COOKEVILLE, Tenn. --- With just a week of practice already under their belts, the Tennessee Tech Golden Eagles have already begun to rake in the preseason awards.

Two Golden Eagles were named to the preseason all-Ohio Valley Conference awards by College Sports Madness, with senior guard Tacarra Hayes picked to be the OVC Player of the Year.

Hayes, who was also named first-team all-OVC, was named to the Mid-Major All American third-team. The all-Mid Major teams consist of the top 20 players throughout the mid-major conferences.

Hayes led the Golden Eagles in several categories last season including points (525), rebounds (234) and assists (145). She also tallied seven double-doubles and was named the OVC co-Defensive player of the Year. She also became the 26th player in school history to reach the 1,000 point plateau and currently ranks 18th on the all-time scorers list with 1,208 points.

Freshman T’Keyah Williams was tabbed by College Sports Madness to be the OVC Freshman of the Year. A 6-2 forward out of Dillard High School, Williams helped guide her team to back-to-back championships and was ranked 74th in the nation at her position by ESPN’s Hoopgurlz.

The Golden Eagles open their season at home with an exhibition contest against Bryan College Nov. 7 at 7 p.m. TTU opens the regular season on the road against East Tennessee State in the first round of the WNIT Preseason Tournament Nov. 11.

To order season tickets, contact the Tennessee Tech Ticket Office at (931) 372-3940 or order online at TTUSports.com

The official all-OVC selections from the conference will be announced on Basketball Media Day, Oct. 25.

To view the College Sports Madness honorees click here

To view the all-Mid Major selections click here