Big South Announces 2026-27 Women's Basketball Preseason Honors
JOHNSON CITY, Tenn. (www.BigSouthSports.com) – Radford forward
Georgia Simonsen (Fairfax, Va.) has been unanimously voted the 2026-27 Big South Conference Women’s Basketball Preseason Player of the Year by the league’s head coaches, it was announced this morning. Simonsen received the maximum eight first-place votes and 80 points in the voting.
Simonsen was the 2025-26 Big South Freshman of the Year in addition to receiving Second-Team All-Conference accolades. She was the fifth Highlander to be named Big South Freshman of the Year, and she also earned a spot on the Big South All-Tournament Team after averaging 14.7 points and 6.7 rebounds during Radford’s run to the Championship game. Simonsen was a seven-time Big South Freshman of the Week honoree last season, and led the conference with 40 blocks. She averaged 11.4 points per game to rank 11th in the league, while her 6.5 rebounds per game was 10th highest in the circuit. Simonsen started 32 of her 36 appearances last year and scored in double figures 23 times. She led all Big South freshmen in scoring, rebounding, field goal percentage and blocks, and was one of 10 Big South players to have at least three double-doubles in conference play -- the only freshman with this achievement. Simonsen, who posted a 12-point, 10-rebound double-double in the Highlanders’ WNIT victory over Morehead State, earned the top spot on the preseason All-Conference team.
2026-27 Big South Conference Women’s Basketball Preseason All-Conference Team
First-Team
Georgia Simonsen, Radford, So., F
Madison Ruff, Winthrop, Jr., G
Aubrie Kierscht, USC Upstate, Gr., G
Jesstynie Scott, Longwood, So., G
Jamaria Freeman, UNC Asheville, So., G
Second-Team
Makayla Legette, Gardner-Webb, So., G
Cate Carlson, Radford, Sr., G
Grace Booth, USC Upstate, Jr., G
Taylor Feldman, High Point, Gr., G
Juliann Woodard, High Point, Jr., F
Krystal Haddock, Presbyterian, Jr., G
Ruff was a 2025-26 Honorable Mention All-Big South selection, as she averaged 10.9 points and 3.9 rebounds per game in 32 contests. She shot 47.8 percent from the field and posted 63 steals and 13 blocks. Ruff also dished out 52 assists on the season and averaged 11.7 points in conference action.
Kierscht was voted Honorable Mention All-Big South in 2025-26 and was the league’s three-point leader with her 41.2 percentage (73-of-177). She averaged 11.1 points and 2.4 rebounds in her 29 appearances (19 starts). Kierscht recorded 16 double-figure scoring games, four of which were 20-plus point outputs.
Scott was a Big South All-Freshman Team honoree last season as she was the conference’s steals leader with 92 and her 2.97 steals per game clip ranked 18th in the NCAA. Scott averaged 7.6 points, 2.8 rebounds and 1.2 assists in just 17.4 minutes per game. A four-time Big South Freshman of the Week selection, Scott shot 42.4 percent from the field and 76.8 percent from the foul line.
Freeman was also voted to the Big South All-Freshman Team last season as she totaled 287 points, 87 rebounds, 109 assists, 55 steals and seven blocks. She tallied a career-high 21 points and career-high seven steals at USC Upstate on Feb. 14; pulled down a career-high 11 rebounds at High Point on Dec. 31; and dished out a career-high nine assists against Charleston Southern on Jan. 14.
The Preseason All-Conference Second-Team features another member of the 2025-26 All-Freshman Team (Legette), a 2024-25 Honorable Mention All-Big South performer (Carlson), an 11.4 points and 6.7 rebounds per game player at Houston Christian (Booth), two incoming transfers from the Big Ten (Feldman – Purdue, Woodard – Michigan State), and one of the leading rebounders in the Big South last season (Haddock).