Cherwin, Shade Satica and Kya Kanoho, but Humboldt didn’t stop there.
Since then, head coach Michelle Bento-Jackson and the ‘Jacks have added eight more new ‘Jacks, including freshman forward Chesah Holmes out of Burlington-Edison High School in Burlington, Washington. Holmes stands at 6’0”, giving the ‘Jacks some size in the frontcourt. Humboldt brought in guard Jaden Hill-Massarotti as a junior college transfer from Rio Hondo College in Los Angeles. Hill-Massarotti led Rio Hondo in scoring despite coming off the bench for over half the games in her sophomore season, with Hill-Massarotti averaging 16.15 points per game and was tied for the team-high with 2.8 steals.
Forward Jordyn Smith will join the ‘Jacks out of Tualatin High School in Tualatin, Oregon. Smith is a 6’2” forward who helped lead the Timberwolves to a 26-2 season and a Division 6A state championship. Cal Poly Humboldt added a pair of junior college transfer forwards, with Alyssa Dressen and Kierra Bennett.
Dressen comes to Humboldt from Orange Coast College, where she averaged 12.79 points per game as a sophomore. Dressen is 6’1”, giving Humboldt some more length and is an experienced winner, as Orange Coast College won the CCCAA state championship in 2024. Bennett spent the past two seasons with Umpqua Community College up in Oregon, serving as a floor-stretching 5’11” forward for the Hawks. Bennett averaged 8.5 points as a sophomore and shot 32.4% from three on 4.5 attempts per game this past season.
Guard Leamsi Acuna also has committed to Humboldt after playing at Cochise College in Arizona as a freshman and Eastern Wyoming College in Wyoming this past season as a sophomore. Acuna averaged 9.0 points per game this past season, shooting 34.3% from the field and 31.2% from three with 2.8 assists per game.
The ‘Jacks picked up a pair of incoming freshmen guards with Jada Barnes and Keana Gosney. Barnes comes from Garfield High School in Los Angeles, where she helped guide the Bulldogs to a 23-6 record and captured her third-straight team MVP. Gosney comes to the ‘Jacks from Central Valley High School in Spokane Valley, Washington as Central Valley went a perfect 27-0 on the season en route to a 3A WIAA 2025 Girls Basketball Hardwood Classic championship with Gosney earning second team All-League honors.
There’s still plenty of summer left for new additions to the team for Humboldt but we’ll have to see how early the new recruits will get on the court with the ‘Jacks looking for their first season above .500 since the 2019-2020 season where they went 15-13.