JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — The Atlantic Sun Conference announced its 2026-27 Women's Basketball preseason awards on Tuesday. Jacksonville and FGCU are favored to capture this year's league crown after each received 58 points from the league's eight head coaches.
The Dolphins, who received four first-place votes, posted a 24-9 record last season that included a tournament championship—the second in program history. FGCU, which received three first-place votes in this year's poll, notched a 16-16 overall record last season, including an 11-7 mark in ASUN play.
The Lipscomb Bisons were voted third, followed by the Stetson Hatters in fourth to round out the top half of the poll.Lipscomb, which placed two student-athletes on this year's Preseason All-ASUN Team, posted a 7-11 conference record last season. Stetson enters the 2026-27 season under first-year head coach Melissa DeVore, who looks to build on the Hatters' 20-12 overall record from a year ago.
Jacksonville's Tatum Brown swept the preseason individual accolades, earning both Player of the Year and Defensive Player of the Year honors. Following her Freshman of the Year campaign last season, Brown returns to the Dolphins' lineup aiming to secure back-to-back tournament titles for Jacksonville. The Loganville, Georgia, native led the ASUN last season with 2.33 steals per game while averaging 10.0 points and 5.2 rebounds. She recorded a season-high six steals on three occasions and tallied at least three steals in 14 games.
Player & Defensive Player of the Year: Tatum Brown, Jacksonville
2025-26 Women's Basketball Preseason All-ASUN Team
Tatum Brown, Jacksonville
Triniti Ralston, Bellarmine
Sinai Douglas, FGCU
Eve Alexander, FGCU
Denika Lightbourne, FGCU
Aniah Smith, Jacksonville
Hope Counts, Lipscomb
McKayla Miller, Lipscomb
Alonya Waldon, North Florida
Brenae Jones-Grant, Queens
2026-27 Women's Basketball Preseason Coaches Poll
1. Jacksonville (4)
2, FGCU (3)
3. Lipscomb
4. Stetson
5. North Florida
6. Queens (1)
7. West Florida
8. Bellarmine
First-place votes in parentheses