Kent State Featured Heavily as MAC Announces Women’s Basketball Preseason Poll, National TV Schedule
10/22/2024 12:00:00 PM | Women's Basketball
CLEVELAND – Senior Jenna Batsch was named to the Preseason All-MAC First Team and Kent State was picked second in the 2024-25 MAC Women's Basketball Preseason Coaches' Poll, the Mid-American Conference announced on Tuesday (Oct. 22).
The conference office also announced that the Golden Flashes' home game against Buffalo has been selected for broadcast on CBS Sports Network and moved to Sunday, Jan. 5 at 2 p.m. This will be the team's fifth nationally-televised game over the past two seasons and third on CBSSN.
Kent State received two first-place votes and totaled 104 points from the league's 12 head coaches in the poll. Ball State was chosen first on 10 of 11 possible ballots (coaches are unable to vote for their own team) and also led the way with eight votes to win the MAC Tournament.
The Flashes received one vote to hoist the championship trophy at Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse for the second year in a row, which would snap a 12-year stretch without a repeat champion.
Kent State returns three starters and three of the top four scorers from last season's team that won 21 games and ended a 22-year NCAA Tournament drought.
Batsch's breakout junior campaign resulted in All-MAC Third Team accolades. The Loveland, Ohio native averaged 13.3 points per game and drained 44 three-point field goals with 38.9% accuracy.
Senior Bridget Dunn (6.9 ppg, 7.3 rpg) and junior Corynne Hauser (9.8 ppg, 4.2 apg) were regular starters last season, while junior Dionna Gray (4.9 ppg) and sophomore Janae Tyler (9.7 ppg) will move into larger roles.
Kent State will play the first two games of the season at the M.A.C. Center as part of the Flash Frenzy. The Flashes host James Madison in a MAC-Sun Belt Challenge contest on Monday, Nov. 4 and then Walsh on Thursday, Nov. 7.
Season and single-games tickets can be purchased at KSUTix.com.
Be sure to follow the Golden Flashes on X, Instagram and Facebook for news and updates about the team.
2024-25 MAC Women's Basketball Preseason Coaches' Poll (First Place Votes)
1. Ball State - 120 points (10)
2. Kent State - 104 points (2)
3. Buffalo - 98 points
4. Bowling Green - 96 points
5. Toledo - 82 points
T-6. Northern Illinois - 64 points
T-6. Ohio - 64 points
8. Miami - 44 points
9. Akron - 43 points
10. Western Michigan - 34 points
11. Eastern Michigan - 23 points
12. Central Michigan - 20 points
MAC Tournament Champion: Ball State (8), Kent State 1, Bowling Green 1, Buffalo 1, Toledo 1
Preseason All-MAC First Team
Jenna Batsch, Kent State
Ally Becki, Ball State
Kirsten Lewis-Williams, Buffalo
Amy Velasco, Bowling Green
Chellia Watson, Buffalo
Preseason All-MAC Second Team
Madelyn Bischoff, Ball State
Jaya McClure, Ohio
Sammi Mikonowicz, Toledo
Erika Porter, Bowling Green
Brooke Stonebraker, Northern Illinois
