High Point, Radford Share Top Spot in 2026-27 Women's Basketball Preseason Poll
JOHNSON CITY, Tenn. (www.BigSouthSports.com) – For the first time since 2022-23 and just the third time in league history, two schools tied for the top spot in the Big South Conference’s annual women’s basketball preseason poll, as two-time defending champion
High Point University along with
Radford University are the co-favorites entering the 2026-27 campaign, it was announced this morning.
High Point, the reigning Big South Regular-Season and Conference Champion, and Radford -- last year’s Tournament Runner-up, each finished with 75 points and four first-place votes from the voting panel of head coaches. The Panthers return seven players from 2025-26, while the Highlanders also have seven players back from a squad that advanced to the second round of the WNIT. High Point is the preseason women’s favorite for the sixth consecutive year and seventh time overall, while Radford is in the top spot for the first time since 2019-20 (14th time overall).
Longwood was third in the women’s poll with 63 points, ahead of fourth-place
Gardner-Webb (43 points).
UNC Asheville and
Winthrop tied for fifth in the polling with 41 points, with the Bulldogs receiving the remaining first-place vote.
USC Upstate landed in the seventh position with 36 points, with
Presbyterian College in eighth-place (18 points).
Charleston Southern finished in the ninth and final position with 13 points.
The college basketball season tips off Monday, Nov. 2. The first conference date is Wednesday, Dec. 30, as the teams will play a 16-game schedule in 2026-27. The season culminates with the 2027 Big South Women’s Basketball Championship March 3-7 at Freedom Hall Civic Center in Johnson City, Tenn.
2026-27 WOMEN'S BASKETBALL PRESEASON POLL
| Rk - School (first-place votes) |
Points |
| T-1 - High Point (4) |
75 |
| T-1 - Radford (4) |
75 |
| 3 - Longwood |
63 |
| 4 - Gardner-Webb |
43 |
| T-5 - UNC Asheville (1) |
41 |
| T-5 - Winthrop |
41 |
| 7 - USC Upstate |
36 |
| 8 - Presbyterian College |
18 |
| 9 - Charleston Southern |
13 |
Note: points are based on a weighted system. First-place votes received 9 points, followed by 8 points for second-place, and so on.