This feature originally appeared in the 2025-26 Winter edition of the Cal Sports Quarterly. The Cal Athletics flagship magazine features long-form sports journalism at its finest and provides in-depth coverage of the scholar-athlete experience in Berkeley. 




To open the 2025-26 season, the California women's basketball team was invited to participate in the prestigious Oui-Play event in Paris against Vanderbilt. In its third year, the Oui-Play event is one of the premier women's basketball showcases in the sport. Started in 2023 and founded by Complete Sports Management -  an agency that creates and manages global sporting events -  Oui-Play Paris annually features some of the top programs in the country.

Oui-Play is the brainchild of CSM CEO Lea Miller-Tooley. As a child, her first passport stamp was in Paris and she thought it was the perfect setting to expand the global footprint of the sport.

"Personally, I know the culture, the fashion, the nightlife, the food -  everything about it was appealing," Tooley said. "And I knew would be appealing to women. We have the biggest players in Paris involved with making sure the experience is first class, and it's just been a dream come true."

As the event has grown, various organizations such as the U.S. Embassy, the city of Paris tourism bureau and the American Friends of the Louvre have been brought in to add to the experience. This year's event featured a private tour of the Louvre, a boat dinner on the Seine River and a visit to the U.S. Ambassador's house.

Tooley met Cal head coach Charmin Smith at a USA Basketball event in Denver when Smith was a court coach for the women's U18 national team. After meeting Smith, Tooley knew that Cal had to be one of the four teams invited to this year's Oui-Play.

"I just thought she was amazing," Tooley said. "Her tenure as a player and now as a coach, I just loved her drive and her personality. I'm super bullish on her career, and so I just thought she would be someone who would really embrace and take advantage of the opportunity with her players.

When Smith was approached with the invitation, she didn't hesitate to accept - knowing what kind of impact the event could have not only for the players but also the program as a whole.

"We had a Cal alum meetup in Paris with a lot of Paris alums who were living out there who hadn't had any interactions with Cal Athletics prior to this, since their graduation," Smith said. "So that was a good activation point with them. And in recruiting, we're speaking to the fact that we are now one of the teams that's in that conversation when you talk about the premier events for our sport, and it's definitely where we want to be."

To prepare for French culture, some of the players participated in various activities in October - including learning basic French phrases from Lina Scally, a Ph.D. student in UC Berkeley's French department, and Mary-Ambre Moluh, a Cal swimmer who also competed for France in the Paris Olympics. They also tried some exotic French cuisine from Matthew Dolan, an award winning chef and owner of restaurant 25 Luck in San Francisco.

After arriving in Paris on the first day of the trip, the team and staff were invited to the Louvre for a guided tour that highlighted some of the museum's most notable works of art, including the Winged Victory of Samothrace statue and, of course, the Mona Lisa. For freshman guard Grace McCallop, who is a self-described art fan, it was the part of the trip that excited her the most.

"I was most excited to see the Mona Lisa because I remember learning about it and recreating it as a child, so being able to see the original was an unreal experience," McCallop said. "Walking through the museum was amazing. The art was breathtaking, and I was left shocked and ready to see more because there were so many creative pieces we saw and rooms with these super tall ceilings we walked through with paintings and gold arches that were just so cool to see."

Another highlight of the trip was a dinner cruise on the Seine River  in which all four teams invited to the event attended. It provided perhaps the most picturesque photo opportunity of the entire trip as the boat passed directly next to the famed Eiffel Tower when it puts on its light show that happens at the top of every hour in the evening. After everybody had a chance to eat dinner and take photos from the top deck of the boat, all four head coaches addressed the attendees.

"Women's basketball is the place to be right now," Smith told the crowd. "I'm just honored to be a head coach of a women's basketball team right now with where our sport is headed. I'm so proud of our women who represent the University of California, Berkeley."

In addition to having friends, family and local Cal alums interact with the team at various points during the trip, there were also some surprise visits from former program alumni who were playing professionally overseas. Leilani McInstosh ('24), who plays in Turkey, and Michelle Onyiah ('25) who plays in Belgium, both flew to Paris to be with the team. Both were part of the last international trip the team went on when it visited Spain and Croatia in the summer of 2022. McIntosh recalled how a trip like that can bring a team together.

"I feel international trips are very needed for teams," McIntosh said. "It's an amazing bonding experience where you are put in a situation of unknown and have to stick together and get to know one another in order to enjoy an experience. Being in a foreign country is difficult to get around, but it also forces you to get outside of your comfort zone and connect with those around you. Connection is one of the strongest things for a team to be successful. Everyone needs to be on the same page, and with an international trip like that, there is no better way to connect and build relationships with your teammates."

As for the game itself, Cal put up a strong effort against then-No. 19 Vanderbilt, building a nine-point lead in the first half but ultimately falling 74-65. Despite the loss, the experience will certainly be something this team will remember for the rest of their lives.

"Being able to explore these different cultures and do a bunch of activities for the first time in my life leaves a certain bond and chemistry with people that translate to strong relationships on and off the court," McIntosh said.