“This is a really cool recognition for Delaney because the coaches in the Big 12 know the game of basketball and what qualities impact winning,” said head coach Lee Cummard. “This recognition shows the respect the coaches in our league have for Delaney and how impactful she is for our team, as it pertains to winning.”

Gibb, a 5-foot-10 guard from Raymond, Alberta, averaged 17.5 points per game and made 77 3-pointers last season. She scored a career-high 36 points in an overtime loss at Utah and played for Team Canada this summer in the FIBA Women’s AmeriCup.

BYU’s 10th-place selection in the preseason coaches poll is the highest mark since entering the league. The Cougars were picked to finish 11th in 2022-23, their first season as a Big 12 Conference member, and 12th last season. Last season, BYU finished tie for 12th in the league with a 4-14 record along with UCF, which beat the Cougars in the first round of the Big 12 Tournament, and Texas Tech.

The league’s individual preseason awards were headlined by Iowa State’s Audi Crooks (Player), TCU’s Olivia Miles (Newcomer) and Cincinnati’s Dee Alexander (Freshman). Miles and Crooks both represented Team USA at the FIBA AmeriCup this summer, helping capture the gold medal, while Alexander joins Cincinnati as the highest-ranked recruit in program history.

TCU was selected as the favorite in the Conference’s preseason coaches’ poll for the first time in program history. The Horned Frogs swept the regular season and postseason Big 12 titles during the 2024-25 campaign and advanced to the Elite Eight for the first time in school history.

Crooks is the fourth Cyclone to be named the league’s Preseason Player of the Year and the first since Ashley Joens in 2022. The center from Algona, Iowa, started all 35 contests as a sophomore and set the ISU single-season records for scoring (820) and made field goals (329) while leading the Big 12 with 23.4 points and shooting over 60 percent from the floor. Crooks finished the year as an AP and USBWA Third Team All-American while earning Unanimous First Team All-Big 12 honors.

Miles is TCU’s second consecutive Preseason Newcomer of the Year, following 2025 Big 12 Player of the Year Hailey Van Lith, who garnered the honor a season ago. The graduate student from Notre Dame joins the Horned Frogs as a three-time All-American and a three-time First Team All-ACC selection. The Phillipsburg, New Jersey native was projected as the No. 2 overall pick in the 2025 WNBA draft before transferring to TCU. She enters the year as the active Division I leader in career assists per game (6.5), total assists (654) and triple-doubles (6).

Alexander is Cincinnati’s first Big 12 individual preseason award honoree. The five-star guard from Cincinnati finished at No. 11 in the final ESPNW rankings and was ranked as the No. 1 player in Ohio by Prep Hoops. Alexander is the first Bearcat signee to be named a McDonald’s All-American and was also recognized as Ohio’s Gatorade Player of the Year in back-to-back seasons.

A full preview of the 2025-26 season will take place as the league returns to Kansas City’s T-Mobile Center for Big 12 Women’s Basketball Media Day presented by New Era on Tuesday, Oct. 21. The event will air on ESPNU and ESPN+ from 11 a.m. – 2 p.m. CT, with additional coverage throughout the day on ESPN+.

2025-26 Big 12 Women’s Basketball Preseason Coaches’ Poll

1. TCU (10) – 219 points

2. Iowa State (2) – 202 points

3. Baylor (2) – 200 points

4. Oklahoma State (2) – 186 points

5. West Virginia – 161 points

6. Kansas – 156 points

7. K-State – 143 points

8. Utah – 115 points

9. Colorado – 114 points

10. BYU – 85 points

11. Arizona State – 84 points

12. Cincinnati – 82 points

13. Texas Tech – 63 points

14. Arizona – 47 points

15. Houston – 41 points

16. UCF – 22 points

(first-place votes)

2025-26 Preseason All-Big 12 Women’s Basketball

Player of the Year: Audi Crooks, Iowa State

Newcomer of the Year: Olivia Miles, TCU

Freshman of the Year: Dee Alexander, Cincinnati

All-Big 12 Preseason Team

Darianna Littlepage-Buggs, Baylor*

Bella Fontleroy, Baylor

Delaney Gibb, BYU*

Jade Masogayo, Colorado

Addy Brown, Iowa State

Audi Crooks, Iowa State*

S’Mya Nichols, Kansas*

Stailee Heard, Oklahoma State*

Olivia Miles, TCU*

Jordan Harrison, West Virginia

*Indicates unanimous selection