CARMEL, Ind. – The Heartland Collegiate Athletic Conference has unveiled the 2025-26 Women's Basketball Preseason Poll. Rose-Hulman placed seventh overall in the poll, earning 33 points.
Reigning HCAC Regular Season and Tournament Champions, Transylvania finished first in the poll with 77 points and seven first-place votes. Reigning runners-up, Mt. St. Joseph, accumulated a second-place finish with 73 points and three first-place votes. Anderson rounded out the top three, where they earned 59 total points.
Head Coach Devrinn Paul returns for his third season at the helm, where he has led Rose-Hulman to the HCAC Tournament in both the 2023-24 and 2024-25 seasons. He is coming off a 12-14 record last season, while going 9-9 in HCAC play. Paul welcomes back 12 players from last season, including four HCAC Athletes to Watch in senior
CK Gallegos Rodriguez, junior
Sophia Reese, and sophomores
Emma Schipp and
Katelyn Fennell.
CK Gallegos Rodriguez scored 8.0 points per game on a team-high 45.9% shooting last season. She hauled in 5.8 rebounds per game, while adding 1.5 assists, 1.3 steals, and 1.0 blocks per game. Gallegos Rodriguez posted two doubles on the year, highlighted by a ten-point, 16-rebound performance against Earlham. She concluded the season by scoring in double figures in nine of her final 14 games.
Sophia Reese leads all returners with 9.6 points per game on 37.2% shooting from the floor, 32.1% from three-point range, and 79.5% at the charity stripe. Reese added 2.8 rebounds, 2.2 assists, and 1.2 steals per game while starting in every match. She scored in double figures in the final five games of the season and dropped a season-high 20 points on 7-13 shooting against Hanover.
Emma Schipp was named to the 2024-25 HCAC Newcomer Team, while starting all 26 games for Rose-Hulman. She scored 8.9 points per game on 37.8% shooting from the floor and 70.2% at the free-throw line. Schipp grabbed 5.7 rebounds and dished out 2.5 assists per game. On the defensive end, she added 1.0 steals and 0.8 blocks per game. Schipp recorded career-highs of 19 points and 11 rebounds on 7-13 against Berea, and added a three-steal, three-block performance against Greenville.
Katelyn Fennell added 6.7 points, 3.9 rebounds, and 1.5 assists per game, while shooting 36.9% from the field. She recorded a double-double against Principia and scored a career-high 23 points on 11-16 shooting against Franklin.
The Fightin' Engineers will play in their home opener on Tuesday, November 11, at 8 PM as they take on the Millikin Big Blue.
HCAC PRESEASON POLL RESULTS:
1. Transylvania - 77 (7)
2. Mt. St. Joseph - 73 (3)
3. Anderson - 59
4. Hanover - 52
5. Berea - 48
6. Franklin - 47
7. Rose-Hulman - 33
8. Manchester - 29
9. Bluffton - 22
10. Earlham - 10
