TCU's addition of Olivia Miles lifts defending Big 12 champs to top of preseason poll

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IRVING, Texas (AP) — TCU's offseason addition of Olivia Miles helped put the Horned Frogs atop the Big 12 women's basketball preseason poll for the first time in program history despite the loss of Hailey Van Lith and Sedona Prince off the school's first Elite Eight team.

Miles, who played four seasons at Notre Dame, is the latest transfer to boost the hopes of the Frogs under coach Mark Campbell. He brought in Prince from Oregon after he was hired in 2023 and added Van Lith from LSU last year. The Horned Frogs finished their first 30-win season at 34-4, losing to Texas 58-47 with a spot in the Final Four on the line.

TCU won the regular-season and conference tournament titles in 2024-25 behind Van Lith, Prince and Madison Conner, another transfer whose career started at Arizona. Van Lith was a WNBA first-round pick by Chicago this year, and Conner went in the third round to Seattle.

The Horned Frogs got 10 of the 16 first-place votes from league coaches, who were not allowed to vote for their own team. Iowa State, Baylor and Oklahoma State followed the Frogs, with each school getting two first-place votes.

Miles was voted preseason newcomer of the year, just as Van Lith was in 2024 before she went on to be named the Big 12 player of the year. Miles was a second-team Associated Press All-American after averaging 15.4 points, 5.6 rebounds and 5.8 assists for the Fighting Irish, who lost to TCU in the Sweet 16.

Iowa State's Audi Crooks is the preseason player of the year after leading the Big 12 at 23.4 points per game last season as a sophomore. The 6-foot-3 center shot better than 60% from the field.

Dee Alexander of Cincinnati was voted freshman of the year. She is the first Bearcats signee to be a McDonald’s All-American and was a two-time high school player of the year in Ohio.

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