Temple adds NJCAA All-American Paige Benton to 2026-27 roster

Temple added one of the country’s most accomplished junior-college guards to its 2026-27 roster, bringing in Paige Benton as the newest member of Diane Richardson’s six-player recruiting class. Benton, a 5-foot-9 guard and NJCAA Division I First Team All-American, gives the Owls a player whose value goes beyond the honor attached to her name.

The fit at Temple is about translation as much as acclaim. Benton’s sophomore season at Gulf Coast State showed a guard who could carry possession load without becoming one-dimensional, averaging 16.8 points, 6.0 rebounds, 3.3 assists and 2.3 steals per game. That stat line points to a lead guard who can initiate offense, finish it, and still influence games on the defensive end. For a Temple team trying to shape a new identity under Richardson, that matters as much as the headline recognition.

Benton joined a roster that already had six returnees from last season, including backcourt starters Kaylah Turner and Tristen Taylor and top rebounder Saniyah Craig. That balance gives Richardson options in the backcourt, but Benton’s résumé suggests she can push for a larger role than a typical transfer add. She arrives with two seasons of junior-college experience and a record of producing in games that carried real weight, which is the kind of background that can shorten the adjustment period in a new system.

Her Gulf Coast State run came with team success behind it. The Commodores beat Chipola College 70-45 on March 15 to win the FCSAA Division I women’s championship at Raider Arena in Niceville, Florida, securing the 14th FCSAA title in school history and the most in FCSAA history. Gulf Coast State finished its 2025-26 season 22-8 and averaged 83.4 points per game, evidence of a program that played at a high offensive level and kept winning deep into March.

That postseason pedigree matters for Temple because Benton is not being added simply as a decorated scorer. The NJCAA says its Division I women’s basketball All-America teams are selected by the NJCAA Division I Women’s Basketball Committee, underscoring the significance of the honor Benton earned. Temple’s roster move came during an offseason in which NCAA eligibility-rule changes altered roster projections across the sport, and Benton looks like the type of proven piece that can steady that uncertainty. She projects as more than a backcourt addition. She looks like a player Temple can build around.