Marlborough, Mass. - October 15, 2026 - After winning its sixth consecutive conference championship last season, Smith College received 11 first place votes and finished atop the 2026-27 New England Women’s and Men’s Athletic Conference (NEWMAC) Women’s Basketball Preseason Coaches Poll with the start of the new season just a couple of weeks away.
Smith, under the direction of six-time NEWMAC Women’s Basketball Coach of the Year Lynn Hersey, will return 14 student-athletes from last year’s roster including reigning conference Defensive Player of the Year and All-Region selection Hannah Martin and Honorable Mention All-American Virginia Johnson to the court in 2026-27. The Bears received 11 of a possible 12 first place votes and 121 points in this year’s coaches poll.
Last year, Smith went 28-2 and reached the second round of the NCAA Division III Championship Tournament and since Hersey took over as head coach of the program in Northampton in 2007-08, Smith has gone 360-147 overall, 180-81 in NEWMAC play and has made eight appearances in the NCAA Division III Championship Tournament. In fact since the start of the 2021-22 season, Smith is 144-14 overall and 51-2 in NEWMAC play with three runs to the Final Four and two national runner-up finishes.
Clark, the NEWMAC runner-up a season ago finished second in this year’s preseason coaches poll with 103 points and the remaining first place vote. The Cougars returns its pair of All-NEWMAC selections from last year in rising sophomore Atiya Watson and junior Cyriah Coleman. Bridgette Reyes and her staff were named Co-Coaching Staff of the Year alongside Hersey and her staff in 2026-27 after the Cougars went 19-9 and reached their first NEWMAC title game in since 2005. Clark went 8-3 in NEWMAC play and knocked off both WPI and Babson en route to the championship finals a year ago.
Just one point behind Clark in this year’s poll is Babson, which garnered 102 points from the coaches. The Beavers reached the NEWMAC semifinals in 2025-26 and won 18 contests. Head Coach Kate Barnosky returns a young roster for the 2026-27 campaign that features just one senior in Samantha Reale and seven juniors as Babson will look for its first NEWMAC title since 2016-17 this winter.
MIT took fourth in the coaches poll with 86 points and will return reigning conference Rookie of the Year Ruth Lanouette. She was MIT’s leading scorer and ranked sixth in the NEWMAC and tops amongst rookie’s with 14.0 points per game in conference play. The Engineers, under head coach Lucia Robinson-Griggs, went 8-3 in NEWMAC play and once again reached the conference tournament.
Right behind MIT was Springfield with 82 points. The Pride will be under the direction of first-year head coach Nicole Ambrose, who took over the reigns of the Pride women’s basketball program from 42-year head coach Naomi Graves over the summer. Springfield will return six veterans to this year’s squad including 2025-26 NEWMAC All-Conference First Team selection Natalie Lucas.
WPI finished sixth in the poll with 76 points and will bring back NEWMAC All-Conference Second Team honoree Ava Giansiracusa to the squad this winter. Giansiracusa will be one of seven seniors on the veteran WPI squad this year under head coach Cherise Galasso as the Engineers will look for their first NEWMAC title since 2015-16 and make it back to their seventh straight conference tournament.
Emerson will return six rising seniors to the 2026-27 roster after producing 14 wins a season ago under head coach Bill Gould. Jessie Silk highlights the returners as in 23 games ranked first on the team in rebounds (211) and rebounds per game (9.2) as well as second in total points (322) and points per game (14.0). Gould’s squad will be looking for their third straight trip to the postseason this winter.
Coast Guard received 55 points and finished eighth in the preseason poll. The Bears have made five straight appearances in the NEWMAC Tournament and head coach Alex Ivansheck’s young squad this winter will look to build on the 2025-26 campaign that saw the Bears win 13 contests.
Wellesley didn’t lose any seniors to graduation a season ago and will turn to its pair of All-Conference returners in Ava Shane and Trinity Barrow to lead the Blue in 2026-27. Shane and Barrow combined for 682 total points last year, which accounted for over 50-percent of Wellesley’s point total as a team in 2025-26. The Blue and head coach Jennifer Kroll will be looking to make it back to the NEWMAC Tournament for the first time since 2019-20 this year.
Salve Regina and head coach Cori Hughes gathered 33 points in this year’s coaches poll and will return a young squad to the court this winter as the Seahawks lost just two seniors to graduation last year. Since joining the NEWMAC for the 2023-24 season, Salve Regina has made two appearances in the conference tournament including a semifinal spot in 2024-25.
Wheaton and Mount Holyoke round out this year’s coaches poll with 23 and 11 points, respectively. Wheaton and head coach Kanika Cummings Groves will return a pair of seniors in Mary Claire McClintock and Cheyenne Colbert this year, while Mount Holyoke will have five rising seniors leading the squad in 2026-27 under head coach Abby Wemhoff. Both Groves and Wemhoff will be entering their third seasons’s with their respective squads this winter.
2026-27 NEWMAC Women’s Basketball Preseason Coaches Poll
Team, Points (First Place Votes)
1. Smith - 121, (11)
2. Clark - 103, (1)
3. Babson - 102
4. MIT - 86
5. Springfield - 82
6. WPI - 76
7. Emerson - 60
8. Coast Guard - 55
9. Wellesley - 40
10. Salve Regina - 33
11. Wheaton - 23
12. Mount Holyoke - 11
A look at the NEWMAC Women’s Basketball Head Coaches
Smith - Lynn Hersey - 20th Season (19th at Smith) - 372-160
Clark - Bridgette Reyes - 10th Season (5th at Clark) - 86-118
Babson - Kate Barnosky - 4th Season - 49-32
MIT - Lucia Robinson-Griggs - 10th Season (6th at MIT) - 127-82
Springfield - Nicole Ambrose - 1st Season - 0-0
WPI - Cherise Galasso - 30th Season (27th at WPI) - 397-264
Emerson - Bill Gould - 19th Season - 225-239
Coast Guard - Alex Ivansheck - 15th Season - 188-151
Wellesley - Jennifer Kroll - 27th Season (18th at Wellesley) - 321-319
Salve Regina - Cori Hughes - 26th Season (20th at Salve Regina) - 281-332
Wheaton - Kanika Cummings Groves - 3rd Season - 12-38
Mount Holyoke - Abby Wemhoff - 3rd Season - 7-42
The 2026-27 season will get underway on Friday, November 6 with six NEWMAC squads in action beginning with Clark University at 4:00 pm. Babson, WPI, Springfield, Wellesley and Emerson will also open their seasons the same day with games tipping off between 5:00 pm and 7:00 pm on opening night.
A conference champion will be crowned on Sunday, February 28 with that team receiving the league's automatic berth to the 2026-27 NCAA Division III Championship Tournament.
About the NEWMAC
The NEWMAC is an association of 13 selective academic institutions: Babson College, Clark University, U.S Coast Guard Academy, Emerson College, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Mount Holyoke College, Saint Anselm College (beginning reclassification process with NCAA in 2027-28), Salve Regina University, Smith College, Springfield College, Wellesley College, Wheaton College, and Worcester Polytechnic Institute, that are committed to providing high quality competitive athletic opportunities for student-athletes within an educational and respectful environment that embodies the NCAA Division III Philosophy. The conference also partners with seven Associate Members: New York University (Men's Volleyball, 2026-2027), Norwich University (Football), Simmons College (Rowing), SUNY Maritime College (Football), SUNY New Paltz (Men's Volleyball, 2026-2027), U.S. Merchant Marine Academy (Football), and Vassar College (Men's Volleyball, 2026-2027), while sponsoring 21 sports.