INDIANAPOLIS—The Great Midwest Athletic Conference released the Women’s Basketball Preseason Coaches Poll presented by Under Armour, Thursday afternoon. The reigning Great Midwest and National Champions Ashland University claimed the top spot, as voted by the league’s coaches.
 
Ashland received 13 first-place votes and totaled 183 points. Kentucky Wesleyan, the second-place favorite, earned 161 points. Trevecca is voted to finish third with 152 votes, including one first-place vote.
 
Ashland won back-to-back regular season and conference tournament champions with a perfect 20-0 G-MAC record. The Eagles then went on to finish the season as Division II National Champions with a perfect mark of 37-0. Annie Roshak returns for coach Kari Pickens after a historic season for the North Canton, Ohio native. Roshak was named the 2022-23 Great Midwest Player of the Year after averaging 14.6 points, 5.9 rebounds per game, and posting the nation’s third-best field goal percentage at 63.0 . She then went on to earn the D-II Elite Eight Most Outstanding Player and several All-American recognitions. In addition to Annie Roshak, Kari Pickens returns a depth of talent including Hayley Smith, Zoe Miller, and Savaya Brockington, three all-conference selections. Smith joined Roshak as a first-team selection last season, averaging 11.3 points and 6.7 rebounds per game.
 
Voted to finish in second place are the Panthers from Kentucky Wesleyan. KWC will miss Tahlia Walton and Cali Nolot, two first-team selections, but return junior Shiya Hoosier who earned a spot on the all-defensive team. Hoosier started all 30 games for the Panthers and averaged 9.5 points and 3.3 rebounds per game.
 
Last year’s conference runner-up, Trevecca Nazarene University, will look to build on last year’s success under the reigning G-MAC Coach of the Year Karen Booker. First-Team All-Conference honoree Keeley Carter returns for Booker after averaging 17.7 points per game and starting all 24 games for the Trojans. Carter led the Trojans to their first NCAA Division II tournament appearance in program history.
 
Northwood is slotted at the fourth place spot with Malone and newcomer Thomas More rounding out the top five. The Timberwolves finished the 2022-23 year with a conference record of 11-9 and earned a spot in the Great Midwest Tournament.
 
The Pioneers return Freshman of the Year in Erin Kaufman, who played and started in all 31 games during her college debut. Kaufamn averaged 11.6 points and 6.7 rebounds last season.
 
Newcomer Thomas More shares the fifth-place spot with Malone in their first year competing in the Great Midwest. The Saints finished 31-4 last season and made a run to the NAIA National Championship before falling to Seed Clarke University in the finals.
 
Ursuline was polled seventh with 111 points followed by Hillsdale in eighth, Walsh in ninth, and Cedarville in 10^th.
 
Findlay, Tiffin, Lake Erie, and Ohio Dominican round out the preseason poll, respectively.
 
The 2023-24 season is slated to start on November 10^th with 12 teams competing in non-conference matchups.