Baylor Women's Basketball Picked 4th in Big 12 Preseason Poll
IRVING, Texas — The Baylor Women’s Basketball team was picked to finish 4th in the Big 12 preseason coaches poll, the first time the Bears have not topped the poll since 2014-15.
After leading the Bears to a hard-fought, 12th-straight Big 12 regular season title, Nicki Collen and her team are now underdogs to keep the program’s championship streak alive.
The Bears lost two top ten WNBA draft picks in NaLyssa Smith and Queen Egbo, along with second round pick Jordan Lewis. There are a lot of new faces around the Baylor program now though in an attempt to reload quickly. Top recruits Darianna Littlepage-Buggs, Ysabella Fontleroy, and Kyla Abraham are balanced by experienced transfers in Aijha Blackwell (Missouri), Dre’Una Edwards (Kentucky), Jana Van Guytenbeek (Stanford) and Catarina Ferreira (Eastern Arizona).
Iowa State was the main competition for Baylor in the regular season last year, but the Bears swept the Cyclones in blowout fashion on the way to a 15-3 record and an outright title.
Texas topped the Bears in the Big 12 tournament last Spring and returns a lot of their team from the 2021-22 season. Oklahoma meanwhile, gave the green and gold fits last year, sweeping the Bears.
If any team is a decent pick to top the Bears, it would be one of those three. However, giving bulletin board material to Nicki Collen and her team before the season even begins could work against them (though it was not really by choice).
The 2022-23 season begins on Monday, November 7 with seven Big 12 teams hosting non-conference games. Conference play begins on Saturday, December 31 with all 10 teams in action. Big 12 head coaches and select players will appear at the Big 12 Basketball Tipoff, presented by Old Trapper on Tuesday, October 18. The media event will be available on Big 12 Now on ESPN+ from Noon-5 p.m. CT. Commissioner Brett Yormark will lead off the interviews at noon.
2022-23 Big 12 Women's Basketball Preseason Poll
Place - Team - (First-Place Votes) - Points
- Iowa State (4) 75
- Texas (4) 74
- Oklahoma (1) 65
- Baylor (1) 62
- Kansas 49
- Kansas State 37
- Texas Tech 29
- West Virginia 26
- Oklahoma State 23
- TCU 10