ATLANTA - Piedmont women's basketball has been picked to finish first, as the Collegiate Conference of the South released its Preseason Coaches Poll Tuesday afternoon.

The Lions find themselves narrowly ahead of Asbury for the top spot, finishing with 61 total points and five first place votes, while the Eagles totaled 60 points and the remaining four first-place votes.

Belhaven, which the Lions defeated in last season's CCS Tournament Final, claims the third spot in the ranking with 49 points.

Maryville (42), LaGrange (35), Huntingdon (30) and Covenant (22) take the middle four spots in the league while Agnes Scott (17) and Wesleyan (8) round out the listing.

Last season, Piedmont and Asbury finished in a tie for the top spot in the regular season standings, each going 14-2 and splitting the season series. Eventually, the Lions earned the No. 1 seed and the right to host the CCS Tournament by taking the tiebreaker.

In the 2025 CCS Tournament, the Lions successfully defended their home court, cutting down the nets in front of the home fans for the first time as a CCS member. Piedmont earned an automatic bid to the 2025 NCAA Division III Tournament.

Although the Lions must replace 2024-25 CCS Player of the Year Andelin Hill and 2025 CCS Tournament MVP Nae-Nae Eades, the Lions do return a number of key contributors from last season, led by two-time All-CCS selection Alexandria Willis.

Piedmont is slated to tip off the 2025-26 season at home this Saturday, November 8 at 2 p.m. against Oglethorpe.

2025-26 CCS WOMEN'S BASKETBALL PRESEASON POLL

1.	Piedmont University	61 points (5)
2.	Asbury University	60 points (4)
3.	Belhaven University	49 points
4.	Maryville College	42 points
5.	LaGrange College	35 points
6.	Huntingdon College	30 points
7.	Covenant College	22 points
8.	Agnes Scott	17 points
9.	Wesleyan	8 points