MONTGOMERY, Ala. – The Xavier women's basketball team enters its first season of Southern States Athletic Conference play projected as a top-5 team.
In the SSAC's preseason coaches' poll, XULA finished tied for 5th with Life. The Gold Nuggets are coming off a 2025-2026 campaign in which they went 19-11 overall and 14-8 in the Red River Athletic Conference.
Loyola New Orleans, last year's SSAC champion, was picked by league coaches to repeat in 2026-27. William Carey, Faulkner and Tennessee Southern rounded out the top 5.
The 2027 SSAC Women's Basketball Championship, presented by Chappy's Deli, will take place Feb. 23-27 at the Multiplex at Cramton Bowl in Montgomery, Ala.
2026-27 SSAC Women's Basketball Coaches' Preseason Poll
1. Loyola - 191 (9)
2. William Carey - 179 (4)
3. Faulkner - 169 (1)
4. UT Southern - 141
5. Life - 135
5. Xavier - 135
7. Blue Mountain - 106
8. Brewton-Parker - 97
9. Mobile - 86
10. Thomas - 82
11. Abraham Baldwin - 52
12. Point - 42
13. Andrew - 32
14. Wesleyan - 23
