BURNSVILLE, Minn. – The Augustana women's basketball team was tabbed to finish 16th in the 2025-26 NSIC Women's Basketball Preseason Coaches' Poll, announced by the league office on Thursday. In the same release, Bella Sanneh was named the Vikings' Player to Watch while the Vikings were selected to finish eighth in the South Division.
 
Minnesota State was selected as the preseason favorite with eight first place votes and 215 points. The top five selections all hail from the South Division while UMary was selected to finish sixth overall. 

"We have a really high IQ basketball team this year. We have added some scoring punch to our roster," said second-year head coach Nate Vogel. "This group has gelled very quickly and we're excited for the challenge of the grueling NSIC schedule." 
 
Sanneh played in all 28 games and made nine starts in 2024-25. She averaged 6.6 points and 2.9 rebounds per game. She shot 34.3 percent from the field and led the Vikings with 96 free throw attempts. 

"Bella is a returner for us who has had a great off-season and has stepped into a leadership position for us. Bella has obviously worked on her game a lot over the summer as she is a more versatile player than when she left last spring. Bella has starting experience and has a full season of NSIC playing experience under her belt. We expect her to take another step forward for us in the '25-26 season."
 
In all, Augustana returns a pair of student-athletes from last year's team and welcomes seven transfers and five freshmen.
 
The Vikings open at home in 2025-26 with the MIAA/NSIC Crossover, hosting Missouri Western on Nov. 14 and Central Missouri Nov. 15. The NSIC debut of Augustana is slated for Nov. 25 as Augustana plays at Wayne State. 
 
Overall Preseason Poll
Minnesota State (8), 215
Concordia-St. Paul (4), 202
Sioux Falls (3), 202
Southwest Minnesota State, 172
St. Cloud State (1), 155
UMary, 152
MSU Moorhead, 140
Minnesota Duluth, 139
Minot State, 110
Northern State, 107
Minnesota Crookston, 85
Winona State, 75
Wayne State, 64
Bemidji State, 42
Jamestown, 32
Augustana, 28

South Division Preseason Poll
Minnesota State (6), 48
Concordia-St. Paul (2), 41
Sioux Falls, 37
St. Cloud State, 31
Southwest Minnesota State, 28
Winona State, 17
Wayne State, 13
Augustana, 9