CARMEL, Ind. – The Heartland Collegiate Athletic Conference has released the HCAC Preseason Poll for the 2026-27 season. The Fightin' Engineers have been selected to finish fifth in the poll as they earned 53 points.
 
Reigning HCAC Regular Season and Tournament Champions, Transylvania have been selected to repeat as conference champions. The Pioneers enter the season as unanimous favorites as they secured 81 points and all nine first place votes they were eligible for.
 
Reigning HCAC Regular Season and Tournament Runners-Up, Franklin finished second in the poll with 68 points and one first place vote. Hanover came in third place with 59 points, while Mt. St. Joseph finished fourth with 56 points.
 
Head Coach Alley Odell joins Rose-Hulman for her first season at the helm during the 2026-27 season. Odell served as the Assistant Women's Basketball Coach and Recruiting Coordinator at Radford University last season, and she has gained seven years of assistant coaching experience across the NCAA Division I and Division III levels.
 
The Fightin' Engineers return 91.8% of their scoring production from last season, which includes their top five scorers. Junior Katelyn Fennell led the team with 14.8 points and 6.2 rebounds per game, while proving to be one of the most efficient scorers in the HCAC. Fennell shot 46.8% from the field, 41.3% from three-point range, and 87.0% from the charity stripe. She scored in double figures in 22 out of 26 games last season, highlighted by a career-high 30 points against Berea. Fennell concluded the season with all-conference honors, as she was named to the All-HCAC Second Team.
 
Emma Schipp added 9.3 points and 6.0 rebounds per game on 36.8% shooting. Schipp led the Fightin' Engineers with three double-doubles, highlighted by a 20-point, ten-rebound performance against Franklin. One of her best games came in the Quarterfinals of the HCAC Tournament, where she scored a team-high 18 points while hauling in eight rebounds. Schipp joined Fennell with all-conference honors, as she was named an All-HCAC Honorable Mention.
 
Senior Sophia Reese scored 10.3 points per game, while shooting 37.7% from the field and 87.5% at the free throw line. Reese led the Fightin' Engineers with 3.7 assists per game which included two near double-double performances with nine assists against Berea and Bluffton.
 
Sophomore Kaia Peterson was one of the best freshmen in the conference during the 2025-26 season as she was named to the HCAC All-Newcomer Team. She scored 10.1 points per game, shooting 41.3% from the floor and 77.8% at the free throw line.
 
Senior María Godoy Rodriguez was selected as a finalist for HCAC Defensive Player of the Year. Godoy Rodriguez was a force defensively in the perimeter and in the paint as she averaged 2.8 steals and 1.0 blocks per game. She recorded four or more steals in ten games last season, which included a career-best seven steal performance against Mt. St. Joseph.
 
HCAC PRESEASON POLL RESULTS:
1. Transylvania – 81 (9)
2. Franklin – 68 (1)
3. Hanover – 59
4. Mt. St. Joseph – 56
5. Rose-Hulman – 53
6. Bluffton – 41
7. Berea – 37
8. Anderson – 25
9. Manchester – 18
10. Earlham – 12