CCU women voted 11th in Sun Belt preseason basketball poll

The Coastal Carolina women’s basketball team was voted to finish 11th in the 12-team Sun Belt preseason poll released Tuesday.

The Chanticleers garnered 26 points in the poll, only eclipsing Louisiana-Monroe (20). The poll was conducted by the league’s head coaches.

Troy was voted to finish first, with 125 points and three first-place votes, while Little Rock had the most first-place votes (five) and second-most points 121). UT Arlington was voted third in the poll with 118 points and three first-place votes.

CCU is debuting in the Sun Belt in their its fourth season under head coach Jaida Williams, who led Coastal to a 12-18, 7-13 record in 2015-16 as part of the Big South Conference.

The Chanticleers – who return two starters in Ced Gibson and Yasmin Miller – did not have any players on the preseason all-conference teams. Coastal returns nine other players from last year’s roster.

Fans can get a chance to see Coastal’s men’s and women’s teams in Thursday’s annual Hoopla event (9 p.m.), a free celebration to tip off the new season at the HTC Center.

UTA’s Rebekah VanDijk, a junior center, was voted the league’s preseason player of the year.

This story was originally published October 18, 2016 at 5:35 PM with the headline "CCU women voted 11th in Sun Belt preseason basketball poll."