Kansas State Wildcats make history in preseason Big 12 women’s basketball poll
Expectations have never been higher for the Kansas State women’s basketball team.
For the first time in program history, the Wildcats have been picked first in the Big 12 preseason poll.
K-State narrowly edged out Iowa State and Baylor for the top spot when the poll was released Thursday. The Wildcats received seven votes for first place. The poll was voted on by the 16 head coaches within the Big 12.
Many are expecting big things from the Wildcats as they are coming off one of the most successful seasons in recent history under head coach Jeff Mittie. K-State returns senior center Ayoka Lee and senior guard Serena Sundell from a team that earned a No. 4 seed in the NCAA Tournament and hosted postseason games at Bramlage Coliseum.
Speaking of Lee and Sundell, they each received honors from the league Thursday.
Lee was named Big 12 Preseason Player of the Year. Sundell was named to the Preseason All-Big 12 Team.
In-state rival Kansas was picked to finish eighth, with S’Mya Nichols earning preseason all-conference honors.
2024-25 Big 12 Preseason Poll
1. K-State (7), 211 points
2. Iowa State (6), 209
3. Baylor (2), 195
4. TCU, 185
5. West Virginia (1), 184
6. Utah, 149
7. Arizona, 136
8. Kansas, 128
9. Colorado, 113
10. Texas Tech, 84
11. Oklahoma State, 80
12. BYU, 59
13. Cincinnati, 56
14. UCF, 54
15. Arizona State, 51
16. Houston, 27
(first-place votes in parenthesis)
2024-25 Preseason All-Big 12 Team
Sarah Andrews, Baylor
Aaronette Vonleh, Baylor
Kaitlin Peterson, UCF
Audi Crooks, Iowa State
S’Mya Nichols, Kansas
Ayoka Lee, K-State
Serena Sundell, K-State
Hailey Van Lith, TCU
Gianna Kneepkens, Utah
JJ Quinerly, West Virginia
2024-25 Preseason Big 12 Player of the Year
Ayoka Lee, K-State
2024-25 Preseason co-Newcomers of the Year
Aaronette Vonleh, Baylor
Hailey Van Lith, TCU
2024-25 Preseason Freshman of the Year
Tabitha Betson, Colorado
This story was originally published October 3, 2024 at 1:18 PM.