Oct. 23—MITCHELL — The Dakota Wesleyan University women’s basketball team has landed a top-10 ranking in the preseason NAIA coaches top-25 poll, claiming the No. 9 position in the preseason.
The Tigers, who were 22-11 last season and reached the NAIA round of 16 for the first time since 2019, were one of three Great Plains Athletic Conference teams picked in the top-10. Defending national champion Dordt (Iowa) is the preseason No. 1 in NAIA women’s basketball after claiming the national championship in 2023-24. No. 5 Concordia (Neb.), No. 19 Northwestern (Iowa) and No. 23 Briar Cliff are also in the preseason rankings from the GPAC as well.
In addition to Dordt winning the national championship, the GPAC had five of the final 16 at the national tournament in Sioux City, Iowa. No. 2 Providence (Mont.) and No. 3 Indiana Wesleyan were also teams that received first-place votes. Dordt, Concordia and Dakota Wesleyan were also picked 1-2-3 in the GPAC preseason poll for this season.
DWU brings back six of its top seven scorers from last season, including leading scorer and GPAC reigning freshman of the year Emma Yost. The Tigers also added University of South Dakota transfer and Corsica native Avery Broughton to the roster.
The Tigers’ home opener on Wednesday, Nov. 6 will be a matchup of rivals and preseason top-10 ranked teams, with No. 6-ranked Dakota State visiting the Corn Palace. The Trojans made the national quarterfinals in 2024 for the second year in a row. It’s the first of three ranked opponents DWU will face in November at home, as No. 19 Northwestern visits on Wednesday, Nov. 20 and No. 23 Briar Cliff on Tuesday, Nov. 26 at the Corn Palace.
Of note this year, the coaches top-25 will no longer be used to help select the 64-team postseason field, and will only be used for publicity of NAIA basketball. An NAIA national selection committee will receive RPI and strength of schedule information, along with records against different quadrants of the RPI, and will also receive input from area regional committees around the country starting in January. Conference record, common opponents, head-to-head results and net efficiency will also be secondary criteria.
In NAIA men’s basketball, Langston (Okla.) is the preseason No. 1 team, followed by No. 2 College of Idaho, No. 3 Indiana Wesleyan, No. 4 Freed-Hardeman (Tenn.) and No. 5 Oklahoma Wesleyan. Concordia (Neb.) is the top-ranked GPAC team at No. 11, while Northwestern (Iowa) is at No. 15 and Dordt is receiving votes.
