JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – Coming off a 20-win season for the second time in its Division I era, the Lipscomb University Women's Basketball team was picked to finish third by the media and fourth by the coaches for the upcoming 2025-26 season, announced by the Atlantic Sun Conference on Friday.
In addition,
Molly Heard was tapped to the Preseason All-ASUN Team.
A senior from Pisgah, Alabama, Heard is the lead returner for the Bisons in 2026. Starting all 32 contests last season, she averaged 13.1 points per game, which was good for 11th-best in the ASUN. Additionally, her 160 field goals made was good for seventh-most in the league, as she was one of 13 players a year ago who scored over 400 points.
From the field, she shot 43% and converted 31% of her shots from beyond the arc.
Along with over four rebounds a game, she was sixth in the league in blocked shots, totaling 31 and added 39 steals.
Below is the full Preseason All-ASUN awards:
Preseason Player of the Year: Cameron Thomas, Stetson
Preseason Defensive Player of the Year: Bree Stephens, Central Arkansas
Preseason All-ASUN Team
^Cameron Thomas, Stetson
^Anovia Sheals, Austin Peay
^Bree Stephens, Central Arkansas
^Liz Freihofer, EKU
^Priscilla Williams, Jacksonville
Cerina Rolle, FGCU
Molly Heard, Lipscomb
Aleah Sorrentino, Stetson
Destiny Jones, West Georgia
Sydne Tolbert, West Georgia
^ - denotes a unanimous selection to the Preseason All-ASUN Team
The Bisons tabulated 98 points for fourth place in the preseason coaches poll, one ahead of Eastern Kentucky and 21 ahead of North Alabama.
On the media side, Lipscomb finished two points ahead of EKU with 370 points for a third place prediction of finish.
Florida Gulf Coast and Central Arkansas were the front two in both polls, as the Eagles earned six of 12 first place votes in the coaches poll and 36 of the 38 in the media listing.
2025-26 ASUN Preseason Coaches Poll
| Rk |
School (First Place Votes) |
Points |
| 1 |
Florida Gulf Coast (6) |
128 |
| 2 |
Central Arkansas (3) |
124 |
| 3 |
Stetson (1) |
118 |
| 4 |
Lipscomb |
98 |
| 5 |
Eastern Kentucky (1) |
97 |
| 6 |
North Alabama |
77 |
| 7 |
Jacksonville |
73 |
| 8 |
Austin Peay |
61 |
| 9 |
Bellarmine |
49 |
| 10 |
West Georgia |
48 |
| 11 |
Queens (1) |
37 |
| 12 |
North Florida |
26 |
2025-26 ASUN Preseason Media Poll
| Rk |
School (First Place Votes) |
Points |
| 1 |
Florida Gulf Coast (36) |
474 |
| 2 |
Central Arkansas |
416 |
| 3 |
Lipscomb |
370 |
| 4 |
Eastern Kentucky (2) |
368 |
| 5 |
Stetson |
308 |
| 6 |
North Alabama |
240 |
| 7 |
Jacksonville |
238 |
| 8 |
Bellarmine |
216 |
| 9 |
Austin Peay |
172 |
| 10 |
West Georgia |
146 |
| 11 |
North Florida |
88 |
| 12 |
Queens |
84 |
The 2026 ASUN Championship will feature all 12 conference teams heading to Jacksonville. Playing at the VyStar Veterans Memorial Arena, the schedule will be as follows:
March 3 - First Round Games
March 5 - Quarterfinals
March 7 - Semifinals
March 9 - Championship
Fans can catch the 2025-26 ASUN Media Days on ESPN+ on Tuesday, Oct. 28.
Lipscomb's 2025-26 season will open on the road with Indiana out of the Big Ten on Tuesday, Nov. 4.
