FULLERTON, Calif. - Cal State Fullerton women's basketball head coach John Bonner announced the signings of seven new players for the upcoming 2025-26 season.

With just three players remaining from last season's roster, the Titans new head coach has been busy building up the roster for the new season.  Coach Bonner is bringing with him three players from his NCAA Division 2 Cal State Dominguez Hills championship runner up team. He is also adding two new freshman signings along with two more student-athletes from the transfer portal.

"I am very excited about the group that we are bringing in this season. We wanted to be intentional about finding players that would be integral in helping to establish the culture that we want to have here at Cal State Fullerton. Each of these players foster the passion for excellence in all that they do, while also understanding the importance of cultivating a family environment as a means to success," said Bonner.

Joe'l Benoit
Guard/Forward | Sacramento, Calif. | CSU Dominguez Hills

Joe'l comes to the Titans after a three-year career with the Toros.  She has played in 94 games, making 58 career starts over three seasons.  She averaged 5.9 points per game and scored 552 career points with the Toros

"Jojo brings a lot of fire and passion to every team that she has been a part of. She is a proven winner that understands how to cultivate a team atmosphere that is competitive, supportive, and fun. She brings energy to every part of a team and will heavily contribute to establishing our overall team culture." said head coach John Bonner.



Cristina Jones
Forward | Long Beach, Calif. | CSU Dominguez Hills

Cristina comes to the Titans after a memorable freshman campaign last season with the Toros.  She started in 25 of the 26 games she played and was fourth on the team in scoring and second on the team in rebounding. She scored 301 points and averaged 11.6 points per game.  She also hauled in 172 rebounds and averaged 6.6 boards per game.She shot 51.7% from the floor and scored 120 baskets.  She was named the CCAA Freshman of the Year and was the fourth Toro in program history to receive that honor.

"CJ epitomizes the type of player that we are looking for here at Fullerton. She is an excellent student and an even better teammate. She puts others needs before her own and pours positivity into her teammates. She is incredibly athletic and has great versatility on both ends of the floor. She is relentless on the defensive end of the floor and can guard every position.  She had an incredible freshman year at CSU Dominguez Hills and we look forward to her continuing to develop her skills and having an impact with our program here at Cal State Fullerton." said head coach John Bonner



Nyemah King
Guard/Forward | Long Beach, Calif. | Lakewood High School

Nyemah comes to the Titans after a prolific four-year career at Lakewood High School.  She ws named the Lakewood Youth Hall of Female Athletic of the Year.  She was named to the All-CIF Southern Section team her junior and senior year.  She was named the Moore League Girl's Basketball Player of the Year and the Century Club Girl's Athlete of the Year.  She was also named the Press Telegram's Girl's Athlete of the Year.  She departs Lakewood High School as the school's all-time leading scorer after leading them to their first CIF Championship game in program history.   She was originally signed to play for Coach Bonner at CSU Dominguez Hills before his switch to Cal State Fullerton.  

"Nyemah is going to be great for our culture here at Fullerton. She has a winning mindset and has only scraped the surface her potential. She has extraordinary athleticism and the potential to become a very tough player in the Big West Conference" said head coach John Bonner.



Talia Maxwell
Guard/Forward | Fresno, Calif. | Stanislaus State

Talia comes to the Titans after playing two seasons at Stanislaus State.  She started in 24 games of the 39 she played for the Warriors.  Before going down with a season ending injury in her sophomore year she was averaging 16.7 points along with 7.3 rebounds per game. She was named the CCAA player of the week during the second season of the week last season after scoring a career high 26 points against Fresno Pacific.  She has scored 302 points, totaled 182 rebounds, and has 31 career blocks so far in her career.  She is her high school's all time leader in points, rebounds, and blocks at Central East High School.  She won the Division 2  State Player of the Year and the 2023 CIF Division 2 State Championship.

"We are really glad that Talia has decided to be a part of our Titan Family. She is a versatile scorer that has the potential to create multiple match-up problems on the offensive side of the ball. She is a very nurturing player that sows into her teammates, so that they are able to be the best version of themselves. I can't wait to see how Talia actualizes her potential this season!" said head coach John Bonner.



Kya Pearson
Guard | Oakland, Calif. | CSU Dominguez Hills

Kya comes to  the Titans with a wealth of experience after playing at CSU Dominguez Hills, Alaska Anchorage, and Laney Community College.  She made 21 starts last year after playing in 25 games for the Toros.  She scored 146 points and averaged 5.8 points per game.  She also had 52 assists and averaged 2.1 assists per game and also had 52 steals. She was second on the team with 11 points in the NCAA Division 2 Championship game against Grand Valley State.  Prior to CSUDH she spent one season at Alaska Anchorage where she averaged 5.2 points per game along with 1.5 steals per game.  She started her collegiate career at Laney Community College where she was the Bay View Conference MVP and named to the CCCAA All-State First Team.

"KP is an incredible human being, who also happens to be pretty good at basketball. She has won at every school she has been at and I am grateful to get another year to coach her. She is a passionate player that puts the team first in all that she does. She is also a defensive nuisance that makes big plays to effect the outcome of basketball games. I'm most excited about her ability to help our program establish the culture we need as well as provide her teammates with extreme confidence along the way." said head coach John Bonner



Lilliana Petersen
Forward | Omaha, Nebraska | Cloud County Community College

Lilliana comes to the Titans after playing one season at Cloud County Community College.  She scored 255 points for the season and averaged 8.8 points for the Thunderbirds.  She also averaged 4.3 rebounds per game. She shot 28% from beyond the arc (33-for-118) and 41.6% from the floor.

"Lilliana is going to provide our team with an inside outside presence of the offensive end of the floor. She has the potential to make it tough for defenses as she is crafty around the basket and has the ability to knock down the open 3pt. She comes from a good family and is all in when it comes to team and family. I cant wait to coach Lilli on the floor this season!" said head coach John Bonner



Basak Orhan
Guard/Forward | Ankara, Turkey | TED Ankara Kolejliler Spor Club

Basak comes to the Titans as a freshman who represented the Turkish Youth National Team and also played for the TED Ankara Kolejliler Spor Club.  She represented Turkey at the U-16 and U-18 levels. She was part of the original freshman signing class under the previous coaching staff.



The Titans will have a very young team sprinkled in with some experience as ten of the student-athletes are underclassmen. These seven new student-athletes are in addition to the four incoming freshman signings previously announced in Dylan Swindle, Maxine Sutisna, Nicole Steiner, and Mariah Moon.  The Titans have returned just three players from last year's roster who were all freshman in Maddy Tauro, Jana Falsdottir, and Madelynn Muniz.

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