1. Belmont (22 first-place votes) – 242 points

2. SIUE – 199 points

3. UT Martin (two first-place votes) – 198 points

4. Morehead State – 192 points

6. Austin Peay – 120 points

7. Jacksonville State – 111 points

t8. Murray State – 101 points

t8. Southeast Missouri – 101 points

10. Eastern Kentucky – 83 points

11. Eastern Illinois – 64 points

12. Tennessee State – 38 points

 

"We don't focus on preseason picks or rankings, but do you notice them? Absolutely," said head coach Kim Rosamond. "In a matter of 12 months, to be able to go from being picked 11^th to now being picked fifth is a credit to our players, the hard work that they've put in, the improvements that they've put in and also to our recruiting class that we have coming in, which, in my opinion, was one of the best in the OVC.

 

"While in the grand scheme of things, it doesn't really mean much because it's on paper and we still have to play the games, I do appreciate the fact that people have taken notice of the improvements, growth and strides that our program is making."

 

Additionally, Tech was picked seventh with 71 points in the Preseason Women's Basketball Media Poll, which was released Friday. Pollsters included Catlin Bogard (OVC Ball), Mike Bradd (Eastern Illinois Radio), Neal Bradley (Murray State Radio), Rob Calhoun (Eastern Illinois Radio), Edward Marlowe (The Paducah Sun), Mike Organ (The Tennessean), Justin Rust (Journal Gazette & Times-Courier), Harry Schroeder (ValleyHoopsInsider.com) and Greg Stotelmyer (Eastern Kentucky Sports Network).

 

1. Belmont (12 first-place votes) – 155 points

2. UT Martin (one first-place vote) – 125 points

3. Morehead State – 119 points

4. SIUE – 109 points

5. Murray State – 96 points

6. Austin Peay – 91 points

8. Southeast Missouri – 66 points

9. Eastern Kentucky – 57 points

10. Jacksonville State – 55 points

11. Tennessee State – 40 points

12. Eastern Illinois – 30 points

 

Senior guard Yaktavia "Shug" Hickson also represented Tech on the Preseason All-OVC team. The Atlanta native earned a spot on the All-OVC first team last season, finishing third in the conference in scoring (averaging 16.9 points per game) and in free throw percentage (.847).

 

Ke'Shunan James, Murray State

Darby Maggard, Belmont

Kylee Smith, Belmont

Grace Lennox, Eastern Illinois

Sally McCabe, Belmont

Donshel Beck, SIUE

Miranda Crockett, Morehead State

Ashton Feldhaus, UT Martin

Kendall Spray, UT Martin

Myah Taylor, UT Martin

 

"I think Shug is unbelievably deserving of being selected for preseason first-team all-conference," said Rosamond. "You look back at how she played last year and the work that she's put in between the season ending and going into the first game this year – I can't say enough about how she matured not only as a player, but as a person.

 

"The great thing for Shug this year is we had to rely on her a lot last year, and if she wasn't scoring 18 to 20 points a game, we struggled to win. I'm excited for her in the sense that she's not going to have as much pressure on her to put as many points on the board. I think her overall game can blossom even more from a defensive perspective to a rebounding perspective. Shug is one of the best scorers in our league and I don't think that's going to change, but now she can focus on being a better defender and a better rebounder and also being able to put points on the board from that area."

 

Tech's first tip-off of 2017-18 is set for Sunday, Nov. 5 vs. Tusculum College at 2 p.m. CT in an exhibition game. The Golden Eagles will officially open the season vs. Tennessee Wesleyan on Friday, Nov. 10 at 5:30 p.m.

 

Season tickets for Tennessee Tech basketball are on sale now. Call (931) 372-3940, visit the Hooper Eblen Center ticket office or log on to ttusports.com to order yours today.