RUSSELLVILLE – One year removed from the program’s first Great American Conference women’s basketball regular-season championship, Southwestern Oklahoma State will enter the 2018-19 season as the unanimous preseason favorite, the league office announced on Wednesday.

The Lady Bulldogs collected the first-place votes from all of the conference’s 11 other head coaches. They return all five starters from a 26-5 squad, highlighted by All-American Hailey Tucker. She also earned the D2CCA Central Region Player of the Year award and her second-straight GAC Player of the Year honor. She averaged a league-leading 20.5 points, plus 7.5 rebounds and 1.8 blocks per game. She enters the season 134 points away from setting the GAC’s all-time scoring record.

In addition to Tucker, SWOSU brings back Tyra Aska, the league’s Defensive Player of the Year, and Hayden Priddy, a two-time First-Team All-GAC pick. Aska, who also made the All-GAC Second Team, averaged 14.0 points, 3.2 assists and 1.8 steals per game. Priddy ranked fifth in the GAC in scoring, 15.4 per game. She ranked third with 4.5 assists per game and with a 42.0 3-point field goal percentage. Bethany Franks led the conference and ranked second amongst DII freshmen by pulling down 9.8 rebounds per game.

Arkansas Tech, the 2018 GAC Tournament champions, placed second in the poll. The Golden Suns bring back three double-digit scores in Lyrik Williams, Jayana Sanders and Ke’Vonshaye Stackhouse. Williams averaged 12.9 points and 8.1 rebounds. Sanders led all GAC freshmen in scoring at 12.3 points per game. Stackhouse finished as the only player in the conference to rank in the top seven in field goal percentage and 3-point field goal percentage.

Harding finished third in the voting. They return only two players with multiple years of experience, Peyton Padgett and Jenni Nadeau. Kellie Lampo garnered the conference’s Freshman of the Year after she averaged 12.2 points and 6.2 rebounds and connected on 48.4 percent of her shots.

Henderson State took fourth in the balloting. The Reddies turned in the sixth-best win increase in the country last year as they went 21-9 to register their first 20-win season since 2005-06. Pink Jones earned First-Team All-GAC honors after she averaged 16.3 points, 3.8 assists and 1.8 steals. She shot 48.7 percent from the field, the fourth-highest mark in the conference.

Southeastern Oklahoma State placed fifth, followed by Oklahoma Baptist. Katie Webb, limited to just nine games a year ago, returns to the Savage Storm for her junior season. She averaged 18.8 points per game in her restricted action. A pair of redshirt seniors will pace the Lady Bison. McKenzie Cooper, a First-Team All-GAC honoree, ranked third in the league in scoring at 17.1 points per game. She tied for first in made 3-point field goals and led in 3-point field goal percentage. They welcome back Katy Custer, a 2016-17 All-GAC Honorable Mention selection, from a redshirt season. She averaged 14.5 points that season and shot 38.3 percent from the 3-point arc.

Ouachita finished seventh, four points ahead of Southern Nazarene and six clear of East Central with Northwestern Oklahoma State in 10^th. The Tigers must replace five of their top seven scorers. The Crimson Storm hired Trent May as its new head coach. He inherits Adrienne Berry, an All-GAC Second-Team pick, and Abby Niehues, who led the conference in blocks.

ECU’s Lakin Preisner led Division in free-throw percentage, 95.6 percent, in addition to averaging 13.6 points per game. The Lady Rangers return Jade Jones, an Honorable Mention guard, who averaged 13.7 points and a league-leading 5.3 assists. Additionally, Kalea King, returns following a redshirt season. In 2016-17, she ranked second in scoring at 16.2 points per game.

Southern Arkansas and Arkansas-Monticello rounded out the poll. Adam Collins takes over as the head coach for the Lady Muleriders.

The regular season begins on Friday, Nov. 9 with all 12 teams in action.

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RUSSELLVILLE – With the start of the 2018 Great American Conference football season three weeks away, the league released its preseason poll with Harding tabbed as the favorite following a vote of the league’s 12 head coaches, the conference office announced.

A season ago, the Bisons posted an 11-4 record and featured an 11-game win streak that resulted in the program’s first appearance in the NCAA Division II National Semifinals. They return six 2017 All-GAC selections, including D2CCA All-American linebacker Sam Blankenship. He led the GAC with 130 tackles and ranked sixth with 13.0 tackles for loss. Center Bryce Bray and defensive end T.J. Winslow garnered All-Region honors. Cole Chancey will lead the potent flexbone offense after he rushed for a GAC-record 1,337 yards and tallied 15 touchdowns.

Ouachita, the 2017 GAC champions, picked up a pair of first-place votes and placed second in the poll. The Tigers return all four of its First-Team All-GAC performers and a total of nine all-conference selections. Receivers Drew Harris and Allie Freeman plus linemen Cori and Justin Gooseberry made the First Team. Justin Gooseberry added First-Team All-Region honors. Harris set the GAC record with 26 touchdowns.

Southern Arkansas took third in balloting. The Muleriders return two senior stalwarts in Davondrick Lison, the 2017 GAC Defensive Player of the Year, and Barrett Renner, the All-GAC First-Team quarterback. Lison led the league with 16.5 tackles for loss and placed second with 7.5 sacks. Renner led the conference in passing yards, touchdowns and pass efficiency. He enters 2018 as the only active quarterback in Division II to have already eclipsed the 10,000-yard milestone.

Southeastern Oklahoma State and Arkansas Tech shared fourth place. A year ago, the Savage Storm secured their fourth-straight winning season under head coach Bo Atterberry. They return seven All-GAC selections including a pair of All-Region specialists in kicker/punter Joel Carlos and returner OJ Walker. Carlos made all of his extra points and led the GAC in field goals. Walker ranked second in the nation in punt return average, 25.0 yards-per return, and return touchdowns, three.

The Wonder Boys earned their second bowl game appearance in the last three years as they participated in the Agent Barry Live United Bowl. They led the GAC in scoring offense, averaging close to 40 points per game. Bryan Allen ranked third in the GAC with 977 yards and he scored 10 touchdowns.

Henderson State finished sixth while Arkansas-Monticello edged out Northwestern Oklahoma State for seventh place. The Reddies look to return to the top of the GAC standings following a 6-5 season. UAM must replace Jalen Tolliver, the GAC Offensive Player of the Year and a Second-Team All-American. The Rangers’ Maurice Wright, Jr. led the conference in tackles per game and Aharon Barnes ranked second in passes defended per game.

Southern Nazarene took ninth, two points ahead of Southwestern Oklahoma State while East Central and Oklahoma Baptist shared 11^th place. Last season, the Crimson Storm became just the second team in GAC history to defeat Harding and Henderson State in the same year. The Bulldogs and Tigers each have first-year head coaches as Chet Pobolish takes over in Weatherford and Al Johnson assumes the held in Ada. The Bison’s Isaiah Mallory ranked sixth in the league in rushing.

The 2018 season opens on Thursday, August 30 with all 12 schools in action. The Bisons visit Henderson State; Ouachita travels to Northwestern Oklahoma State; SAU hosts Arkansas Tech; Southeastern Oklahoma State faces Southern Nazarene; SWOSU welcomes in Arkansas-Monticello and Oklahoma Baptist heads to East Central.

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FORT WORTH, Texas – Langston tops the first Sooner Athletic Conference preseason football coaches’ poll ever.

Conference coaches also named preseason award winners. Southwestern Assemblies of God quarterback C.J. Collins became the preseason SAC offensive player of the year.

Oklahoma Panhandle State linebacker Nate Leithead has been tabbed preseason league defensive player of the year, while Lyon kicker-punter Ignacio Gomez snared preseason special teams player of the year.

Collins, a senior from Bosqueville, Texas, produced 2,840 yards and 26 touchdowns passing last year for the Lions. He ranked 15th in the NAIA in passing yardage to grab league player of the year.

Leithead, a junior from Colorado Springs, Colo., picked up 69 tackles, 32 solo tackles, 2½ sacks and an interception for the Aggies to snag all-league acclaim. Gomez, a junior from Wilmer, Texas, connected on 9-of-12 field-goal attempts and 37-of-39 extra-point attempts while averaging 39.5 yards on punts to make the all-league team. 

Langston comes off a 10-1 season where the Lions went unbeaten until the NAIA Championship Series and won the Central States Football League championship. Langston collected seven of the possible nine first-place votes to total 63 points in the poll and enter the year as the preseason conference favorite. Jaylen Lowe, a senior quarterback from Collinsville, Okla., had 1,116 yards and 11 TDs through the air for Langston to be league athlete of the year in 2017.

Arizona Christian took the second spot in the poll with 51 points while garnering a first-place vote. The Firestorm finished 7-3 last season after winning the previous two league titles. Southwestern Assemblies of God tied for the second slot after also tallying 51 points and a first-place vote. SAGU turned in an 8-3 mark last year.

Panhandle State finished fourth in the poll with 46 points, while Lyon and Wayland Baptist were knotted for fifth at 30 points. Ottawa-Arizona enters its first year of playing football at seventh in the preseason SAC poll. League coaches predicted Texas College to finish eighth, and Texas Wesleyan took ninth in the poll.  

This year marks the inaugural football season for the SAC, whose member schools have amassed an NAIA-best 106 national championships in 14 sports throughout its 40-year history. The first game of 2018 featuring an SAC member happens Thursday, Aug. 23, when Southwestern Assemblies of God visits Evangel (Mo.) for an ESPN3-broadcasted bout. The first ever SAC contest is set for Saturday, Sept. 8, when Ottawa-Arizona visits Langston.

Sooner Athletic Conference
2018 Football Coaches’ Preseason Poll 

NOTE: Votes were cast by each of the nine head coaches. Coaches could not vote for their own team. 

Preseason Offensive Player of the Year: C.J. Collins, QB, Southwestern Assemblies of God 

Preseason Defensive Player of the Year: Nate Leithead, LB, Panhandle State 

Preseason Special Teams Player of the Year: Ignacio Gomez, P/K, Lyon

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DIVISION II

1 – Arkansas Tech (35-1)
2 – Nebraska-Kearney (32-4)
3 – Rockhurst (32-8)
4 – Central Oklahoma (29-4)
5 – Central Missouri (25-7)
6 – Harding (27-6)
7 – Upper Iowa (21-9)
8 – Missouri Western (24-10)
9 – Wayne State (19-12)
10 – Arkansas-Fort Smith (26-7)

DIVISION III

1 – Wartburg (25-6)
2 – Washington (24-10)
3 – Cornell (25-8)
4 – Dubuque (28-7)
5 – Buena Vista (22-10)
6 – Westminster (21-11)
7 – Webster (17-11)
8 – Hendrix (13-17)
9 – Grinnell (16-9)
10 – Luther (16-10)

NAIA

1 – Grand View (34-8)
2 – Northwestern [Iowa] (30-6)
3 – Dordt (34-8)
4 – Columbia (34-8)
5 – Park (32-4)
6 – Hastings (28-3)
7 – Midland (21-11)
8 – Missouri Baptist (34-9)
9 – Bellevue (30-13)
10 – College of the Ozarks (25-6)

MidwestSports.Net covers sports in Arkansas, Kansas, Iowa, Missouri, Nebraska and Oklahoma.

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DIVISION II

1 – Fort Hays State (11-1)
2 – Northwest Missouri (9-3)
3 – Harding (11-4)
4 – Southern Arkansas (7-4)
5 – Central Missouri (7-4)
6 – Pittsburg State (7-4)
7 – Central Oklahoma (7-4)
8 – Ouachita (9-3)
9 – Arkansas Tech (8-4)
10 – Southeastern Oklahoma (7-4)

NAIA

1 – Morningside (13-1)
2 – Northwestern (Iowa) (11-3)
3 – Langston (10-1)
4 – Baker (10-2)
5 – Benedictine (9-3)
6 – Oklahoma Panhandle (7-3)
7 – Grand View (9-3)
8 – Sterling (9-3)
9 – Tabor (8-2)
10 – Kansas Wesleyan (8-3)

MidwestSports.Net covers sports in Arkansas, Kansas, Iowa, Missouri, Nebraska and Oklahoma.

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OKLAHOMA CITY – For the first time in program history, the John Brown University men’s soccer team has been picked to win the Sooner Athletic regular season title, according to the 2017 Coaches’ Preseason Poll, the conference offices announced Wednesday (Aug. 16) morning.

The poll was selected by the league’s head coaches, who were not permitted to vote for their own team. The Golden Eagles, which finished second last season with a 7-1-1 league record, took home five first-place votes and five second-place votes to lead the poll with 105 points.

John Brown was robbed last season of its regular-season crown when a post-dated forfeit worked in favor of Wayland Baptist (Texas), who was picked to finish second in this year’s poll, who then tied with JBU atop the SAC regular season standings. The Pioneers, by virtue of 4-3 double-overtime win over JBU in Plainview, Texas, was awarded the top seed in the 2016 tournament. As a result of the irregularities, the conference did not recognize a regular-season champion.

The preseason poll, which first ran in 2009, had never picked JBU to take a conference crown. The closest the Golden Eagles had ever come was last season, where SAC coaches correctly picked the team to finish second.

“This is an exciting way to start the season,” head coach Brenton Benware noted. “The team has worked hard to get to this place, and we realize the work needed to remain at the top. Ultimately, we know there is a lot required from us each day throughout this season to achieve our team goals, and we look forward to putting in that work daily.”

The poll finishes with Bacone (Okla.) in ninth place at 42 points, conference newcomer Central Christian (Kan.) in tenth with 35 points and St. Gregory’s (Okla.) in 11th place with 27.

The final regular season standings will determine the seeds for the SAC postseason tournament, scheduled to begin with quarterfinals at campus sites on Nov. 4, with the winners moving on the semifinal round on Nov. 7. The championship game will be held at the highest remaining seed on Nov. 10, with the winner receiving an automatic berth to the NAIA National Championships.

JBU returns 18 letterwinners from 2016, including the services of its top-three point-scorers in the trio of juniors Kelvin Omondi, Ryan Williams and Conner Haney. The Golden Eagles return over 87 percent of its offensive output from last season. John Brown will be anchored by reigning Goalkeeper of the Year Adam Holt, who will close out his career this season.

John Brown opens its 2017 home slate on Aug. 25, welcoming Mobile (Ala.) to Alumni Field for a 7:30 p.m. start time. The Rams finished the 2016 season with a third-place finish in the Southern States Athletic Conference, ending the year with a 10-8-0 record.

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The Weevils are in the 2017 preseason poll at No. 31.

UAM finished last season with a school record 40 wins (40-16) and won the Great American Conference postseason tournament.

Henderson State also received votes in the poll.

Here is the entire poll:

Receiving Votes: Missouri-St. Louis, Oklahoma Christian, St. Mary’s (TX), East Stroudsburg, Delta St., N.C. Pembroke, Colorado-Pueblo, Texas A&M-Kingsville, Washburn, Augustana, Alabama-Huntsville, Lynn, Valdosta St., Oklahoma Baptist, Lee, Shepherd, Southern Arkansas, Minnesota-Duluth, Lenoir-Rhyne, Azusa Pacific, Carson-Newman, Northwest Nazarene, Western Oregon, Sonoma St., Cal. St. Monterey Bay, Flagler, Rockhurst, Drury, Trevecca Nazarene, Lewis, Missouri Western St., Henderson St., Nebraska-Kearney, Florida Tech., Slippery Rock, West Virginia St., Shippensburg, California (PA), North Greenville, Erskine, Tusculum, Columbus St., Felician, Molloy, Merrimack, Bridgeport, LeMoyne, Stonehill, Pace, West Texas A&M, Colorado School of Mines.

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BATESVILLE – The Lyon College women’s basketball team will open the 2016-17 season ranked No. 9 in the NAIA Top 25 Preseason Poll, which was announced by the national office on Tuesday.

The Scots are coming off a season in which they set a program record with 30 wins going 30-4 overall and 22-2 in the American Midwest Conference. The team also won their first outright regular season and conference championship. Lyon also made their fifth straight trip to the NAIA National Tournament, falling to preseason ranked No. 18 University of the Great Falls (Mont.) in the second round.

The Scots also had a 19-game winning streak and boasted a 17-1 record inside Becknell Gymnasium last year.

Other teams from the AMC ranked in the poll are Freed-Hardeman University and Columbia College. The Lions sit one spot ahead of the Scots at No. 8, while the Cougars are ranked No. 20.

Defending national champion MidAmerica Nazarene University (Kan.) holds onto the No. 1 spot with seven first-place votes, while Westmont University (Calif.) sits at No. 2 with two first-place votes. Our Lady of the Lake University (Texas) rounds out the top three in the third spot. Baker University (Kan.) who played MidAmerica Nazarene in the national championship last season, fell to No. 13 in the preseason poll.

The Mid-South Conference boasts the most teams represented in the poll with five in No. 4 Campbellsville University (Ky.), No. 5 Lindsey Wilson College (Ky.), No. 11 Shawnee State University (Ohio), No. 17 Pikeville University (Ky.) and No. 23 Cumberland University (Tenn.)

Lyon opens the 2016-17 season on Tuesday, Nov. 1 when they host College of the Ozarks University (Mo.). Tipoff for the home opener is set for 5:30 p.m.

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The Warriors made a trip to the Division III national semifinals in 2015 and are expected to do well in 2016.

Hendrix came in at No. 10 in the American Volleyball Coaches Association Division III Top 25 preseason poll.

The Warriors went 29-9 last season and won both the regular season and tournament titles in the southern Athletic Association.

Their first match is on the road at No. 1 Cal Lutheran, the defending national champion, on Friday, Sept. 2, in La Verne, Calif. It will be the debut of new coach, Angie Boldt.

Poll: AVCA.org

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The Reddies find themselves atop the GAC preseason football poll again this year.

HSU, which has gone 40-4 in the five years of Great American Conferenc play, received 10 of 12 first-place votes and was picked as the league’s preseason favorite for the fifth time in six years.

Harding also received a first-place vote and was tabbed second in the poll, while 2014 GAC champ was picked third.

Southwestern Oklahoma finished 2015 on a six-game winning streak and was picked fourth.

East Central, seventh place in the preseason ranking, received the final first-place vote.

2016 GAC preseason football poll

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