No. 9 Women's Golf Sweeps WCC Major Awards; Five Waves Receive All-WCC Honors
4/30/2026 10:00:00 AM | Women's Golf
SAN BRUNO, Calif. — No. 9 Pepperdine women's golf swept the West Coast Conference (WCC) major postseason awards, with five Waves recognized in total with all-conference honors, announced today by the conference.
Eunseo Choi was named WCC Player of the Year, Kylee Choi claimed WCC Freshman of the Year and Laurie Gibbs earned WCC Coach of the Year.
In addition, Eunseo Choi, Kylee Choi, Jeneath Wong and Yingzhi Zhu were named to the WCC All-Conference Team, while Grace Anderson earned All-Conference honorable mention.
Gibbs received WCC Coach of the Year for the 17th time in her career after leading the Waves to their 22nd WCC Championship under her watch. Gibbs guided Pepperdine to another championship-caliber season in 2025-26, highlighted by team victories at the Fresno State Classic, Yale Invitational West and the WCC Championship. In her 33rd season, Gibbs also led the Waves to runner-up finishes at the Golfweek Red Sky Classic and Bruin Wave Invitational, a fourth-place showing at the Stanford Intercollegiate and a fifth-place finish at the Betsy Rawls Longhorn Invitational against some of the nation's toughest competition. Under her leadership, Pepperdine rose to No. 9 nationally this season after being ranked outside the top-25 entering the fall. Alongside another championship season, Gibbs also reached a historic milestone in her career by surpassing 3,000 all-time victories.
Eunseo Choi put together one of the nation's top sophomore campaigns in 2025-26, emerging as the WCC Player of the Year after building on her WCC Freshman of the Year debut season in 2025. Her 2026 season included multiple individual victories, WCC Golfer of the Month honors in March and a record-breaking performance at the WCC Championship on her way to Medalist honors. Choi opened the season with a top-10 finish at the ANNIKA Intercollegiate and added top-10 performances at the Golfweek Red Sky Classic, Bruin Wave Invitational and Yale Invitational West while securing her second career collegiate victory at the Fresno State Classic in March. At the WCC Championship this past week, Choi shot -9 for the tournament, setting a new conference record for low score at the championship. Winning the individual title by eight strokes, Choi helped the Waves secure its 22nd WCC Championship in program history. Choi currently sits at No. 25 in the Scoreboard individual rankings and has now earned WCC All-Conference Team recognition in consecutive seasons.
Kylee Choi burst onto the collegiate scene on her way to earning WCC Freshman of the Year, posting one of the most impressive debut seasons in program history. Choi consistently posted top-5 finishes against the nation's top competition, placing in the top-5 in six of her nine collegiate tournaments in 2025-26. An ANNIKA Award Watch List and All-WCC Preseason Team selection, Choi recorded third-place finishes at the Golfweek Red Sky Classic and Bruin Wave Invitational, fourth-place finishes at the Fresno State Classic and Betsy Rawls Longhorn Invitational, and a fifth-place showing at the Stanford Intercollegiate. She most recently added to her standout freshman campaign as the low freshman at the WCC Championship, placing fifth overall at +1, helping the Waves earn the team title. Choi currently sits at No. 24 in the Scoreboard individual rankings.
Jeneath Wong received her fourth straight All-WCC selection in her senior collegiate campaign. An All-WCC Preseason Team selection, Wong delivered another steady and impactful season for the Waves in 2025-26, consistently contributing to Pepperdine's championship success in the lineup. Wong opened the year with a top-10 finish at the Golfweek Red Sky Classic and added strong performances throughout the season, including runner-up honors at the Fresno State Classic as Pepperdine captured the team title. She went on to place sixth at the Yale Invitational West to help Pepperdine secure another team victory, and was 11th at the Bruin Wave Invitational. Wong recently played 14th at the Betsy Rawls Longhorn Invitational and 16th at the WCC Championship, winning her third conference title as a member of the Waves. Wong, a former WCC Player of the Year in 2024, is currently ranked No. 64 in the Scoreboard individual rankings.
Yingzhi Zhu earns her first career All-WCC recognition as a senior after posting a pair of career-best top-five finishes as a consistent member of Pepperdine's lineup. Zhu placed third at the Fresno State Classic to help the Waves secure the tournament title, then followed with a career-best runner-up finish at Yale Invitational West after shooting 6-under (70-71-69) to lead Pepperdine to another team victory. She also recorded a 22nd-place finish at the Bruin Wave Invitational and added a 16th-place showing at the WCC Championship, where her steady play helped Pepperdine secure another conference title.
Grace Anderson earns All-WCC honorable mention, marking postseason recognition for all five Waves in their championship-winning lineup. Anderson opened the year with a 12th-place finish at the Golfweek Red Sky Classic and added a 30th-place showing at the Stanford Intercollegiate in the fall. In the spring, she went on to contribute a 21st-place finish at the Fresno State Classic and a 30th-place result at Yale Invitational West as the Waves claimed team titles at both events. She then posted a season-best seventh-place finish at the WCC Championship at 3-over (71-75-73), scoring in every round to help Pepperdine secure the conference crown.
2026 West Coast Conference Women's Golf Major Awards
Player of the Year: Eunseo Choi, Pepperdine
Freshman of the Year: Kylee Choi, Pepperdine
Coach of the Year: Laurie Gibbs, Pepperdine
2026 All-West Coast Conference Women's Golf Team
Eunseo Choi, Pepperdine, So.
Kylee Choi, Pepperdine, Fr.
Kelsey Kim, Santa Clara, Jr.
Grace Lee, Gonzaga, Sr.
Kyra Ly, Oregon State, Sr.
Raya Nakao, Oregon State, Jr.
Kate Nakaoka, Oregon State, Fr.
Eva Pett, San Francisco, Sr.
Jeneath Wong, Pepperdine, Sr.
Yingzhi Zhu, Pepperdine, Sr.
West Coast Conference Honorable Mention Selections
Grace Anderson, Pepperdine, So.
Kaitlyn Helm, Washington State, Fr.
Alexa Pineda, Santa Clara, So.
Sofia Valera, Augusta, Fr.
The Waves are set for the Stanford NCAA Regional next, held May 11-13 from Stanford Golf Course.
ABOUT PEPPERDINE WOMEN'S GOLF
Pepperdine women's golf has consistently been one of the top collegiate programs in the country under head coach Laurie Gibbs, exemplified by the current streak of 27 straight seasons with an NCAA Regional appearance. Having advanced to the NCAA Championships on 14 of those occasions, the Waves also boast 22 WCC Championships since 1998. Since the year 2000, 15 athletes have garnered All-American honors with a total of 31 selections.
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ABOUT SVN2 INDOOR GOLF
The Pepperdine women's golf 2025-26 season is sponsored by SVN2 Golf. SVN2 Golf is a Southern California based premium indoor golf simulation experience that uses advanced TrackMan technology to provide realistic gameplay, instant swing feedback, and practice tools for golfers of all levels. The facility offers a high-tech, immersive experience with a wide variety of legendary and exclusive courses, a relaxed, self-service environment, and opportunities for leagues and events. Facilities in Newbury Park and Malibu were joined in 2025 by new venues in Woodland Hills and Santa Clarita. For more information, visit www.svn2golf.com.
Players Mentioned
