Burnsville, MN (NSUWolves.com) – The Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference released the 2026-27 Preseason Women’s Basketball Coaches’ Poll today with the Northern State University Wolves picked tenth in the league overall and fourth in the NSIC North Division. Northern earned 108 points in the overall poll and 30 in the divisional poll. In addition, Reagan Rus was selected as the team’s player to watch heading into the 2026-27 season.
“We maybe the youngest team I’ve had in all my years of coaching and it’s exciting to watch them gel and learn together both on and off the court. We don’t know what we don’t know – so we are learning together. They are competitive and bring a toughness we need as we continue to grow together.”
Paula Krueger
2025-26 RECAP
Northern went 16-13 overall and 11-11 in the NSIC in 2025-26. The Wolves qualified for the NSIC Tournament, hosting in the first round, and senior Izzy Moore earned NSIC All-Conference first team honors and CSC Academic All-District® accolades.
NORTHERN STATE PLAYER TO WATCH | REAGAN RUS
The sophomore out of Mount Vernon, S.D. averaged 21.1 minutes, 7.7 points, 3.0 rebounds, and 1.1 assists per game in her debut with the Wolves last season. She tallied career highs in points (19), rebounds (8), assists (4), steals (4), and blocks (3), while shooting 40.8% from the floor.
“Reagan had a really solid freshman season – she’s long and athletic and is learning how to use her frame. Reagan has spent a lot of time in the gym working on her shot, coupled with her ability to get down hill – we hope to see her be a threat both inside and out on the offensive end. Defensively she has the ability and mentality to be a defensive stopper for us.” – Paula Krueger
2026-27 OUTLOOK
The Wolves open exhibition play Wednesday, October 28 at Nebraska Omaha and officially kick-off the season in Kearney, Nebraska facing the Lopers and Missouri Western November 13-14. They open the home season on Friday, November 21 hosting Black Hills State. Northern welcomes four incoming freshman, as well as two transfer student-athletes to the roster, joining seven returners from 2025-26. Single game tickets are currently on sale, as well as season ticket packages heading into 2026-27 at nsuwolves.com/tickets. Visit the Wolves game day page at nsuwolves.com/gameday for promotions and giveaways, as well as helpful links heading into the fall. Fans are encouraged to join the Wolves and Northern State Athletics at the Meet the Wolves event next Tuesday, October 20 at Allevity Entertainment in Aberdeen. Hear from the players and student-athletes, receive a free hour of play from Allevity, and enter in to win a variety of raffle prizes.
NSIC coaches rank each team in the NSIC in the overall poll and team from their division in the divisional poll. In the overall poll coaches rank from 1 to 15 with a first place vote receiving 15 points, second place 14, third place 13, etc. Coaches do not rank their own team or vote for their own players.
The regular season champion will be based on the 22-game NSIC schedule. Each team will play teams in their division twice (14 divisional games) and teams in the other division once (8 out-of-division games). An NSIC North and South Division Champion will also be awarded. Divisional standings will also be based on all 22 NSIC contests played. In the event of a tie, co-champions will be awarded. the 2026-27 women’s basketball season gets underway at the end of October with non-conference action, while NSIC play begins in November.
The 12-team NSIC Women’s Basketball Tournament Quarterfinals, Semifinals and Championship are set to take place February 27-March 2 at the Sanford Pentagon in Sioux Falls, South Dakota. The tournament will be seeded using the NSIC 22-game schedule, with the top four seeds receiving a first-round bye. First round games will be played on campus on Wednesday, February 24.
2026-27 NSIC PRESEASON POLL
| RK. | OVERALL POLL | POINTS | RK. | SOUTH DIVISION | POINTS | |
| 1 | Minnesota State (6) | 215 | 1 | Minnesota State (2) | 44 | |
| 2 | Concordia-St. Paul (4) | 194 | 2 | Sioux Falls (3) | 40 | |
| 3 | Sioux Falls (5) | 185 | 3 | Concordia-St. Paul (2) | 38 | |
| 4 | University of Mary (1) | 174 | 4 | St. Cloud State (1) | 29 | |
| 5 | Minnesota Duluth | 166 | 5 | Southwest Minn. St. | 27 | |
| 6 | Southwest Minn. St. | 158 | 6 | Winona State | 22 | |
| 7 | MSU Moorhead | 146 | 7 | Augustana | 17 | |
| 8 | St. Cloud State | 138 | 8 | Wayne State | 7 | |
| 9 | Winona State | 112 | ||||
| 10 | Northern State | 108 | RK. | NORTH DIVISION | POINTS | |
| 11 | Augustana | 82 | 1 | University of Mary (4) | 45 | |
| 12 | Minot State | 80 | 2 | Minnesota Duluth (3) | 43 | |
| 13 | Jamestown | 61 | 3 | MSU Moorhead (1) | 40 | |
| 14 | Wayne State | 41 | 4 | Northern State | 30 | |
| 15 | Minnesota Crookston | 38 | 5 | Minot State | 24 | |
| 16 | Bemidji State | 22 | 6 | Jamestown | 17 | |
| 7 | Minnesota Crookston | 15 | ||||
| 8 | Bemidji State | 10 |