Eastern Michigan Athletics
Photo by: Walt Middleton Photography
Peyton Hill Named to Preseason All-MAC Second Team
10/20/2026 10:01:00 AM | Women's Basketball
Eastern Michigan voted to finish sixth in the league standings
CLEVELAND, Ohio (EMUEagles.com) -- The Mid-American Conference announced its annual preseason coaches poll and All-MAC teams today, Oct. 20, for women's basketball with Eastern Michigan University voted to finish among the top-half of the league standings while second-year standout Peyton Hill was named to the All-MAC Second Team. The poll and two all-conference teams were selected by a vote of the MAC's 12 head coaches.
As a team, Eastern received 61 points in the voting to sit sixth and double its predicted finish from last year when the Eagles were slotted 12th (of 13 teams) ahead of the 2025-26 season. Eastern, who posted a 13-16 overall record and a 6-12 mark in the MAC to finish ninth in the final standings, is coming off a season in which it posted a +11-win differential from the 2024-25 season (2-27, 1-17 MAC) to the 2025-26 campaign (13-16, 6-12 MAC) which made it one of the five most-improved teams by number of wins nationally. It also produced the program's largest win improvement since it also improved by 11 wins in 2009-10 from the 2008-09 team's 8-21 (4-12 MAC) record.
Ball State University was voted to win the conference's regular season title with 11 points and five first-place votes while Miami University was right behind the Cardinals with 108 points and four first-place votes. The University of Massachusetts (103 and one), the University of Toledo (98 and two), and Ohio University (75 points) rounded out the top five. The remaining teams included Kent State University in seventh (59), Bowling Green State University in eighth (50), Central Michigan University in ninth (44), Western Michigan University in 10th (37), the University of Akron in 11th (27), and the University at Buffalo in 12th (19). The top eight teams in the final regular season standings will compete in the MAC Tournament, March 10-13, inside Rocket Arena in Cleveland, Ohio. In that event, the coaches also voted on whom they thought would win the tournament crown and the conference's automatic berth into the NCAA Tournament with Ball State and Toledo both selected four times, Miami earned three votes, and UMass earned one.
Individually, Hill (St. Louis, Mo./Incarnate Word Academy), who is entering her second season with the Eagles, earned her first preseason selection from the league with placement on the second team after being named the 2025-26 MAC Freshman of the Year and to the Honorable Mention All-MAC and MAC All-Freshman squads last year. The league's top scorer among rookies with 14.6 points per contest (ninth overall in the MAC), Hill, who was the fifth EMU player to earn the league's top rookie honor, also led all first-year players in free-throw percentage (81.9%), minutes per game (33.8), double-digit scoring games (22), and games scoring 20+ points (seven). A 35.2-percent three-point shooter and 44.7-percent overall, Hill started all 28 games for the Eagles and added 4.2 rebounds, 2.1 assists, and 1.1 steals to her totals. Additionally, her 409 points scored were the sixth-best among freshmen in program history while her 22 double-digit scoring games were the most by an EMU freshman since the 2017-18 season while her seven games with 20+ points were the most since the 2013-14 campaign.
2026-27 MAC Preseason Coaches Poll
(First Place Votes)
1. Ball State (5) – 111 points
2. Miami (4) – 108 points
3. UMass (1) – 103 points
4. Toledo (2) – 98 points
5. Ohio – 75 points
6. Eastern Michigan – 61 points
7. Kent State– 59 points
8. Bowling Green – 50 points
9. Central Michigan – 44 points
10. Western Michigan – 37 points
11. Akron – 27 points
12. Buffalo – 19 points
Tournament Champion: Ball State (4), Toledo (4), Miami (3), UMass (1)
2026-27 Preseason All-MAC Teams
First Team
Kendall Carruthers, Toledo
Yahmani McKayle, UMass
Bailey Tabeling, Ohio
Tessa Towers, Ball State
Amber Tretter, Miami
Second Team
Faith Fedd-Robinson, Toledo
Peyton Hill, Eastern Michigan
Grace Kingery, Ball State
Julianna Lamendola, Miami
Jyah LoVett, Toledo
Aniya Rowe, Buffalo
On The Horizon
The regular season is right around the corner for the Eagles as they are set to open the 2026-27 season at home Monday, Nov. 2, when Appalachian State University visits the George Gervin GameAbove Center on opening night for the first leg of the 2026-27 MAC-SBC Challenge. The Eagles and Mountaineers are set for a 6:30 p.m. tip-off on Ben Braun Court with the game being streamed live on ESPN+. The game will be one of 12 played between the two leagues with the MAC hosting their Sun Belt Conference opponents. The second half of the Challenge will be played Feb. 6, 2027, at the home of the SBC schools with opponents and game times to be announced closer to the date of the games.
Follow the Eagles
For the most up-to-date information on the Eagles, visit EMUEagles.com and follow the team on X (@EMUWBB) and Instagram (@emuwbb).
Get Your Tickets TODAY!
Single-game and group tickets are available through the EMU Ticket Office online at EMUEagles.com/tickets. Fans also may purchase tickets or receive assistance by calling the EMU Ticket Office at 734.487.3669.
As a team, Eastern received 61 points in the voting to sit sixth and double its predicted finish from last year when the Eagles were slotted 12th (of 13 teams) ahead of the 2025-26 season. Eastern, who posted a 13-16 overall record and a 6-12 mark in the MAC to finish ninth in the final standings, is coming off a season in which it posted a +11-win differential from the 2024-25 season (2-27, 1-17 MAC) to the 2025-26 campaign (13-16, 6-12 MAC) which made it one of the five most-improved teams by number of wins nationally. It also produced the program's largest win improvement since it also improved by 11 wins in 2009-10 from the 2008-09 team's 8-21 (4-12 MAC) record.
Ball State University was voted to win the conference's regular season title with 11 points and five first-place votes while Miami University was right behind the Cardinals with 108 points and four first-place votes. The University of Massachusetts (103 and one), the University of Toledo (98 and two), and Ohio University (75 points) rounded out the top five. The remaining teams included Kent State University in seventh (59), Bowling Green State University in eighth (50), Central Michigan University in ninth (44), Western Michigan University in 10th (37), the University of Akron in 11th (27), and the University at Buffalo in 12th (19). The top eight teams in the final regular season standings will compete in the MAC Tournament, March 10-13, inside Rocket Arena in Cleveland, Ohio. In that event, the coaches also voted on whom they thought would win the tournament crown and the conference's automatic berth into the NCAA Tournament with Ball State and Toledo both selected four times, Miami earned three votes, and UMass earned one.
Individually, Hill (St. Louis, Mo./Incarnate Word Academy), who is entering her second season with the Eagles, earned her first preseason selection from the league with placement on the second team after being named the 2025-26 MAC Freshman of the Year and to the Honorable Mention All-MAC and MAC All-Freshman squads last year. The league's top scorer among rookies with 14.6 points per contest (ninth overall in the MAC), Hill, who was the fifth EMU player to earn the league's top rookie honor, also led all first-year players in free-throw percentage (81.9%), minutes per game (33.8), double-digit scoring games (22), and games scoring 20+ points (seven). A 35.2-percent three-point shooter and 44.7-percent overall, Hill started all 28 games for the Eagles and added 4.2 rebounds, 2.1 assists, and 1.1 steals to her totals. Additionally, her 409 points scored were the sixth-best among freshmen in program history while her 22 double-digit scoring games were the most by an EMU freshman since the 2017-18 season while her seven games with 20+ points were the most since the 2013-14 campaign.
2026-27 MAC Preseason Coaches Poll
(First Place Votes)
1. Ball State (5) – 111 points
2. Miami (4) – 108 points
3. UMass (1) – 103 points
4. Toledo (2) – 98 points
5. Ohio – 75 points
6. Eastern Michigan – 61 points
7. Kent State– 59 points
8. Bowling Green – 50 points
9. Central Michigan – 44 points
10. Western Michigan – 37 points
11. Akron – 27 points
12. Buffalo – 19 points
Tournament Champion: Ball State (4), Toledo (4), Miami (3), UMass (1)
2026-27 Preseason All-MAC Teams
First Team
Kendall Carruthers, Toledo
Yahmani McKayle, UMass
Bailey Tabeling, Ohio
Tessa Towers, Ball State
Amber Tretter, Miami
Second Team
Faith Fedd-Robinson, Toledo
Peyton Hill, Eastern Michigan
Grace Kingery, Ball State
Julianna Lamendola, Miami
Jyah LoVett, Toledo
Aniya Rowe, Buffalo
On The Horizon
The regular season is right around the corner for the Eagles as they are set to open the 2026-27 season at home Monday, Nov. 2, when Appalachian State University visits the George Gervin GameAbove Center on opening night for the first leg of the 2026-27 MAC-SBC Challenge. The Eagles and Mountaineers are set for a 6:30 p.m. tip-off on Ben Braun Court with the game being streamed live on ESPN+. The game will be one of 12 played between the two leagues with the MAC hosting their Sun Belt Conference opponents. The second half of the Challenge will be played Feb. 6, 2027, at the home of the SBC schools with opponents and game times to be announced closer to the date of the games.
Follow the Eagles
For the most up-to-date information on the Eagles, visit EMUEagles.com and follow the team on X (@EMUWBB) and Instagram (@emuwbb).
Get Your Tickets TODAY!
Single-game and group tickets are available through the EMU Ticket Office online at EMUEagles.com/tickets. Fans also may purchase tickets or receive assistance by calling the EMU Ticket Office at 734.487.3669.
Players Mentioned
Y
/ Women's BasketballMonday, October 19
Wednesday, September 02
Tuesday, August 11
Monday, August 03