ASHLAND – Set to begin the 2026-27 season under new leadership, the Southern Oregon University women's basketball team was sixth in the Cascade Conference preseason coaches' poll released on Thursday.

Only two wins separated the first- and sixth-place teams in the standings last season, and the conference is expected to be tight again with College of Idaho starting as the favorite. The Yotes received five of 11 first-place votes, while three other teams picked up at least one.

SOU interim head coach David Heard will take over a team that went 19-11 last season and tied for fifth place in the CCC at 14-6, qualifying for the NAIA Tournament for the fifth year in a row.

The Raiders will have to replace the production of their top three scorers from 2025-26. They brought back one full-time starter in senior point guard Keeley Wright (6.0 points, 3.5 assists, 2.3 steals) and a couple of part-timers in forwards Lydia Traore and Alex Bullock. Traore, a 6-foot-2 sophomore, was immediately one of the circuit's most impactful defenders with top-20 marks in blocked shots, rebounds and steals.

New to the group is a pair of transfers: Maitlin Young, who averaged 18 points last year at Lane C.C., and Adia Walker, who made 82 appearances at guard over the last three years at NCAA Division II Dominican (Calif.).

The Raiders open Oct. 24-25 in Spokane, Wash., against Frontier Conference opponents Montana State-Northern and Rocky Mountain (Mont.). A season preview will be published next week.
 

2026-27 CCC Women's Basketball Preseason Poll

Team (1st-place votes)	Points
1. College of Idaho (5)	107
2. Oregon Tech (2)	101
3. Corban (3)	100
4. Lewis-Clark State	94
5. Eastern Oregon (1)	89
6. Southern Oregon	69
7. Northwest	49
8. Bushnell	47
9. Warner Pacific	31
10. Evergreen State	21
11. Walla Walla	18