INDIANAPOLIS, Ind. - The Great Midwest Athletic Conference (G-MAC) has unveiled the results of the 2026-27 Women's Basketball Preseason Poll. The Malone University Pioneers were voted eighth in the league.
 
Malone totaled 77 points in the poll. The defending regular season the conference tournament champions Northwood University were chosen as the favorites in the G-MAC with 141 points and 10 of 13 first-place votes. Ashland University received the three remaining first-place votes and were second with 126 points. Walsh University (123 points) and Thomas More University (110 points) rounded out the top four.
 
The Pioneers are coming off a season where they reached the NCAA Tournament for the third time in program history and faced Northwood in the G-MAC Tournament Championship Final. Malone finished the year with a record of 25-7 and were 16-4 in league play. The sidelines will look different this year following the departure of Head Coach Selana Ickes, the winningest coach in Malone women's basketball history. The Pioneers now look to first-year Head Coach Jake Shoup.
 
Despite a large senior class graduating in 2026, Malone returns a solid core of experienced student-athletes. Seniors include Irene Maroto and Elena Oliver as well as redshirt junior Meredith Randulic and newcomer to the program, redshirt junior Caley Strahan. Juniors Kylee Bruce, Abbey Price and Kamryn Ruffin make for a quality group of upperclassmen that combined for 69 starts for the Pioneers last season. Two sophomores and four freshmen make up the remainder of the roster for 2026-27.
 
Oliver returns to the court as a member of the Second Team All-Conference in the G-MAC in 2025-26. She was tabbed as a Second Team All-Midwest Region honoree in the NCCAA as well. Oliver averaged 8.8 points and 4.9 rebounds per game in 31 contests.
 
The season begins for Malone women's basketball on Wednesday, November 11 at Davis & Elkins College. Tip-off is set for 5:30 P.M.