Baylor women’s basketball is ranked No. 3 nationally after receiving 687 points in the USA Today Preseason Top 25 Coaches Poll. The Lady Bears are included in the Top 5 of this preseason poll for the third-straight year and the sixth time overall, and in the Top 10 in eight consecutive seasons.
Connecticut received the No. 1 ranking with 789 points, followed by South Carolina at No. 2 with 719 points. Mississippi State follows Baylor at No. 4 with 678 points and Notre Dame rounds out the Top 5 with 648 points.
The Lady Bears ended the 2016-17 season with a No. 6 ranking in the USA Today/Coaches Poll after compiling a 33-4 overall record and reaching the NCAA Elite Eight. The team’s 2017-18 roster is comprised of four freshmen, three sophomores, one junior and two seniors.
Two starters are back for Baylor this year, including junior All-American center Kalani Brown and senior point guard Kristy Wallace. Brown was tabbed Preseason Big 12 Player of the Year and received Preseason All-Big 12 recognition. Wallace and last season’s Big 12 Sixth Man of the Year award recipient sophomore Lauren Cox garnered Preseason All-Big 12 Honorable Mention accolades.
The Lady Bears brought in four freshmen guards, Alexis Morris, Trinity Oliver, Didi Richards and Moon Ursin. The signing class was highly touted, earning a No. 1 ranking by Prospects Nation and a No. 4 nod from ESPN HoopGurlz.
Baylor hosts Tarleton State and Washburn in exhibition contests at 7 p.m. (CT) on Oct. 31 and Nov. 6, respectively, in Waco, before opening the regular season on Nov. 10 against Lamar at 7 p.m.
