DAVIS, Calif. — The four-time defending Big West Conference champion UC Davis women's basketball team was the preseason pick to claim its fifth consecutive league title in 2020-21, according to a vote of both the conference's head coaches and media released on Tuesday afternoon.
Six of the 11 first-place votes from the coaches went the Aggies' way as UC Davis picked up 114 total points to take the top spot over UC Irvine, which received two first-place votes and 101 points overall. Cal Poly (two) and league newcomer CSU Bakersfield (one) received the remaining first-place votes as UC Santa Barbara (92 points), the Mustangs (83), and Hawaii (71), rounded out the top five according to the coaches.
Long Beach State (69), Cal State Fullerton (56), the Roadrunners (48), CSUN (36), UC Riverside (32), and newcomer UC San Diego (25), wrapped up the coaches rankings.
The Aggies received 13 of the 20 first-place votes and 207 points overall according to ballots cast by media members that cover the league to stand atop that poll, outdistancing second-place UC Irvine (one first-place vote and 163 points) and third-place Hawaii (one first-place vote and 157 points).
UC Santa Barbara (154) and Cal Poly (three first-place votes and 126 points) rounded out the top five, followed by Cal State Fullerton (123), Long Beach State (120), league newcomers CSU Bakersfield (83) and UC San Diego (74), which each picked up a first-place vote, CSUN (70), and UC Riverside (44).
Senior cell biology major
Cierra Hall was also one of five players selected to both the media and coaches preseason all-conference teams, building off a junior season that saw the Cypress, Calif., native claim league defensive player of the year laurels along with All-Big West second team and all-defensive team honors.
Averaging a career-high 9.1 points and 7.1 rebounds per game a season ago, Hall shot 42 percent from the floor overall and grabbed 207 total rebounds, which ranked just one shy of tying the school's Division I single-season record. At the end of the season, she stood among the top 10 in the Big West in five different categories.
Hall is one of three seniors on the 2020-21 Aggie roster along with psychology major
Mackenzie Trpcic (7.0 ppg, 4.58 apg) and human development major
Emma Gibb (1.3 ppg, .433 FG%), as the team returns eight letter winners overall and three starters off last year's squad that finished 17-12 overall and 12-4 in Big West play.
Led by 10th year head coach
Jennifer Gross, who became the first women's basketball coach in league history to win four straight Big West Coach of the Year awards in 2019-20, UC Davis clinched the regular season crown by winning the league by a full three games in the standings en route to becoming only the third school in conference history to win four consecutive Big West titles.
Hall was joined on last year's honor roll by rising sophomore
Evanne Turner, who earned all-freshman team laurels after averaging 6.1 points per game and shooting 44 percent from both the field and three-point range. In addition junior anthropology major
Makaila Sanders (4.3 ppg, .400 3P%) and sophomore biomedical engineering major
Campbell Gray (3.3 ppg, .422 FG%) return in the Aggies' backcourt, while juniors
Sage Stobbart (7.8 ppg, 6.8 rpg, .445 FG%) and
Kayla Konrad (5.2 ppg, 5.5 rpg) patrol the post.
Also on the roster are a trio of towering returning redshirts in 6-foot-6
Lena Svanholm, who sat out 2019-20 after transferring from Colorado State, 6-foot-5 freshman
Kenedy Lilly, and 6-foot-3 freshman
Megan Jones, while three new faces join the program in true freshmen
Bria Shine (Sacramento, Calif. / Christian Brothers HS '20),
Allie Carreon (Chula Vista, Calif. / San Diego Christian HS '20), and
Mazatlan Harris (San Diego, Calif. / Cathedral Catholic HS '20).
2020-21 BIG WEST PRESEASON COACHES POLL
1. UC DAVIS (6 first-place votes) — 114 points
2. UC Irvine (2) — 101
3. UC Santa Barbara — 92
4. Cal Poly (2) — 83
5. Hawaii — 71
6. Long Beach State — 69
7. Cal State Fullerton — 56
8. CSU Bakersfield (1) — 48
9. CSUN — 36
10. UC Riverside — 32
11. UC San Diego — 25
COACHES PRESEASON ALL-CONFERENCE TEAM
Sierra Campisano, Cal Poly
Danae Miller, UC Santa Barbara
Taylor Turney, Cal State Fullerton
CIERRA HALL, UC DAVIS
Justina King, Long Beach State
Keilani Cooper, UC Riverside
2020-21 BIG WEST PRESEASON MEDIA POLL
1. UC DAVIS (13 first-place votes) — 207 points
2. UC Irvine (1) — 163
3. Hawaii (1) — 157
4. UC Santa Barbara — 154
5. Cal Poly (3) — 126
6. Cal State Fullerton — 123
7. Long Beach State — 120
8. CSU Bakersfield (1) — 83
9. UC San Diego (1) — 74
10. CSUN — 70
11. UC Riverside — 44
MEDIA PRESEASON ALL-CONFERENCE TEAM
Sierra Campisano, Cal Poly
Taylor Turney, Cal State Fullerton
Justina King, Long Beach State
Danae Miller, UC Santa Barbara
CIERRA HALL, UC DAVIS
Abbey Ellis, Cal Poly
ABOUT UC DAVIS
With the addition of equestrian and women's beach volleyball in 2018, more than 700 student-athletes represent the fifth-ranked public school in the nation on one of 25 intercollegiate athletics teams.
UC Davis, a national leader in Title IX gender equity and leadership, is centrally located between San Francisco, Lake Tahoe, and the Napa Valley; and offers an unrivaled student-athlete experience that features the ideal combination of elite academics, Division I athletics and personal growth.
Ranked annually in the top 10 in diversity and students' social mobility, UC Davis is uncommonly committed to preparing student-athletes for life after graduation with Aggie EVO — an innovative student-athlete outcomes program that helps young women and men develop passions, gain real-world experience, and enjoy a successful launch to full-time employment or graduate school. Through Aggie EVO, Intercollegiate Athletics provides unmatched resources and a vast network of working professionals to ensure post-graduation success for its student-athletes.
