10/23/2026 | Women's Basketball
TUCSON, Ariz. – Arizona Women's Basketball has added veteran point guard Dionna Gray to the Wildcats' roster for the 2026-27 season, Head Coach Becky Burke announced.
Gray joins Arizona after four seasons at Kent State, where she developed into one of the Mid-American Conference's top facilitators while playing under current Arizona Associate Head Coach Todd Starkey.
The Huntington, West Virginia, native was granted a fifth year of eligibility and brings championship and NCAA Tournament experience to Tucson.
When Dionna was granted a fifth year of eligibility and expressed interest in coming to Arizona, we knew exactly what she could bring to our team," Burke said. "Coach Starkey coached her at Kent State, and I competed against her in the MAC for three years, so we're very familiar with her game. She's a little jitterbug, she has a defensive mindset and she's a veteran who has played a lot of high-level basketball. She's won a MAC championship, played in the NCAA Tournament and brings valuable experience and depth to our backcourt. More than anything, she's a great teammate, a great student and has fit seamlessly into our locker room. We had a very specific type of person in mind who could come in and complement this group, and Dionna has been a perfect fit.
I have known Dionna since seeing her play in her early high school years. She is one of the toughest competitors I've had the honor of coaching throughout my career," Starkey said. "She has played in a lot of big games and brings great experience, and leadership to our young team here at Arizona. We're so excited she's here as a Wildcat! I'm sure the fans will fall in love with her personality and tenacity
Gray helped Kent State capture the 2024 MAC Tournament Championship and advance to the NCAA Tournament. She scored 14 points in the conference title game against Buffalo before adding 12 points and five assists against Notre Dame in the opening round of the NCAA Tournament.
During the 2025-26 season, Gray started all 31 games for the Golden Flashes and averaged 5.6 points, 4.9 assists and 3.9 rebounds per game. She totaled 153 assists, 41 steals and shot 86.7 percent from the free throw line.
Gray posted several career-best performances during her final season at Kent State, including a career-high 23 points and nine rebounds against Ball State and a career-best 12 assists against Ohio. She also recorded 11 assists at Ohio and finished with at least eight assists in five games.
As a junior in 2024-25, Gray started all 28 games she appeared in and averaged 8.5 points, 4.9 assists and 3.8 rebounds per game. Her 4.9 assists per game ranked third in the MAC and marked the highest average by a Kent State player since the 2014-15 season.
Gray scored in double figures 13 times that season, including a then-career-high 20 points against Duquesne, and recorded her first collegiate double-double with 12 points and 10 rebounds in the MAC Tournament quarterfinals against Miami.
Her emergence began during Kent State's 2023-24 championship season. Gray appeared in 31 games and started the final 12, leading the team with 84 assists and a 1.72 assist-to-turnover ratio while averaging 4.9 points, 2.8 assists and 2.4 rebounds per game.
Gray also earned Academic All-MAC honors in 2025.
Prior to Kent State, Gray starred at Huntington High School, earning 2022 Gatorade West Virginia Player of the Year honors. She was also named MSAC Player of the Year and earned first-team all-state and all-conference recognition after averaging 22.0 points, 7.3 assists, 5.8 steals and 5.1 rebounds per game during her senior season.
Gray adds another experienced ball-handler to an Arizona backcourt built around depth, defensive pressure and positional versatility entering Burke's second season in Tucson.
Follow @ArizonaWBB on social media for the latest news and updates throughout the 2026-27 season.
