Oct. 15, 2009
IRVING, Texas - Baylor was selected as the preseason favorite to win the 2009-10 Big 12 women's basketball regular season title in a vote of the league's head coaches.
It was a tight race for the top three spots with Kansas and Texas tying for second, just three points behind the Lady Bears - last season's Phillips 66 Big 12 Championship winner. The first-place votes were spread among four teams as Baylor earned five, KU and UT received three each and fourth-place Texas A&M nabbed one. BU was also the preseason pick in 2005-06 after winning the 2005 national championship.
Oklahoma, last year's preseason favorite and regular season champion, placed fifth, followed by Nebraska in sixth, Iowa State seventh, Kansas State eighth, Oklahoma State ninth, Texas Tech 10th, Colorado 11th and Missouri 12th.
Big 12 head coaches and select student-athletes will convene in Kansas City Oct. 21 for the annual Big 12 Women's Basketball Media Day. Kansas City's Municipal Auditorium will serve as the site of the 2010 Phillips 66 Big 12 Women's Basketball Championship Thursday-Sunday, March 11-14.
Baylor returns eight letterwinners, including starting point guard Kelli Griffin, off last season's 29-6 squad. The Lady Bear roster lists nine underclassmen, five of which comprise the freshman class, the nation's consensus No. 1 recruiting class. The rookie class is headlined by the nation's top recruit, 6-8 post Brittney Griner.
2009-10 Big 12 Conference Women's Basketball Preseason Poll
1. Baylor (5)-109
T2. Kansas (3)-106
T2. Texas (3)-106
4. Texas A&M (1)-87
5 Oklahoma-86
6. Nebraska-80
7. Iowa State-59
8 Kansas State-44
9. Oklahoma State-41
10. Texas Tech-38
11. Colorado-22
12. Missouri-15
(first place votes in parentheses; coaches not allowed to vote for their own team)
