COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. – Chadron State women's basketball has been picked to tie for 13th in the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference, based on a vote of the league's head coaches. Chadron State finished15th in last year's conference standings.
Colorado Mesa, the top finishers in the RMAC for women's basketball last year, were again the top pick for the 2026-27 season. Colorado Mesa advanced to the Final Four in the NCAA Tournament last year and finished their regular season 20-0 in RMAC play. With a total of 192 points, Colorado Mesa received 11 of 15 first place votes.
Tailing Colorado Mesa, MSU Denver tallied 166 points and one first place vote. UCCS was picked third with 157 points, earning two first-place votes, while Black Hills State was a close fourth place pick, receiving the final first-place vote and finishing with 155 points.
Fort Lewis received two second place votes, and Colorado School of Mines received two third place votes.The two were picked fifth and sixth place, respectively. CSU Pueblo and New Mexico Highlands, who each received one third place vote, were picked to finish in seventh and eighth.
Following the top eight picks are Adams State, Colorado Christian, Western Colorado and South Dakota Mines ahead of Chadron State. Westminster and Chadron State tied for 13th, both receiving 39 points, while Regis was picked last of the 15 teams.
With the poll, the RMAC released its Preseason All-Conference team, containing the top 10 returners from All-Conference voting last year. New Mexico Highlands and Fort Lewis received the most selections, with two players picked from each team.
Head coach, Jalen Little, has seven returning players as he enters his second season as the Eagle's head coach. The returnees include three of last year's usual starters, all of them guards.
They include senior Audrey Quintana, who was the team's second-leading scorer at 9.8 points a game. She shot 35 percent from the field, sank 35 three-pointers, second highest on the team, and made 33 of 37 free throws. Her grit and ability to handle the ball allows her to drive to the basket.
Also back is Kenna Wagner, the team's primary point guard last season as a freshman. She led the Eagles in assists with 75 and steals with 33 while averaging 6.9 points and coming away with 72 rebounds, the third highest on the team.
Also bringing experience is Dreanna Jackson, a senior who averaged 5.0 points, and Carmen Morris, who tore an ACL in the Eagles' third game last season and, of course, missed the rest of the schedule.
Newcomers include juco transfers Zaily Mazarin (11.8 ppg at North Plate CC), Sophie Wilkinson and Jordan Derby, all over six feet, plus Northwest Oklahoma State transfer EmmaJo Locks, who racked up 108 steals for North Platte CC in 2024-25. Northwest Nazarene transfer Ashlynn Sylve averaged 14.6 points per game at Yakima Valley College. The freshman class includes Fort Collins, Colorado's Annika VanDalen and Erie, Colorado's Reagyn Allen.
Chadron State opens the season at home against Bethany College on Tuesday, November 10, although they will face off against Division I Colorado State University on October 28 in an exhibition match. RMAC play begins at home on Thursday, December 3 vs. Colorado Mesa.
