BURNSVILLE, Minn. – Coming off of a first-place finish during the regular season in the Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference in 2025-26 and making a NCAA tournament appearance, the Minnesota State women's basketball team opens up the 2026-27 campaign as NSIC Preseason favorites in the coaches poll, released Thursday afternoon by the league office.
The Mavericks earned six first place votes and totaled 215 points in the poll. Concordia-St. Paul follows right behind in the second spot with four first place votes and 194 points overall. Sioux Falls rounds out the top three with five first place votes and 185 points.
In the NSIC poll, coaches rank teams 1–15 overall, awarding 15 points for a first-place vote and descending one point per position. Coaches are not permitted to vote for their own team or players. The NSIC regular-season champion will be determined based on a 22-game schedule, with each team facing divisional opponents twice (14 games) and the opposite division once (8 games).
The Mavericks ended the 2025-26 season with a 29-3 overall record. MSU went 21-1 against conference opponents. They started the season with an impressive 27-game win streak which kept them as one of the top teams in the WBCA Coaches Poll all year. The Mavericks season concluded with a loss to Concordia-St. Paul in the NSIC Tournament Championship and a loss in the NCAA Central Region to Minnesota Duluth.
The Mavericks lost four of their five starters last year. Most notably, Natalie Bremer won the 2026 WBCA DII Player of the Year award and the DII Honda National Athlete of the Year award. Elisabeth Gadient is the sole returner from last year's starters. She returns after only appearing in 11 games before missing the rest of the season due to injury.
Head Coach Emilee Thiesse is coming off her fifth 25+ win season in 2025-26, while she is beginning her 15th season and is 282-127 at the helm of the Mavericks.
"We have a great core of returning players who bring valuable experience and an understanding of what it takes to be successful at a high level," said Thiesse. "They will be the glue for this team as we welcome six freshmen and begin a new era of Maverick basketball. While there are new faces and new roles, the pace, energy, and growth have been outstanding."
The Mavericks kick off the new season at the Wisconsin Dells Tournament in Wisconsin Dells, Wis. They will face the reigning national champions Grand Valley State on Oct. 30 at 9 a.m. On Oct. 31 at 11:15 a.m., MSU will face Lake Superior State, while wrapping up the weekend with Northern Michigan on Nov. 1 at 1:30 p.m.
Stay up to date on all Maverick Athletics news by downloading the Maverick mobile app for exclusive content, gameday notifications, schedules, rosters and more. Fans can also follow @MinnStAthletics on Instagram and X and like the Minnesota State Mavericks Facebook page
