CHADRON, Neb. – With new program leadership and a primarily new team, the Chadron State women's basketball program has been ranked 14^th in the RMAC Preseason Coaches Poll. 

The prediction is mostly in line with the Eagles' finish last season, when CSC went 5-15 in RMAC play (6-20 overall) to finish in a three-way tie for 12^th through 14^th place in the league standings. Little, a former Chadron State men's basketball assistant and recent CSU Pueblo women's basketball assistant, was named the program's 12^th-ever head coach on June 24. 

The preseason poll is based on a vote of the league's 15 head coaches, who each rank the conference's opposing programs without ranking their own team.

Defending regular season champions Colorado Mesa were the preseason pick to win the league, receiving nine first-place votes plus five second-place votes for 191 total points. The other six first-place votes went to defending tournament champions UCCS, who also had four second-place votes and three third-place votes for 181 total points. 

Behind the top two, Adams State (four 2nds, three 3rds, 159 points), Western Colorado (two 2nds, four 3rds, 150 points) and Colorado School of Mines (four 3rds, 141 points) rounded out the top five. The remainder of the RMAC Tournament places are occupied by Black Hills State (127 points), CSU Pueblo (121) and New Mexico Highlands (117). All those programs except for Colorado School of Mines qualified for the RMAC playoffs last season. 

MSU Denver is picked ninth with 89 points, followed by Colorado Christian (75), South Dakota Mines (56) and Fort Lewis (54) in the top 12. Westminster placed 13^th with 47 points in the poll, just one point ahead of the Eagles, who had 46. Regis rounded out the poll and was picked 15^th, receiving 21 points. 

Along with the preseason poll, the RMAC released a 10-player Preseason All-RMAC team, made up of the top 10 returning vote-getters from last season's All-Conference selections. Nine schools were represented on the 10-player team, with Adams State the only school to have multiple selections. Colorado Mesa's Olivia Reed Thyne, last season's RMAC Player of the Year and a former Chadron High School athlete, returns to lead the Mavericks in 2025-26. 

The Eagles will have a mostly new look this season, with three returners in redshirt junior Camren Morris, senior McKenzi Petersen and junior Jordyn Stokes. Chadron State's 16-player roster features student-athletes from 10 different states, along with one international player. 

Chadron State will open the season on November 15 on the road against Oklahoma Christian. CSC's first home game will be against South Dakota Mines on Saturday, December 6.