Consistency is defined as “acting, behaving, or happening in a steady and predictable way over time.” Coaches in any sport are constantly looking for consistent results from their teams – in practices, games and their everyday habits. They preach doing it the right way and little by little, finding a consistent path to winning and sustained success.
The Summit League has been known for many years as one of the best mid-major women’s basketball conferences in the country. It is full of intriguing storylines, interstate rivalries, outstanding coaches and tremendous talent that is in the spotlight night in and night out. But no matter how successful a team is during the season, mid-major programs live in the reality that their path to packing their dancing shoes for the NCAA Tournament is very narrow. Teams know they control their own destiny and winning the conference tournament to secure the automatic bid is the ultimate goal.
Winning in the Summit has been a consistent theme in the state of South Dakota. Prior to the 2025-26 season, the last team other than South Dakota or South Dakota State to win a regular season or tournament title was former league member Western Illinois in 2017. The SDSU Jackrabbits that have been an unmovable force at the top spot, ticking off a three-peat of undefeated conference regular seasons (2022-25) and four consecutive tournament championships (2022-26).
You can always count on the winter winds to consistently blow north on Interstate 29 and last season saw a changing of the guard at the top of the league standings. The Summit League regular season crown landed in Fargo as North Dakota State captured their first title in program history. Can the Bison now be the standard of consistency this season and not only repeat but unseat the reigning tournament champions? Who will be packing their dancing shoes in March after cutting down the nets in Sioux Falls?
Welcome to the 2026-27 Summit League season preview.
*The order of teams in this preview reflects the preseason poll (voting panel included the league’s eight head coaches, sports information directors and select media members.)
*Statistics cited in this preview are obtained from schools and the League.
North Dakota State
2025-26 record: 29-5 overall (15-1)
It was a season of firsts last year for the Bison as they stampeded their way to a Summit League regular season title, setting a school record with 15 league wins. NDSU rattled off a 23-game winning streak during the season (one of the longest in the nation) and went 12-0 at home in Fargo. What is the message heading into the 2026-27 season? For head coach Jory Collins, the 2026 Summit League Coach of the Year, it is about upgrading expectations and knowing his program has gone from the hunters to the hunted. When that is the case, you need veterans and leaders ready for battle. For NDSU, it starts with forward Avery Koenen, the reigning Summit League Player of the Year. The 6’3 senior averaged a double-double a season ago with 19.5 points and 10.8 boards per game. Koenen, who hails from Montevideo, MN, posted 14 games of 20 or more points last year and will look to stretch the floor more from the perimeter this season.
The Bison backcourt is stacked with multiple weapons, including senior sharpshooter Abby Krzewinski, who started all 34 games a season ago. Junior guards Jocelyn Schiller (10.2 points per game) and Marisa Frost (12.7 points per game) were both named to the All-Summit League Preseason First Team. 6’2 forward Karrington Asp, the 2026 Summit League Sixth Woman of the Year, will have a bigger role this season, creating a one-two frontcourt punch with Koenen. While NDSU claimed the regular season hardware, they fell short in the conference tournament finals to South Dakota State 64-51. The loss left them on the outside looking in at the 2026 NCAA Tournament. The road to the 2027 Big Dance begins Nov. 2 on the road at Gonzaga, at home Nov. 9 against Creighton and then at UTSA on Nov. 21, a NCAA Tournament team in 2026. The Bison will face another dominant mid-major program in Fairfield at the St. Pete’s Showcase over Thanksgiving and then tussle with Kansas out of the Big 12 on Dec. 10. Summit League action begins at home on Jan. 7 against St. Thomas.
South Dakota State
2025-26 record: 27-7 overall (14-2)
There is no doubt that consistency has been the name of the game for South Dakota State during head coach Aaron Johnston’s tenure in Brookings. The Jackrabbits have punched their ticket to the NCAA Tournament 14 of the last 18 seasons. His program has won four consecutive Summit League tournament titles and amassed over 40 league tournament victories. As in years past, great players graduate and that means Johnston is looking for others to handle the high expectations that come with being a Jackrabbit. SDSU was tops in the league in field goal percentage, assists per game and assist-to-turnover ratio last season and will need that efficiency again as they focus more on playing through their guards rather than the post game. 5’8 junior guard Emilee Fox returns after leading the nation in three-point field goal percentage as sophomore (49.1%). Fellow junior Katie Vasecka, a 6’2 guard from Tea, SD, has battled injuries her first two years in Brookings, but is healthy and a three-level scorer that is a matchup problem for opponents. Sophomore Hadley Thull, a 2026 All-Summit League Freshman Team selection, was impressive in the second half of last year and will step into a bigger role in 2026-27. No strangers to tough non-conference competition, the Jackrabbits will face five Power 4 opponents before the end of November, including at Texas, Oklahoma State at home and Kentucky in the Daytona Beach Classic. They will begin their march to start a new streak of regular season titles in the Summit League on Jan. 7 against Kansas City.
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South Dakota
2025-26: 26-10 overall (15-4)
Coaches are always looking for that consistent piece that a team can rely on in every game. For South Dakota last season, head coach Carrie Eighmey demanded that piece be the Coyotes’ defense. USD led the league in scoring defense in 2025-26, holding teams to 58.6 points per game on the year. Eighmey and her staff have instilled the mentality that defense impacts winning. It helped the Coyotes to 15 more wins than the year before and an appearance as one of the last four teams in the WNIT postseason tournament. Now they turn the page to this season with a host of returners that are impact players and seven freshmen and sophomores on the roster as well.
Senior guard Molly Joyce, an All-Summit League Preseason First Team selection, averaged 15.8 points per game in league play as a junior on her way to being named the 2026 Summit League Newcomer of the Year. The Algona, IA native had four consecutive games of 20 or more points to start league play last year and will need to be an aggressive three-level scorer again for the ‘Yotes.
Senior guard Jenna Hopp returns after starting 30 games as a junior (24.5 minutes per game) along with sophomore Tori Schlagel, who appeared in 36 contests and played just under 20 minutes per game as a freshman. Senior transfers Latazia Williamson (Kennesaw State) and Bri Robinson (UNI) arrive in Vermillion to bolster the depth for USD. 6-2 forward Katy Reyerson, who played in just three early games before last season was cut short due to injury, gives Eighmey some size and versatility in the frontcourt. Non-conference matchups include Creighton (in Sioux Falls), Bradley and Drake before Summit League action tips at home against Oral Roberts on Jan. 7.
St. Thomas
2025-26 record: 16-16 overall (8-8)
The 2026-27 season will usher in a new era for the Tommies program because for the first time in 21 years, Ruth Sinn will not be patrolling the sidelines. Sinn, a St. Thomas alumna, built a perennial Division III power in women’s basketball and then ushered the program into the Division I era.
Now, the reins are passed to Mandy Pearson, who arrives in St. Paul after 11 seasons as the head coach at the University of Minnesota-Duluth. Pearson, known as a defensive tactician, inherits a squad with a handful of returners and youth up and down the roster in the form or 10 freshmen and sophomores.
Last season was a breakout year for 6’3 forward Alyssa Sand. The junior from Albany, MN is back for St. Thomas as an All-Summit League Preseason First Team pick after landing in the top ten in the league in scoring and rebounding last season (14.3 points and 7.9 boards per game). Sand also has become a lockdown paint defender, averaging 1.5 blocks per game last season on her way to being an All-Defensive Team selection. Junior guard Mikayla Werner returns in the backcourt after making 12 starts as a sophomore and averaging just over 8 points per game. 5’9 guard Laura Hauge will give the Tommies an outside threat as the top returning three-point shooter this season (45 made threes). Pearson and her staff will have their hands full preparing their team for a tough non-conference schedule that includes games at UNI and Gonzaga and hosting Grand Canyon and Green Bay at home.
Everyone will want to circle Dec. 2 when St. Thomas travels across town to face the Minnesota Golden Gophers, which will be the first time the two teams face off in program history. The start of Summit League play will be one of the biggest tests right out of the gate on the road at NDSU on Jan. 7.
Oral Roberts
2025-26 record: 15-15 overall (8-8)
While the faces may have been different last season, the mentality on the floor for the Golden Eagles had a consistent theme all year long. Head coach Cophie Anderson’s team played fast, with an energy and toughness that provided momentum from their defense to feed their offense. Oral Roberts led the Summit League in steals and were the third best scoring team at 76 points per game on the season.
The 2026-27 version of the Golden Eagles are fueled by what they see as a lackluster performance in last year’s Summit League tournament and has them hunting for more wins this season. Anderson, now in her second season at the helm of the ORU program, has added length and size to the roster and will rely on key returners to lead the way. Senior point guard Gentry Baldwin started all 30 games a year ago and was top 10 in the league in steals and assists. 6’1 sophomore Kayten Donley, who averaged just shy of 12 points per game in league play as a freshman, has expanded her shooting range to be a stretch wing scoring threat. Nine freshmen and sophomores dot the roster and will face big non-conference tests in November and December including games against Oklahoma State, Kansas, Oklahoma and Tulsa.
Summit League action tips off Jan. 7 for the Golden Eagles in Vermillion at USD.
Kansas City
2025-26 record: 7-23 overall (4-12)
When coaching changes are made, athletic administrators struggle to always find someone who has a high familiarity with the school and program. For Kansas City, the new leader of their women’s basketball program is well-versed in all things ‘Roos basketball because she has done it once before.
Candi Whitaker returns for her second stint as head coach of the Kansas City program after recent successful runs at Division II Missouri Western State and two seasons at North Alabama out of the ASUN Conference. Whitaker was tasked with rebuilding the ‘Roos roster to face the physicality and size of the Summit League and will lean heavily on two key returners. Senior twins Emani and Elauni Bennett from Lee’s Summit, MO, return as the team’s top two scorers. Emani, a 5’11 guard, posted 14.3 points per game as a junior, which was sixth in the Summit League last year. At 5’9, Elauni averaged just under 8 rebounds per game and added 12.7 points per contest. Kansas City will play a tough nonconference slate, including matchups against Power 4 opponents in Kansas, Arkansas, Nebraska and Minnesota.
How well this new look ‘Roos roster blends in time for Summit League action will be the biggest question when they travel to South Dakota State on Jan. 7.
Omaha
2025-26 record: 6-27 overall (3-13)
When Jamie Carey was hired as the head coach at Omaha in the spring of 2025, she was tasked with a complete rebuild of Maverick women’s basketball. With few returners, she hit the ground running, assembling a staff and diving into the transfer portal.
The 2025-26 season was a challenging one for the Mavericks with a host of players going down with season-ending and long-term injuries that crippled the roster. Turning the page to this season, Carey gets many of those players back to bolster a roster of young talent and key transfers. Senior Cora Olson, a 5’9 guard from Omaha, NE, a leader in the Maverick locker room, played just six games last season due to injury but returns for her senior season. 6’ sophomore Avril Smith had a standout freshman season, earning her spots on the Summit League All-Defensive and All-Freshman Teams.
The Omaha native led the league in rebounding and blocks last year and will be looked to as more of a scorer this season as well. Senior guard Ali Stephens is back after starting all 32 games last year as is sophomore guard Ragen Juenenmann, who posted 11.9 points per game and was also an All-Freshman Team selection. 5’10 senior transfer Mya Skoff (Lindenwood) returns to her home state with 70 starts under her belt and can give the Mavs a scoring threat from the perimeter.
Year two of the Carey era begins in earnest with tough matchups against Kansas, Drake, Nebraska and Creighton to name a few. Summit League action tips off Jan. 7 at North Dakota.
North Dakota
2025-26 record: 7-24 overall (3-13)
Head coach Dennis Hutter is putting his stamp on the North Dakota program heading into year two as he develops a winning culture that is built upon a competitive edge. Hutter has assembled a roster for the 2026-27 season that is deeper and more athletic, knowing he wants to play at a fast pace and force opponents into more turnovers. Who can step up when needed for this UND team to help them move to the upper half of the Summit League?
Junior guard Sydney Piekny returns after starting 16 games last year as a sophomore and is the top perimeter threat for the Fighting Hawks. 5’9 guard London Harris averaged just under 21 minutes a game as a freshman last season and can be dangerous in the open floor. Sophomore guard Lauren Hillesheim appeared in 28 games as a freshman, joining four freshmen along with multiple transfers for Hutter on the roster. UND will learn a lot about themselves during non-conference tests at the FIU Thanksgiving Tournament and matchups against Nebraska and Drake.
Summit League play begins for the Fighting Hawks on Jan. 7 at home in Grand Forks against Omaha.
