PROVO, Utah – The BYU women’s soccer team was ranked No. 3 in the Big 12 Preseason Poll, while the Preseason All-Big 12 Team bolstered five Cougars, the league announced Tuesday afternoon.
BYU tied Texas Tech for the most players on the preseason team with five each.
Izzi Stratton, Avery Frischknecht, Mika Krommenhoek, Lucy Kesler and Mackenzee Vance have all been named to the Preseason All-Big 12 Team ahead of the 2025 season.
After missing the 2024 season while serving a mission for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, Stratton returns to the pitch with veteran experience. As a member of the starting lineup for the 2023 College Cup team, Stratton was named to the NCAA College Cup All-Tournament Team.
Frischknecht played every minute of every game last season in the center back position, bolstering four goals and 1,890 minutes. After a strong sophomore year, she was named to the All-Big 12 First Team.
Krommenhoek started every game last season as a true freshman. She led the team in assists with four and also totaled three goals and 31 shots. She was named to the All-Big 12 Second Team and All-Big 12 All-Freshman Team following her first season as a Cougar.
Kesler played in 19 games and started in 12 as a true freshman in 2024. She tallied one goal and three assists, earning her All-Big 12 All-Freshman Team honors.
In her first season with the Cougars after transferring from UCLA, Vance was the second-highest scorer with seven goals on the year. She also added 44 shots and one assist, earning her All-Big 12 Second Team honors.
After finishing the 2024 season ranked fourth in the Big 12 conference, the Cougars received one first place vote and a total of 191 votes in the 2025 preseason poll. TCU took the top spot with 13 first place votes and 223 total votes, followed by Texas Tech who earned two first place votes and 202 total votes. West Virginia and Kansas rounded out the top five teams in the preseason poll with 172 and 167 votes, respectively.
The Cougars welcome nine new freshmen to the roster and welcome home two returned missionaries.
The Cougars will be back on South Field Wednesday evening for an exhibition match against Southern Utah at 8 p.m. MT.