Pepperdine Women’s Basketball, like most of the spring sports at Pepperdine, is in a transitional period. Head Coach Katie Faulkner finished her first season at the helm with an 8-22 regular season record.
The team she inherited was filled with older players; out of the 10 rostered players, eight were either seniors or graduate students. The Waves ended the regular season with a 10-game losing streak and a first-round exit at the WCC Basketball Championship.
Despite the down year, freshman guard Chloe Sotell led the team in multiple categories: points scored, points per game average, assists and steals, according to Pepperdine Athletics.
Sotell grew up in a basketball family in Stamford, Connecticut; her dad previously played college basketball, and her brother, Lukas, currently plays college basketball at the University of Maryland. From a young age, Sotell would play basketball with her brother in the driveway.
Sotell grew up playing a variety of different sports but chose basketball because of how competitive it is.
“I remember one time we were playing in the driveway, and [Lukas] elbowed me, and I thought I was having a heart attack because it was like a heartburn,” Sotell said. “And then I was just getting yelled at for being dramatic… by my dad.”
Sotell and her family moved to Florida and transferred to Montverde Academy, where she continued playing basketball. Sotell said moving to Florida and playing basketball at Montverde is when she started taking basketball seriously, wanting to play basketball at the highest level. Throughout her life, Sotell had many influences that pushed her to play, such as coaches and her dad.
“I think my dad always kind of just pushed me in all aspects, like, even if I had a good game he was like, ‘You could still do this better,’” Sotell said. “It was always just kind of tough love, but I think that’s pushed me to want to be better and just become the best player I can be.”
Following high school, Sotell chose to come to Pepperdine. The Waves were at the beginning of a turnaround. Director of Athletics Tanner Gardner was in the first year of his new job and brought in a new head coach, Faulkner, to rebuild a team that had finished the previous season 5-25.
Sotell noted Pepperdine’s beautiful campus as a motivating factor but said she was buying into the rebuild process. She believes Faulkner’s rebuild vision is powerful, and she’s excited to be a part of it.
Sotell started as early as her first regular season matchup against California State University, Fullerton. The freshman guard scored double digits as early as her second collegiate matchup.
Sotell became a regular starter for the Waves, starting in 26 out of Pepperdine’s 30 games this past season, third amongst all the players on the team. Throughout those 30 games played, Sotell scored a total of 319 points, averaging 10.6 points per game and leading her team in both categories, according to Pepperdine Athletics.
At the end of the Waves’ regular season, Sotell was named to the West Coast Conference All-Freshman team, according to Pepperdine Athletics.
Sotell frequented the top of the stat sheet, but Gardner pointed out her confidence on the court, a trait that goes beyond the numbers.
“I think Chloe’s a gamer,” Gardner said. “If you watch her on the floor, she’s the type of player who wants the ball. She wants the ball in the big moment. She’s not afraid to shoot; she has a lot of confidence and boldness. Those are the types of players that you want on your team.”
Sotell is the only player from the 2024-25 active roster returning to the team. Faulkner identified Sotell as a key part of the rebuild, bringing in freshmen to help build a team around her “that wants it like she does,” according to Faulkner.
“Our first value as a program is compete, which is pursue excellence in all things, and that’s on the court, off the court,” Faulkner said. “I think [Sotell] showed that, especially when the lights came on.”
__________________
Follow the Graphic on X: @PeppGraphic
Email Nick Charkhedian: nareg.charkhedian@pepperdine.edu
