Ladies’s Basketball Picked as Conference Favourite, McDaniel Voted Preseason Player of the Year

NEW ORLEANS – James Madison ladies’s basketball was voted the highest workforce within the Sun Belt Conference for the third consecutive season, whereas Peyton McDaniel was tabbed because the Preseason Player of the Year and Ashanti Barnes earned an All-Sun Belt Second Team nod, as introduced by the league on Monday afternoon.
 
The Dukes, coming off a program-record 30 wins and their third straight journey to the Sun Belt Conference title recreation, acquired 9 first-place votes for 189 factors to be named league favorites. Since taking on the reins of this system in 2016, Head Coach Sean O’Regan has seen his squad picked to complete first eight instances.
 
Arkansas State collected three first-place votes for second with 174 factors, whereas Troy (third – 171) and Old Dominion (4th – 151) cut up the remaining two votes. Southern Miss rounded out the highest 5 with 125 factors, additionally boasting two All-Sun Belt choices in Jakayla Johnson (First Team) and Meloney Thames (Third Team).
 
McDaniel, the reigning Sun Belt Conference Player of the Year, returns after averaging 16.0 factors and eight.2 rebounds per recreation and serving to lead James Madison to a 30-6 (18-0 SBC) report. The All-Sun Belt First Team honoree produced 14 double-doubles, together with recording 5 straight from Jan. 18 by means of Feb. 1. The guard’s historic season locations her eighth in program historical past in scoring (1,668 factors) and is 29 boards away from cracking JMU’s top-10 rebounding checklist (764 rebounds). Since the 2020-21 season, McDaniel and Caitlin Clark are the one Division I gamers to have averaged 14.0 factors and 6.0 rebounds per recreation with a minimum of 250 makes from three.
 
Barnes, an All-Sun Belt Tournament workforce and Third Team choice a season in the past, is again after averaging 10.3 factors and seven.9 rebounds per contest. The versatile ahead dished out 69 assists final yr, making her the one Sun Belt Conference participant in 2024-25 to common a minimum of 10 factors and 7 rebounds per recreation, whereas meting out 50 or extra assists. Barnes upped her recreation in Sun Belt play with 11.1 factors and eight.8 boards per outing in opposition to league opponents, highlighted by six double-doubles and three 20-plus level performances.
 
The Dukes open the 2025-26 season with a five-game homestand, beginning with a MAC-SBC Challenge matchup in opposition to Kent State on Monday, Nov. 3. Action contained in the Atlantic Union Bank Center is slated for six p.m. and can stream on ESPN+.
 
Fans can be part of the Duke Club at present – along with supporting JMU student-athletes, a Duke Club membership supplies quite a few advantages, together with entry to unique occasions, recreation day experiences (i.e. recreation day parking and entry), informational updates, and a ten% low cost on the JMU Bookstore. For extra info on the way to be part of, go to JMUDukeClub.com or name (540) 568-6461.

Single-game tickets for the 2025-26 basketball season are on sale now! Two mini-plan choices are additionally obtainable and might be bought at JMUTickets.com or by calling 540-568-3853.

 

2025 Sun Belt Conference Women’s Basketball Preseason Awards

 

Preseason Player of the Year

Peyton McDaniel, James Madison [R-Sr. | G | Birdsboro, Pa.]

 

Preseason All-Sun Belt First Team

En’Dya Buford, Old Dominion [Gr. | G | Memphis, Tenn.]

Zay Dyer, Troy [Sr. | F | Atlanta, Ga.]

Jakayla Johnson, Southern Miss [Gr. | G | Clinton, Miss]

Peyton McDaniel, James Madison [R-Sr. | G | Birdsboro, Pa.]

Crislyn Rose, Arkansas State [Jr. | G | Sachse, Texas]

 

Preseason All-Sun Belt Second Team

Ashanti Barnes, James Madison [Gr. | F | Norfolk, Va.]

Crystal Henderson, Georgia State [Jr. | G | Marietta, Ga.]

Rachel Leggett, Troy [Sr. | G | Navarre, Fla.]

Zyion Shannon, Arkansas State [Sr. | G | Smyrna, Tenn.]

Kristin Williams, Coastal Carolina [Gr. | G | San Diego, Calif.]

 

Preseason All-Sun Belt Third Team

Ashley Baez, Troy [Sr. | G | Dominican Republic]

Simone Cunningham, Old Dominion [Sr. | G | Pleasant Grove, Ala.]

Meredith Maier, Marshall [Sr. | F | Fairmont, W.Va.]

Elena Pericic, App State [Sr. | F | Rijeka, Croatia]

Meloney Thames, Southern Miss [Gr. | G | Philadelphia, Miss.]

 

2025 Sun Belt Conference Women’s Basketball Preseason Coaches Poll

1. James Madison (9) – 189

2. Arkansas State (3) – 174

3. Troy (1) – 171

4. Old Dominion (1) – 151

5. Southern Miss – 125

6. Coastal Carolina – 104

7. Georgia State – 102

8. Marshall – 100

9. App State – 94

10. Georgia Southern – 73

11. Louisiana – 67

12. Texas State – 55

13. ULM – 36

14. South Alabama – 29

Parentheses point out first-place votes