Women’s Basketball: Ohio State Receives High Marks In Preseason Conference Poll

Ohio State has been selected to finish near the top of the conference in the Big Ten women’s basketball preseason rankings released on Wednesday. The Buckeyes were picked to finish second in the conference by the coaches and third by the media, with the Iowa Hawkeyes – who shared the regular-season conference championship with Ohio State last season – as the unanimous pick for first in the Big Ten.

In addition to Iowa and Ohio State, the coaches voted for Indiana, Maryland and Michigan to round out the top five, while the media has Indiana at No. 2, Maryland at No. 4 and Nebraska at No. 5.

1️⃣ @IowaWBB voted atop the #B1GWBBall Preseason Rankings by conference coaches and a select media panel! https://t.co/4zSjisSf6I pic.twitter.com/ilgvF8Q1q5

— Big Ten Women's Basketball (@B1Gwbball) October 5, 2022

Iowa guard Caitlin Clark was voted unanimously as the Big Ten Preseason Player of the Year, the second consecutive season that Clark earned the honor. Clark was also one of just two players, along with Ohio State guard Jacy Sheldon, to be voted unanimously to both the coaches and media preseason All-Big Ten team.

Both the coaches and media poll included the same 10 players, with Clark and Sheldon joined by Indiana guard Grace Berger and forward Mackenzie Holmes, Iowa center Monika Czinano, Maryland guard Diamond Miller, Michigan guard Leigha Brown, Nebraska forward Alexis Markowski, Ohio State guard Taylor Mikesell and Penn State guard Makenna Marisa.

Check out the #B1GWBBall Preseason All-Conference Team, as voted on by conference coaches and a select media panel. 🏀 https://t.co/4zSjisSf6I pic.twitter.com/f4wpbNVhfQ

— Big Ten Women's Basketball (@B1Gwbball) October 5, 2022

Berger, Clark, Czinano, Mikesell and Sheldon were unanimous selections by the coaches, while only Clark and Sheldon were unanimous by the media.

Ohio State opens the season with a home contest against Tennessee on Nov. 8.