WESTERVILLE, Ohio – The No. 9 nationally ranked Baldwin Wallace University women's basketball team was voted by Ohio Athletic Conference head coaches as the favorites to win the conference as seen in the OAC Preseason Coaches Poll.

BW collected 64 points and were one vote shy of being in first place unanimously in the preseason poll. The only other team receiving a first-place vote was the University of Mount Union, who finished 12-13 overall last season and missed the OAC tournament. The Mount Union Purple Raiders were voted to finish third with 44 points. Ohio Northern University was picked second with 47 points and received 13 votes total in the WBCA Preseason Top 25 Poll. Last season, the Polar Bears were the No. 2 seed in the conference tournament and fell to BW 60-64 in the OAC Championship game.

The Yellow Jackets were ranked No. 9 by D3Hoops.com and No.16 by the WBCA in their national top 25 preseason polls. These rankings acknowledged the Jackets' notable ending to the 2024-25 season when the team finished 29-2 overall, 18-0 in conference play, and reached the Elite Eight in the NCAA Division III Tournament. Coach Cheri Harrer's team will include five seniors, six Academic All-OAC honorees, and two College Sports Communicators Academic All-District honorees.

2025-26 Ohio Athletic Conference Women's Basketball Preseason Coaches Poll

Place	School	Points (First Place Votes)
1.	Baldwin Wallace	64 (8)
2.	Ohio Northern	47
3.	Mount Union	44 (1)
4.	Otterbein	43
5.	Capital	42
6.	Marietta	39
7.	Muskingum	20
8.	Wilmington	15
9.	Heidelberg	10

Up Next

• The Yellow Jackets will open their season on the road against No. 17 Trine College (Ind.) on Tuesday, November 11 at 7:00 p.m.