IRVING, Texas – The American Conference released the 2025-26 Women’s Basketball Preseason Coaches’ Poll on Thursday, with the defending regular-season champion UTSA Roadrunners projected to finish second, while junior Idara Udo was named to the Preseason All-Conference First Team.
After making Second-Team All-Conference en route to the 2024-25 title, Udo was recognized, marking back-to-back seasons that a Roadrunner was chosen after Jordyn Jenkins accomplished the feat a year ago. Last season, Udo was the top offensive rebounder in the league, with 67 boards across conference play, and she secured 7.6 rebounds per game, ranking ninth in the American. She maintained a 73.8% clip from the charity stripe, slotting her eighth on the league leader board and swatted 17 shots for the 14th-most across the league, all while anchoring its top defense.
UTSA, meanwhile, was awarded 119 points with one first-place vote, slotting them behind South Florida for the top spot in the preseason poll. The Bulls secured 11 first-place votes and a total of 132 points. Rice rounds out the top three with 113 and one first-place vote.
Not far behind Temple was selected fourth at 107, and Tulane fifth with 104. North Texas took sixth place with 95 points, while East Carolina finished seventh with 82 points and Tulsa eighth with 72 points. Memphis was ninth, garnering 52, and Charlotte had two fewer points in 10th. Additionally, UAB was chosen 11th with 38 points, Wichita State 12th at 23, and Florida Atlantic 13th with 16.
The 2025-26 American Conference Preseason Coaches’ Poll and All-Conference teams can be found below:
Preseason Coaches’ Poll
- South Florida (11) 143
- UTSA (1) 119
- Rice (1) 113
- Temple 107
- Tulane 104
- North Texas 95
- East Carolina 82
- Tulsa 72
- Memphis 52
- Charlotte 50
- UAB 38
- Wichita State 23
- Florida Atlantic 16
First-place votes in parentheses
Preseason Player of the Year
Carla Brito, Sr., F, South Florida
Preseason All-Conference First Team
Dominique Ennis, Sr., G, Rice
Carla Brito, Sr., F, South Florida*
L’or Mputu, Gr., F, South Florida
Kaylah Turner, Jr., G, Temple
Idara Udo, Jr., F, UTSA
Preseason All-Conference Second Team
Aniah Alexis, So., G, Rice
Victoria Flores, Jr., G, Rice
Amira Mabry, Sr., F, Tulane
Kendall Sneed, So., G, Tulane
Mady Cartwright, Jr., G, Tulsa
* denotes unanimous selection
Keep up with UTSA Women's Basketball on goutsa.com and by following the program on Facebook at /UTSAWBB, X (Twitter) @UTSAWBB, and on Instagram @UTSA_WBB.
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