SUWANEE, GA -- In preseason voting conducted by the league's head coaches, Texas Lutheran University has been selected as the favorite to capture the 2025-26 Southern Collegiate Athletic Conference women's basketball championship.

The Bulldogs (24-5 overall; 14-2 SCAC), who earned their third SCAC Tournament title last season, garnered seven first-place votes to top the coaches' poll with 117 points. TLU is coming off its best season in program history, setting a single season record for both overall wins and conference victories. The Bulldogs picked up their first NCAA Tournament win in program history and earned the SCAC Gold Division Co-Championship in addition to the conference tournament title. Texas Lutheran head coach Troy Patterson returns four of his five All-SCAC honorees from last season in seniors Lauren Sansano, Sarahi Jones, Andelina Sotelo and sophomore Zaria Solis. That quartet combined for 70 starts a year ago and averaged 39.4 points and 19.4 rebounds per game amongst the four. 

Coach Patterson enters his fifth season as the head coach of the TLU Women's Basketball program and ninth on the Bulldog coaching staff. Patterson has compiled a 74-32 record in four seasons, including 49-15 in SCAC play, and is one of two Bulldog head coaches with multiple 20-win seasons.

Colorado College (23-4 overall; 15-1 SCAC), who is coming off its first NCAA Tournament appearance since 1990 behind a single season program record for wins, earned four first-place votes and finished second in the poll with 110 points. The CC Tigers, last season's SCAC Blue Division Champions, return two-time All SCAC performer senior Kayla Mackel. Last season, Mackel averaged 14.5 points and 4.4 rebounds per contest and is the league's leading returning three-point shooter, finishing third last season with 70 made threes. Katherine Auguste returns for her 10th season as the head coach of the Tigers. Last season she became the all-time winningest coach in program history and enters the 2025-26 campaign with 123 career victories. Auguste is sixth all-time in SCAC history with 83 career league wins and her .619 career conference winning percentage ranks ninth all-time.  

University of St. Thomas (14-10 overall; 12-4 SCAC) checks in at third in the preseason poll with 100 points. Following a season that saw the Celts return to the SCAC Tournament for the first time since 2023 and secure its most wins since the 2019-20 campaign, the Celts return a quartet of All-SCAC performers from last year's team, highlighted by Third Team selection, senior guard Amyia Bowie. Last year, Bowie led the SCAC in both assists (94) and steals (53) in conference play and averaged 8.1 points and 5.3 rebounds per game. St. Thomas will be led by third year head coach Mansa El-Ward who has posted a 17-15 record in conference play her first two seasons.

McMurry University (23-6 overall; 14-2 SCAC) earned the final first-place vote and came in fourth in the preseason balloting with 91 total points. The War Hawks are coming off an NCAA Tournament Sweet 16 run, and a share of the SCAC Gold Division Crown. McMurry returns a trio of seniors that all earned Honorable Mention All-SCAC honors last season in Helena Chadwick, Aryana Cleveland and Jordan Bravo. They combined to average 23.1 points per contest a season ago, and their leadership will be relied on as the War Hawks welcome new head coach Laura Lange in 2025-26.

Concordia University (TX) (13-12 overall; 8-8) rounds out the top five in the league's preseason poll, sitting in fifth with 77 points. The Tornados will usher in a new era with the head coaching hire of former standout Brianna Marstaller. Marstaller will rely on trio of Honorable Mention All-SCAC honorees from a season ago in senior Kiki Gonzales, junior Taysie Trejo and sophomore Katelyn Tietjen. Last season, Concordia paced the SCAC in free throw percentage, converting on 76.9 percent, led by Tietjen who shot a league-best 88.5 percent from the line.

Austin College (9-15 overall; 7-9 SCAC) was the coaches' sixth selection in the preseason poll, checking in with 62 points. The 'Roos welcome home former standout Oliva Hunt, who steps into the head coaching role in 2025-26. Coach Hunt will lean on a pair of returning Honorable Mention All-SCAC honorees from a year ago in senior Brooklyn Matthews and junior Lexi Martin. Matthews led Austin College in 2024-25, grabbing 7.6 rebounds per game, while Martin was the team's leading scorer, averaging 11.3 points per contest.

University of the Ozarks (13-13 overall; 7-9 SCAC) is slated to finish seventh in the preseason rankings with 60 points, while Schreiner University (6-19 overall; 4-12 SCAC) was tabbed to finish eighth with 52 points. The Eagles, coming off an SCAC Tournament appearance last season, open a new era this year with the hiring of head coach Seth McDowell, while the Mountaineers will lean on two-time All-SCAC Honorable Mention performer, senior guard Brie Sosa, who averaged 13.9 points per game last season.

Hendrix College (9-17 overall), which returns to the SCAC since departing following the 2011-12 season, secured ninth in the coaches' poll with 42 points. SCAC debutant LeTourneau University (9-18 overall) was selected 10th with 38 points.

Rounding out the preseason standings is the University of Dallas (3-22 overall; 2-14 SCAC) in 11th with 29 points and Centenary College (2-22 overall; 1-15 SCAC) in 12th with 14 points. The Crusaders will be in their second year under head coach Ty Adams, while the Ladies will have a new look, welcoming in first-year head coach Rennie Bailey.

The top six teams in the conference will qualify for the SCAC Women's Basketball Tournament, which will be held February 27 through March 1 and hosted by Hendrix College in Conway, Arkansas. The winner of that event will earn the league's automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament.

The 2025-26 season begins on Friday, November 7. SCAC Men's and Women's Basketball Media Days kicks off on Monday, October 27th, so be sure to check out scacsports.com for interviews with all of your favorite SCAC squads. 
 

2025-26 SCAC Women's Basketball Preseason Coaches' Poll (first-place votes in parentheses, followed by total points)
1.	Texas Lutheran University (7)	117
2.	Colorado College (4)	110
3.	University of St. Thomas	100
4.	McMurry University (1)	91
5.	Concordia University (Texas)	77
6.	Austin College	62
7.	University of the Ozarks	60
8.	Schreiner University	52
9.	Hendrix College	42
10.	LeTourneau University	38
11.	University of Dallas	29
12.	Centenary College	14