The MIAA's annual basketball media day in Kansas City marks new beginnings for every team across the league and a range of expectations for each team.
Northwest Missouri State women's basketball will approach the 2025-26 season with something to prove.
The Bearcats were selected eighth in the MIAA Preseason Coaches Poll and seventh in the media rankings.
Fort Hays State topped the list on the coaches side, despite Washburn garnering four more first-place votes than the Tigers. Pittsburg State received the top spot with 13 first-place votes, followed by Fort Hays.
The Bearcats reached the MIAA Tournament in 2025 for the fourth consecutive season, but got bounced in an opening round matchup with Missouri Southern.
Austin Meyer is entering his eighth season as the head coach of the program. He'll guide a program that will rely on new faces to lead the program.
Four of the top five scorers from last season graduated or transferred, while the fifth, Emree Zars, is recovering from a knee injury she suffered in last March's MIAA Tournament game.
Newcomers Reese Pasternik and Andrea Lopreato will be expected to carry a large portion of the load for Northwest. Pasternik, a junior transfer from Cuesta College in California, averaged 18.5 points per game through two seasons with the Cougars. Lopreato, an Iowa native that played a pair of season at Black Hawk Community College, where she put up 23.2 points per game last season.
Northwest opens the season October 31 in the D2CCA Tip-Off Classic from the Civic Arena in St. Joseph against Adams State.
2025-26 MIAA WOMEN’S BASKETBALL COACHES POLL
1. Fort Hays State [2] – 152 points
2. Washburn [6] – 148 points
3. Pittsburg State [5] – 144 points
4. Central Missouri [1] – 138 points
5. Nebraska Kearney – 135 points
6. Missouri Western – 99 points
7. Missouri Southern – 95 points
8. Northwest Missouri – 78 points
9. Northeastern State – 76 points
10. Arkansas-Fort Smith – 73 points
11. Emporia State – 48 points
12. Central Oklahoma – 44 points
13. Rogers State – 28 points
14. Newman – 16 points
[#] - First Place Votes
2025-26 MIAA WOMEN’S BASKETBALL MEDIA POLL
1. Pittsburg State [13] – 326 points
2. Fort Hays State [5] – 299 points
3. Washburn [3] – 276 points
4. Central Missouri [4] – 271 points
5. Nebraska Kearney – 268 points
6. Missouri Western – 227 points
7. Northwest Missouri – 187 points
8. Arkansas-Fort Smith – 185 points
9. Missouri Southern – 176 points
10. Emporia State – 127 points
11. Northeastern State – 111 points
12. Central Oklahoma – 92 points
13. Rogers State – 49 points
14. Newman – 31 points
[#] - First Place Votes
