photo by: Mike Gunnoe/Special to the Journal-World

Kansas forward Jaliya Davis and guard S'Mya Nichols share a laugh during a break in play against Kansas State in Allen Fieldhouse on Sunday, Jan. 25, 2026 in Lawrence.

The Kansas women’s basketball team was picked to finish fifth in the Big 12 Conference in a poll of league coaches released on Thursday, and KU stars S’Mya Nichols and Jaliya Davis received preseason all-conference honors.

Nichols, a 6-foot senior point guard, has been first-team all-conference in each of her first three seasons with the Jayhawks, and is a unanimous selection this preseason. The Shawnee Mission West product already holds KU’s career record for free throws made, and last year averaged 17.4 points and 4.6 assists per game. She is a projected first-round pick in the 2027 WNBA Draft and has said that her goal is to turn pro after this season, although new NCAA eligibility rules would afford her a fifth year of eligibility if she so chose.

Davis, another Overland Park native from Blue Valley North who is a 6-foot-2 forward, burst onto the scene last year as a freshman. After missing most of the first portion of the year due to injury, she set a power-conference record by becoming the first player ever to win nine consecutive freshman of the week honors from the Big 12; she was in turn named the league’s freshman of the year. A physical post presence, Davis finished the season averaging 19.8 points on 61.0% shooting and 6.5 rebounds.

The Jayhawks have only finished fifth in their conference once in the last 26 seasons, in 2022, and it was their best finish in that time frame. That was one of two years in which head coach Brandon Schneider led the team to the NCAA Tournament. They will try to return this year amid a newly expanded 76-team field after losing in the WBIT semifinals last season.

Oklahoma State, the team against which KU opens its Big 12 slate at Allen Fieldhouse on Dec. 20, was picked to win the league with seven first-place votes. TCU followed with six votes, and then came Baylor with two, West Virginia with one and then KU in fifth place. After the Jayhawks were Arizona State, BYU, Colorado, Kansas State, Texas Tech, Iowa State, Utah, Arizona, Cincinnati, Houston and UCF.

OSU’s Audi Crooks, an ISU transfer, was named preseason player of the year, while the Cowgirls’ Liv McGill earned preseason newcomer of the year honors. TCU’s Jessie-May Hall was named freshman of the year.

KU’s first exhibition action will be on Oct. 22 against Northeastern State, with the season opener on Nov. 3 against Omaha.