Sport

BYU picked seventh in Big 12 Preseason Media Poll

The Cougars were picked seventh in both the Big 12 Preseason Coaches and Media Polls.

Author Austin Rustand
BYU picked seventh in Big 12 Preseason Media PollBYU picked seventh in Big 12 Preseason Media Poll
Sydney Benally hits a three during BYU's women's basketball game against Western Colorado.

PROVO, Utah — BYU women's basketball was picked seventh in the 2026–27 Monster Energy Big 12 Women’s Basketball Preseason Media Poll, the conference announced on Wednesday.

Media members from local, regional and national markets who cover Big 12 women's basketball selected BYU seventh in the poll. Oklahoma State was picked to win the league, followed by TCU, Baylor and West Virginia, all featured in the preseason AP Top 25.

This marks BYU's highest preseason selection in the media poll, besting its 10th-place projection a season ago. The Cougars outperformed that ranking by finishing ninth in the conference last season.

2026-27 Monster Energy Big 12 Women’s Basketball Preseason Media Poll
  1. Oklahoma State
  2. TCU
  3. Baylor
  4. West Virginia
  5. Arizona State
  6. Kansas
  7. BYU
  8. Colorado
  9. Texas Tech
  10. K-State
  11. Iowa State
  12. Utah
  13. Arizona
  14. Cincinnati
  15. Houston
  16. UCF

Entering their fourth season as members of the Big 12 Conference, the Cougars look to build on the foundation laid in 2025–26 by head coach Lee Cummard. In his first season at the helm, Cummard led his alma mater to a 26-12 record, won the program's first two Big 12 Tournament games since entering the league and returned to the postseason for the first time since 2023–24.

Despite being the first team left out of the NCAA Tournament, the Cougars made good use of their selection to the Women's Basketball Invitational Tournament. They won the most games in a single postseason in program history with four, taking down Alabama A&M, Missouri, Stanford and Kansas before falling to the Ivy League champion Columbia Lions in the WBIT title game.

The Cougars return 72.3 percent of their scoring, 58 percent of their rebounding, 82.9 percent of their assists, 55.1 percent of their blocks and 76.5 percent of their steals production from a season ago. Cummard also added a high-level transfer in Liza Astakhova and three touted freshman recruits to the 2026–27 roster.

BYU will open its season on Nov. 2 as the Idaho State Bengals visit the Marriott Center. Cummard and the Cougars will play 14 non-conference games before beginning an 18-game Big 12 slate on Dec. 19 against Arizona in Tucson.