Women's Basketball 10/28/2026 10:00:12 AM 2026-27 UMAC Women's Basketball Preseason Coaches Poll and Season Preview ST. PAUL, Minn. – The Upper Midwest Athletic Conference (UMAC) released the 2026-27 Women’s Basketball Preseason Coaches Poll on Wednesday with UW-Superior and Bethany Lutheran being predicted to win the conference championship. The poll is voted on by all the head coaches in the conference. Coaches cannot vote for their own team. Complete poll: Place School Points 1 UW-Superior (4) 32 1 Bethany Lutheran (3) 32 3 Minnesota Morris 29 4 Martin Luther 18 5 Northwestern 17 6 Crown 11 7 North Central 8 #1 UW-Superior: 32 points The Yellowjackets earned 32 points and four first-place votes from their conference competitors. Head Coach: Eveline Parsons | 2nd Season | Top Returners Hope Carlson, Sr., G | Second-team All-UMAC | 9.1 ppg, 4.8 reb/g, 1.4 ast/g | Charlotte Ferstl, Sr., F | CSC Academic All-District | 8 ppg, 1.3 ast/g, 7 reb/g | Maddie Reott, Sr., G | Second-team All-UMAC | 8.5 ppg, 2.1 ast/g, 6 reb/g | #1 Bethany Lutheran: 32 points The Vikings received 32 points and the remaining three first-place votes from their conference peers. Head Coach: Head Coach Emma Purfeerst | 4th season at BLC Top Returners Juliana Ewald, Sr., Guard | 2025-26 UMAC Honorable Mention | 8.4 ppg, 3.3 rpg, led team with 35 steals Kenadi Arndt, Jr., Forward | 2025-26 Second Team All-UMAC | Other Honors | Second on the team in scoring (10.5 ppg), rebounding (5.7 rpg), and blocks (17) Morgan Hulke, So., Guard | 2025-26 UMAC Rookie of the Year, Second Team All-UMAC | Top returning three-point shooter (37.9%), third on team in scoring (10.3 ppg), second in free throws (76.4%) #3 Minnesota Morris: 29 points The Cougars earned 29 points to rank third in the poll. Head Coach: Tim Grove | 21st season | Top Returners Maddy Grove, Sr, G | UMAC Player of the Year (2X), Defensive Team | Second-team All-Region IX | 19ppg, 2.5spg, 4.0rpg Gianna Klarenbeek, Sr, G | Second-team All-Conference | 12ppg, 5.5rpg, 3.5apg Grace Perry, Sr, G | Honorable Mention All-Conference, Player of the Week (2X) | 9.4 ppg, 6.6 rpg, 2.8 apg #4 Martin Luther: 18 points The Knights compiled 18 points for the fourth spot. Head Coach: Dan Gawrisch | 12th season Top Returners Wilhelmina Wenz, Jr, Guard | 2025-26 First-team All-Conference | 12.2 ppg, 10.2 reb/g, 2.24 stl/g Anna Kieselhorst, Sr, Guard | 2025-26 UMAC Honorable Mention | 10.9 ppg, 4.1 reb/g, 2.13 stl/g Ava Stein, Jr, Forward | 10 ppg, 5 reb/g, 9 blocks #5 Northwestern: 17 points The Eagles earned 17 points to rank fifth. Head Coach: Aaron Kahl | 17th Season | Top Returners Ella Frazier, So., G | 2026 Honorable Mention All-UMAC | 10.8 ppg, 3.4 rpg, Career-high 21 pts vs. BLC last year | Carli (Elrod) Mattes, Sr., F | 2026 UMAC Academic All-Conference | 8.3 ppg, 5.4 rpg, 2.2 spg | Lydia Schmitter, So., G | Missed 14 games last year due to injury (played in 2 UMAC games) | 14.9 ppg, 6.5 rpg, 49.6 FG% | #6 Crown: 11 points The Polars received 11 points for the sixth spot. Head Coach: David Pederson| 3rd Season | Top Returners Brayli Reimer, Senior, Guard| 2025-26 UMAC First Team All-Conference, 2024-25 UMAC Second-team All-Conference | 17 ppg, 7 rpg, 4 apg Morgan Bednarek, Junior, Forward| 2025-26 UMAC All-Conference Honorable Mention, 2025-26 UMAC All-Defensive Team, CSC Academic All-District | 11 ppg, 10 rpg, 120 offensive rebounds Sydney Cotten, Senior, Guard| 2x CSC Academic All-District | 9 ppg, 5 rpg, 60 Steals #7 North Central: 8 points The Rams received eight points to complete the poll. Head Coach: David Rohrbach | 3rd Season Top Returners NiNi Davenport, G | Honorable MentionAll-Conference | 12.6 PPG, 94 three’s on the season| Led the UMAC in three’s per game 3.0 Kaye Serapio, GR SR, G | 8.8 PPG (in Conference), 6 RPP (conf), 2.8 APG (conf) Olivia Beach, SO, F | 3.5 PPG | 3.7 RPG The 2026-27 women’s basketball regular season opens on Friday, Nov. 6. The top four teams in the standings at the close of the regular season will compete in the UMAC Tournament, with the semifinals scheduled for Wednesday, Feb. 24 and the championship game slated for Saturday, Feb. 27. The tournament champion will receive the UMAC’s automatic qualifying bid to the 2026-27 NCAA DIII Women’s Basketball Championship to compete in the national tournament.