Flying Under the Radar: Women's Basketball Aims High After No. 6 Spot in RRAC Preseason Poll

WACO, Texas – LSU Shreveport is the frontrunner again as the Pilots were selected first in the 2025-26 RRAC Women's Basketball Preseason Poll. LSUS received seven first-place votes and Xavier received two while finishing second followed by LSU Alexandria in third.

LSUS has only lost one conference game in the last two seasons including regular season. They return two of their top scorers Paula Gonzalez (11.4 points per game) and Selma Markisic (12.3 ppg). The Pilots, coached by Tim Hays, will add several transfers including Toni Coleman of Clackamas Community College, Katie Ambrose of Ave Maria University (Fla.) and Ally Fleenor of the University of Virginia-Wise.

Despite losing its starting lineup and its seven top scorers from last year, Xavier is expected to fill the gaps with returners Shania Swan and Jala Williams as well as newcomers Reina Alamillo from Mira Costa Junior college, Alicia Blanton from the University of Louisiana-Lafayette and freshman Taylor Harris. The Gold Nuggets will also have former LSUS guard Tiarra Tillison on the roster.

LSUA, which came within eight seconds of defeating LSUS in the RRAC tournament championship game last year, was selected third in the poll. The Generals lost several key players from that team, but they return junior center Justin Young and added Louisiana Christian University transfers Princis Goff and McKayla Price.

Texas A&M-San Antonio, which is competing in its second season as a program, finished fourth in the voting followed by Louisiana Christian and Texas A&M-Texarkana.

There are a total of 12 teams competing for the RRAC title this season with the addition of the University of North Texas-Dallas.

The RRAC Women's Basketball Tournament will have an altered format this year for the eight qualifiers. The top four seeds will host first round games with the winners of those games advancing to the semifinals and championship game to be held in Alexandria, La.

Voting was conducted by the conference's head coaches. Results of the poll are shown below with points calculated through a 12-11-10-9-8-7-6-5-4-3-2-1 format with first-place votes appearing in parentheses.

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The Eagles return All-Conference Honorable Mention selection Chi'onne Dailey, who averaged 12.6 points, 3.1 rebounds, and 3.1 assists per game last season. Chioma Treasure Emeh also returns for the Eagles after averaging 6.1 points per game and shooting 43.4% from the field. Evelyn Terrazas Alcantar rounds out the top returners, having connected on 35% of her shots from beyond the arc during the 2024 season.

TAMUT will look to replace a key piece of its offense following the graduation of Kayla Williams, who left her mark on the program as the all-time leader in scoring, free throws made, and rebounds in just two seasons. Williams averaged 14.8 points and 9.4 rebounds per game while shooting 47.4% from the field last year.

Despite the loss, the Eagles have added several new faces who are expected to make an immediate impact and help fill the offensive void.

Under first-year head coach Deacon Jones, the Eagles aim to make waves this season and turn heads across the conference. Women's Basketball opens the season in Fort Worth at the Texas Wesleyan Tournament, tipping off on October 31 at 7 p.m. against the host Rams before facing Oklahoma Wesleyan on November 1 at 12 p.m.

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