WALESKA, Ga. – The University of Pikeville women's basketball team will begin the season with a target on its back as the preseason favorite to win the AAC in 2025-26.
 
This was the result of the vote of coaches in the league that saw the Bears get six of the 13 first-place votes.
 
Milligan (Tenn.) garnered four first-place votes and is picked second, followed by Johnson (Tenn.) with two first-place nods, Reinhardt (Ga.) and Bryan (Tenn.), with the final first-place vote.
 
The Bears are coming off a 19-9 season that saw it go 17-5 in the AAC.
 
They return the AAC player of the year in senior Allie Stone, who averaged 21.9 points per game on 44.9 percent shooting from the arc and 91.7 percent from the free throw line. She also averaged 3.6 assists and 3.5 rebounds per game a season ago.
 
Stone, a 5-6 guard from Olive Hill, Ky., was also named an NAIA and WBCA All-American a season ago.
 
Rachel Bush, a 6-0 junior from Greenup, Ky., returns as a second-team all-conference selection and an NAIA honorable mention All-American. Bush averaged 14.3 points and 8.3 rebounds per game last season. She shot 51.7 percent from the field and 93.4 percent from the free throw line.
 
She was named to the league's all-defensive team after blocking 60 shots and recording 25 steals last year.
 
Also returning is Jaaliyah Warren, a 5-9 sophomore from Belfry, Ky., who was on the league's all-freshman team. She 8.2 points and 2.5 rebounds per game while shooting 41.1 percent on three-point attempts.
 
UPike will play its final tune-up on Saturday when it visits Marshall University on Saturday afternoon at 1 p.m. The regular season begins Saturday, Nov. 1 when it visits Marian (Ind.) University.
 
The first home game of the season is Wednesday, Nov. 12 when Bluefield (Va.) University comes to the Appalachian Wireless Arena. Tipoff for that game is set for 5:30 p.m.