Youngstown State was picked to finish third in the 2025-26 Under Armour Horizon League Women's Basketball Preseason Poll, and Sophia Gregory was named to the preseason first team. The conference office released the results of the poll of the league's 11 head coaches on Thursday.
The Penguins received 92 total points and one first-place vote. They were one of four teams to earn a first-place vote, and they were slotted to finish five spots higher than their tournament seed in 2024-25. Gregory earned the first-team nod after being voted the Horizon League Freshman of the Year last season.
Gregory is one of six returning players and two returning starters from last year's team that finished 12-19 overall and 7-13 in conference play. The Penguins were limited by season-ending injuries to three players in 2024-25 who are now healthy, and they started to find their stride late in the regular season by winning three of their final four games.
Green Bay, the defending regular-season and tournament champion, received eight first-place votes and 117 total points. Robert Morris was picked second with one first-place vote and 97 points. YSU was followed by Cleveland State, which received the final first-place vote and 87 points.
Purdue Fort Wayne (79 points) and Northern Kentucky (70) were picked fifth and sixth, while Detroit Mercy (59), Wright State (47), Milwaukee (29), IU Indianapolis (27) and Oakland (22) were placed seventh through 11th.
Gregory led all conference freshmen in points, rebounds, blocks and steals per game as well as double-doubles in 2024-25. The 6-foot-2 forward was a three-time Horizon League Freshman of the Week, and she finished her first collegiate season averaging 10.2 points, 7.2 rebounds and 1.2 blocks per game.
Gregory was joined on the Preseason All-League First Team by Cleveland State's Colbi Maples, the Preseason Player of the Year; Detroit Mercy's Aaliyah McQueen; Green Bay's Maddy Skorupski; and Northern Kentucky's Mya Meredith. The second team consisted of Green Bay's Jenna Guyer and Kamy Peppler, Purdue Fort Wayne's Jordan Reid, and Robert Morris' Noa Givon and Aislin Malcomb.
YSU opens the season on Nov. 3 by hosting Thiel at 11 a.m. at Zidian Family Arena at Beeghly Center. That is the first of seven non-conference games in November for the Penguins, who will begin their 25th season of Horizon League play on Dec. 5.
Season tickets are available by calling the YSU Athletic Ticket Office at (330) 941-1978. Single-game tickets will be available through YSUsports.com starting Oct. 13.
2025-26 Under Armour #HLWBB Preseason Poll
| Pl. |
Team (First-place votes) |
Pts. |
| 1. |
Green Bay (8) |
117 |
| 2. |
Robert Morris (1) |
97 |
| 3. |
Youngstown State (1) |
92 |
| 4. |
Cleveland State (1) |
87 |
| 5. |
Purdue Fort Wayne |
79 |
| 6. |
Northern Kentucky |
70 |
| 7. |
Detroit Mercy |
59 |
| 8. |
Wright State |
47 |
| 9. |
Milwaukee |
29 |
| 10. |
IU Indianapolis |
27 |
| 11. |
Oakland |
22 |
#HLWBB Preseason Player of the Year
Colbi Maples, Cleveland State
Preseason All-League First Team (alphabetical order by school)
- Colbi Maples, Cleveland State
- Aaliyah McQueen, Detroit Mercy
- Maddy Skorupski, Green Bay
- Mya Meredith, Northern Kentucky
- Sophia Gregory, Youngstown State
Preseason All-League Second Team (alphabetical order by school)
- Jenna Guyer, Green Bay
- Kamy Peppler, Green Bay
- Jordan Reid, Purdue Fort Wayne
- Noa Givon, RMU
- Aislin Malcomb, RMU
