The Big 12 Conference has revealed the preseason awards and coaches’ poll for the 2025-26 women’s basketball season. League head coaches voted on the honors and were not allowed to vote for their own team.
The individual preseason awards were headlined by Iowa State’s Audi Crooks (Player), TCU’s Olivia Miles (Newcomer) and Cincinnati’s Dee Alexander (Freshman). Miles and Crooks both represented Team USA at the FIBA AmeriCup this summer, helping capture the gold medal, while Alexander joins Cincinnati as the highest-ranked recruit in program history.
TCU was selected as the favorite in the Conference’s preseason coaches’ poll for the first time in program history. The Horned Frogs swept the regular season and postseason Big 12 titles during the 2024-25 campaign and advanced to the Elite Eight for the first time in school history.
Crooks is the fourth Cyclone to be named the league’s Preseason Player of the Year and the first since Ashley Joens in 2022. The center from Algona, Iowa started all 35 contests as a sophomore and set the ISU single-season records for scoring (820) and made field goals (329) while leading the Big 12 with 23.4 points and shooting over 60 percent from the floor. Crooks finished the year as an AP and USBWA Third Team All-American while earning Unanimous First Team All-Big 12 honors.
Miles is TCU’s second consecutive Preseason Newcomer of the Year, following 2025 Big 12 Player of the Year Hailey Van Lith, who garnered the honor a season ago. The graduate student from Notre Dame joins the Horned Frogs as a three-time All-American and a three-time First Team All-ACC selection. The Phillipsburg, New Jersey native was projected as the No. 2 overall pick in the 2025 WNBA draft before transferring to TCU. She enters the year as the active Division I leader in career assists per game (6.5), total assists (654) and triple-doubles (6).
Alexander is Cincinnati’s first Big 12 individual preseason award honoree. The five-star guard from Cincinnati finished at No. 11 in the final ESPNW rankings and was ranked as the No. 1 player in Ohio by Prep Hoops. Alexander is the first Bearcat signee to be named a McDonald’s All-American and was also recognized as Ohio’s Gatorade Player of the Year in back-to-back seasons.
The Preseason All-Big 12 Team consists of 10 players, with Baylor and Iowa State each having two selections, while BYU, Colorado, Kansas, Oklahoma State, TCU and West Virginia each have one.
For the first time in league history, a preseason media poll will be conducted. The results will be released the week of Oct. 27.
A full preview of the 2025-26 Big 12 Women’s Basketball season will take place as the league returns to Kansas City’s T-Mobile Center for Big 12 Women’s Basketball Media Day presented by New Era on Tuesday, Oct. 21. The event will air on ESPNU and ESPN+ from 11 a.m. – 2 p.m. CT, with additional coverage throughout the day on ESPN+.
The regular season will begin Monday, Nov. 3, with league action set to start Saturday, Dec. 20. All 16 teams will head to the T-Mobile Center in Kansas City at the end of the season to compete for the league’s postseason title, March 4-8/9.
ESPN listed three Big 12 programs among its Top 10 women’s basketball transfer portal winners heading into the 2025-26 season, while three Big 12 women’s basketball signees were selected to play in the McDonald’s All-American Game.
2025-26 Big 12 Women's Basketball Preseason Coaches’ Poll
- TCU (10) – 219 points
- Iowa State (2) – 202 points
- Baylor (2) – 200 points
- Oklahoma State (2) – 186 points
- West Virginia – 161 points
- Kansas – 156 points
- K-State – 143 points
- Utah – 115 points
- Colorado – 114 points
- BYU – 85 points
- Arizona State – 84 points
- Cincinnati – 82 points
- Texas Tech – 63 points
- Arizona – 47 points
- Houston – 41 points
- UCF – 22 points
(first-place votes)
2025-26 Big 12 Women's Basketball Preseason Player of the Year
Audi Crooks, Iowa State
2025-26 Big 12 Women's Basketball Preseason Newcomer of the Year
Olivia Miles, TCU
2025-26 Big 12 Women's Basketball Preseason Freshman of the Year
Dee Alexander, Cincinnati
2025-26 All-Big 12 Women's Basketball Preseason Team
Darianna Littlepage-Buggs, Baylor*
Bella Fontleroy, Baylor
Delaney Gibb, BYU*
Jade Masogayo, Colorado
Addy Brown, Iowa State
Audi Crooks, Iowa State*
S’Mya Nichols, Kansas*
Stailee Heard, Oklahoma State*
Olivia Miles, TCU*
Jordan Harrison, West Virginia
Players are sorted alphabetically by school
*Indicates unanimous selection