MILWAUKEE, Wis. (naccsports.org) --- Three-time defending Northern Athletics Collegiate Conference (NACC) women's basketball champions Wisconsin Lutheran College is the runaway favorite to capture the 2026-2027 title, according to the preseason poll released Wednesday, Nov. 4.
Wisconsin Lutheran received 336 points and 24 of 26 first-place votes, while Aurora University edged out St. Norbert College, 288-281, for second place. St. Norbert collected the two remaining first-place votes. Milwaukee School of Engineering (256) took fourth, just three markers ahead of Benedictine University (253), while Concordia University Wisconsin (200) sits sixth, nine points clear of seventh-place Edgewood University (191). Lakeland University is eighth with 148 points, followed by Concordia University Chicago (127) and Dominican University (111). Illinois Institute of Technology (71), Marian University (65), and Rockford University (39) round out the poll, which is voted on by the league's head coaches and athletics communications professionals.
2025-26 Recap
Wisconsin Lutheran (24-6, 17-1 NACC) and St. Norbert (18-8, 16-2 NACC) engaged in yet another epic battle for the NACC title with the Warriors emerging by just one game for their 12th NACC women's basketball crown. The Green Knights and Warriors advanced to the NACC Tournament title game for the fifth consecutive season, with WLC gutting out a 48-29 win in a contest where shooting was at a premium for both teams.
Wisconsin Lutheran advanced to the 2026 NCAA Division III Women's Basketball Championship, defeating Saint Mary's (Minn.), 65-47, in a first-round match before falling 65-56 to regional host UW-Oshkosh.
St. Norbert forward
Taylor Thiry was named NACC Player of the Year for the second year in a row, while Wisconsin Lutheran sophomore guard/forward
Lily Oiler was named NACC Defensive Player of the Year and Concordia Chicago guard
Ai Yonemura was named the league's top freshman. The league's coaches also recognized Wisconsin Lutheran, led by head coach Klay Knueppel, as the NACC Coaching Staff of the Year.
New Coaches
There are two new coaches in the NACC this season.
Bruce Williams has been named head coach at Rockford. Williams most recently served as associate head coach at UW-Stevens Point and previously spent time as an assistant at Cornell College and a decade as head varsity girls basketball coach at Wild Rose (Wis.) High School.
Additionally,
Ana Morton has taken the reins of the program at Marian. Morton was elevated to the top spot after spending last season as an assistant in Fond du Lac. Prior to Marian, she spent one season as an assistant coach at Daytona (Fla.) State, two seasons over two stints as an assistant at Milligan (Tenn.), and one season as director of basketball operations at NCAA Division I Winthrop University.
Preseason Polls
Wisconsin Lutheran sits just outside of the top 25 in the D3hoops.com preseason list. The Warriors top the list of others receiving votes with 90 points, just seven markers back of No. 25 Carnegie Mellon.
2026-27 Schedule
The 2026-2027 regular season gets underway Friday, Nov. 6, with seven NACC programs in action - Illinois Tech entertains Beloit, Wisconsin Lutheran travels to University of Chicago, Concordia Chicago hosts Lake Forest, St. Norbert welcomes St. Scholastica, and Aurora, Benedictine, and MSOE are engaged in tip-off tournament action on the road. Aurora opens with the host at Principia's tip-off classic, Benedictine faces UW-Whitewater at Washington University in St. Louis, and MSOE battles Schreiner in a tournament at East Texas Baptist.
Dominican (hosting Monmouth) and Rockford (at Judson) join the fray the following day. Marian opens by hosting Cornell College on Sunday, Nov. 8, to close the opening weekend of action.
Concordia Wisconsin (vs. Carroll) and Lakeland (vs. UW-Stevens Point) both open with midweek contests at home on Wednesday, Nov. 11, while Edgewood will be the final program to open its season when it hosts Carthage on Saturday, Nov. 14.
The NACC schedule gets underway with a pair of games before Thanksgiving. Illinois Tech hosts Rockford and Wisconsin Lutheran hosts Concordia Wisconsin - both on Wednesday, Nov. 18. The league schedule begins in earnest on Wednesday, Dec. 2 with six games - Dominican at MSOE, Illinois Tech at Lakeland, Concordia Wisconsin at Marian, Wisconsin Lutheran at Aurora, Edgewood at Concordia Chicago, and St. Norbert at Rockford. Benedictine gets its first crack at conference play the following Saturday (Dec. 5) when the Eagles travel to Dominican. The league schedule runs through Saturday, Feb. 20.
NACC Tournament
The top eight teams in the final regular season standings will qualify for the 2027 NACC Women's Basketball Tournament. Tournament play gets underway Tuesday, Feb. 23 with four quarterfinal games, followed by a pair of semifinal contests on Thursday, Feb. 25. The tournament final is slated for Saturday, Feb. 27. All tournament games will be played at the higher-seeded team in each contest. The tournament champion receives the NACC's automatic berth in the 2027 NCAA Division III Women's Basketball Championship.
| Women's Basketball (FPV) |
Points |
| Wisconsin Lutheran College (24) |
336 |
| Aurora University |
288 |
| St. Norbert College (2) |
281 |
| Milwaukee School of Engineering |
256 |
| Benedictine University |
253 |
| Concordia University Wisconsin |
200 |
| Edgewood University |
191 |
| Lakeland University |
148 |
| Concordia University Chicago |
127 |
| Dominican University |
111 |
| Illinois Institute of Technology |
71 |
| Marian University |
65 |
| Rockford University |
39 |