WASHINGTON – The Atlantic 10 has announced its preseason honors for the 2026-27 women’s basketball season. Both the preseason poll and the preseason all-conference and all-defensive teams were announced ahead of Media Day, which took place on Monday, Oct. 19 at the Westin DC Downtown in Washington, D.C.
 
2026-27 Women’s Basketball Preseason Honors (PDF)
 
The preseason poll, preseason all-conference teams, and preseason all-defensive team were chosen by a panel of the 14 Atlantic 10 women’s basketball head coaches.
 
Saint Joseph’s was selected the unanimous preseason favorite, tallying 196 total points and all 14 first-place votes. The Hawks become the league’s first unanimous preseason favorites since UMass ahead of the 2022-23 season.
 
Coming off the team’s fourth consecutive 20-win season, Saint Joseph’s returns the 2025-26 A10 Most Improved Player, Gabby Casey and the 2024-25 A10 Sixth Woman of the Year, Aleah Snead. Casey led the Hawks with 15.7 points per game last season, ranking fourth in the league, while adding 6.4 rebounds and 1.6 steals per game. Snead recorded 11.6 points, 5.4 rebounds, and 3.2 assists per game as well.
 
Casey was named to the preseason all-conference first team, while Snead landed on the preseason all-conference second team and the preseason all-defensive team. Junior guard Rhian Stokes, who averaged 9.8 points and 3.3 assists per contest last season, earned preseason all-conference third team honors.
 
Davidson, who took down St. Joe’s 64-59 in last year’s quarterfinal round of the Betterment Atlantic 10 Women’s Basketball Tournament, placed second in the preseason poll with 181 voting points. The Wildcats return sharpshooter Katie Donovan, who finished the 2025-26 campaign ranked third nationally in 3-point percentage by knocking down 45.8 percent of her attempts from beyond the arc. Donovan was named to the preseason all-conference first team, while Davidson junior guard Kyra Bruyndoncx earned preseason third-team honors after averaging 7.4 points and 3.6 rebounds per game last year.
 
George Washington ranked third in the preseason poll with 141 points, a testament to the quick turnaround head coach Ganiyat Adeduntan has produced entering her second year at the helm for GW. During her first season leading the Revolutionaries, George Washington earned a national postseason bid for the first time in nine years. The Revolutionaries reached the WNIT Great 8, becoming the first coach in program history to earn a postseason win in their first year at the helm.
 
George Washington returns five key players from last year’s roster, including All-Conference selection Gabby Reynolds, who averaged 14.6 points and 4.3 rebounds per game last season. Reynolds was named to the preseason all-conference first team, while GW senior forward Sara Lewis earned preseason second team honors after a season in which she tallied 11.2 points and 6.1 rebounds per contest.
 
Coming off the program’s first-ever share of the A10 regular season title in 2025-26, George Mason placed fourth in the preseason poll with 138 points. The Patriots went 16-2 in league play last year, reaching the championship final of the Betterment A10 Women’s Basketball Tournament and earning the No. 3 seed in the WBIT.
 
The Patriots return sophomore guard Mary Amoateng – named to the preseason all-conference second team and preseason all-defensive team – who averaged 8.5 points, 2.8 rebounds, 2.3 assists, and 2.2 steals per game last season. Junior guard Anovia Sheals, who transferred to George Mason from Austin Peay during the offseason, was named to the preseason all-conference third team. Sheals led the Governors with 14.1 points per contest last year, adding 5.9 rebounds per game.
 
Dayton enters the 2026-27 season ranked fifth in the preseason poll, having won at least one postseason game in each of head coach Tamika Williams-Jeter’s first four seasons. Flyers junior guard Olivia Leung earned preseason all-conference third team honors, averaging 8.7 points, 3.0 rebounds, and 1.4 assists per game last year. Senior center Fatima Ibrahim, who ranked second in the A10 with 1.8 blocks per game last season, was named to the preseason all-defensive team.
 
Led by reigning Atlantic 10 Rookie of the Year Alyssa Koerkenmeier, Saint Louis placed sixth in the preseason poll with 123 points. The 6-6 sophomore center landed on the preseason all-conference first team and preseason all-defensive team after averaging 12.1 points per game last season and a league-best 9.5 rebounds and 2.5 blocks per contest. VCU enters the season seventh (106 points) in the preseason poll in head coach Chelsea Banbury’s first season with the Rams, led by Big South Player of the Year and A10 preseason all-conference second team selection Macy Spencer.
 
Two more of the league’s new head coaches make up the next two spots in the poll. Richmond, in Alisa Kresge’s first year at the helm, placed eighth with 101 points – led by preseason all-conference first team selection Ally Sweeney. Rhode Island head coach Colleen Mullen will look to defend the Rams’ A10 tournament title with a squad led by preseason all-conference first team and preseason all-defensive team member Sophia Vital, ranking ninth in the preseason poll with 97 points.
 
Coming off one of the strongest campaigns in program history, La Salle enters the 2026-27 campaign 10th in the preseason poll with 78 points. The Explorers are paced by two preseason all-conference selections: junior guard Joanie Quinn (second team) and junior forward Kiara Williams (third team). St. Bonaventure placed 11th in the preseason poll with 59 votes, followed by Duquesne in 12th (51).
 
Fordham (40) and Loyola Chicago (32) rounded out the preseason poll in 13th and 14th, respectively. Fordham graduate guard Alexis Black earned preseason all-conference second team honors, leading all of the 2026-27 A10 returners with 16.3 points per game last season.
 
The 2026-27 Atlantic 10 women’s basketball season starts on Monday, Nov. 2, while conference play starts Wednesday, Dec. 2 The season will culminate with the Betterment Atlantic 10 Women’s Basketball Tournament, which returns to Henrico from March 3-7, 2027.