Big West Women's Basketball Preseason Coaches and Media Polls
With two weeks to go until the start of the 2020-21 campaign, the Big West women's basketball head coaches and selected media each chose their own preseason favorites as well as a six-member All-Conference team. A familiar face sits atop the newly minted 11-team league as UC Davis was deemed the favorite by both the coaches and media. Both entities also placed five of the same six players on the preseason All-Conference team, led by returning first team All-Big West selection Sierra Campisano of Cal Poly.
Below are team capsules of the top half of the polls while the full preseason polls and All-Conference teams are available in the provided link.
UC DAVIS (1st Coaches, 1st Media)
• 2019-20 Record: 17-12 (12-4 Big West)
• Head Coach: Jennifer Gross (10th season - 173-110)
• Four-time defending Big West regular season champion is one of three schools all-time to win at least four consecutive titles (LBSU, UCSB).
• Aggies own a record of 55-9 in Big West play over the last four seasons, 20 wins better than the next highest club (CSUN).
• Head coach Jennifer Gross has won four straight Big West Coach of the Year awards and is just 27 wins shy of 200 for her career.
• UC Davis returns eight letterwinners and three starters off last year's regular season championship team.
• The Aggies finished last season ranked 10th in the NCAA in threes made (8.93) and 17th in three-point percentage (36.5).
UC IRVINE (2nd Coaches, 2nd Media)
• 2019-20 Record: 13-18 (9-7 Big West)
• Head Coach: Tamara Inoue (5th season - 56-69)
• UC Irvine shook off a tough start last season to finish 9-7 in league play and claimed the No. 3 seed in the Big West Tournament.
• Sophomore Sophia Locandro is the top Anteater returnee after averaging 11.0 points, 5.4 rebounds and 1.2 blocks in her true freshman season.
• A year ago eight players in the UCI rotation averaged double-digit minutes and three averaged double-figure points in conference play.
• Senior Haleigh Talbert was key factor to the UCI turnaround, averaging 12.8 points, 5.1 rebounds ans 2.4 assists in 16 conference games.
• Since 2017-18 UC Irvine has won 51 games, the best three-year stretch for the program since 1983-86.
UC SANTA BARBARA (3rd Coaches, 4th Media)
• 2019-20 Record: 14-15 (9-7 Big West)
• Head Coach: Bonnie Henrickson (6th season - 62-90)
• UC Santa Barbara finished in a tie for second in the Big West standings a year ago, the highest finish for the club since tying for the league title in 2010-11.
• Senior Danae Miller has played 2,388 minutes over her Gaucho career, an average of 30.5 minutes per game over her 79 career games (73 starts).
• UC Santa Barbara is one of two teams in the Big West to win at least nine conference games in three of the last four seasons (UCD).
• A year ago the Gauchos topped USC for their first win over a Pac-12 team since 2007.
HAWAI'I (5th Coaches, 3rd Media)
• 2019-20 Record: 16-14 (9-7 Big West)
• Head Coach: Laura Beeman (9th season - 133-115)
• Since returning to the league in 2012-13 Hawai'i has one regular season title, one tournament title, three championship game appearances and four WNIT bids.
• Senior Amy Atwell leads the way for the 'Bows, coming off a season where she averaged 10.6 points, 4.9 rebounds and shot 45.3% from three-point land.
• Sophomore Nae Nae Calhoun set the program record for assists (104) last season and also ranked seventh in the league in assists per game (3.6).
• Hawai'i allowed the opposition to score just 60.7 points per game and shoot just 38.1% from the floor a year ago.
CAL POLY (4th Coaches, 5th Media)
• 2019-20 Record: 11-18 (6-10 Big West)
• Head Coach: Faith Mimnaugh (23rd season - 309-359)
• Cal Poly was in the midst of a Cinderella run in the Big West Tournament as the No. 8 seed a year ago, defeating Long Beach State and UC Irvine before the cancellation of the tourney.
• The Mustangs return arguably the best 1-2 punch in the Big West in senior Sierra Campisano (17.2 ppg, 8.1 rpg) and sophomore Abbey Ellis (15.6 ppg, 4.6 rpg, 2.9 apg).
• A year ago head coach Faith Mimnaugh became just the second coach to win 300 games in the Big West. She is also just 19 wins shy of 200 in conference play which would make her just the second coach all-time to achieve that feat.