U-S-A! U-S-A! U-S-A!
I hate how I’ve been forced to neglect the site these last few days, but I’m going to buckle down and get another one out of the way. More and more information is known these days, including a preseason poll for the conference (a first in my series). Here’s where the rundown stands:
America East Conference
Southwestern Athletic Conference
Patriot League
Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference
Big Sky Conference
Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference
Northeast Conference
Big South Conference
Colonial Athletic Association
Ohio Valley Conference
Horizon League
Western Athletic Conference
Southland Conference
Conference USA
The Summit League
Atlantic Sun Conference
American Athletic Conference
Ivy League
Southern Conference
Mid-American Conference
Sun Belt Conference
Atlantic 10 Conference
Big West Conference
Mountain West Conference
Big East Conference
Missouri Valley Conference
Atlantic Coast Conference
Southeastern Conference
Big 12 Conference
West Coast Conference
Big Ten Conference
Pac-12 Conference
By its very nature, I’ve always sort of doubted that Conference USA is anyone’s idea of a long-term athletic home. It was formed from a merger of two failing conferences, and has always had wide geography (hence the name). What do you want from a conference? A body of institutions with similar beliefs and goals, as the recent Big East brouhaha illuminates, and ideally, some measure of geographic proximity. Right? It doesn’t seem like Conference USA would ever really offer that. Just a little too transient.
But it is nonetheless a populous conference. I thought the Southland, the last league profiled, tipped the scales hardest with 14 teams. C-USA actually has 16, 15 of whom sponsor volleyball, stretching from Old Dominion (the non-volleyball member, incidentally) on the Atlantic coast in Virginia, to Texas’ most westerly city of El Paso. Affiliate members in rowing and men’s soccer stretch things out even more, to schools in New Mexico, Colorado, and even California. The lack of a number or a geographic term in their name means the conference’s moniker will never be a misnomer (like the Atlantic 10, who have 13 full members, including the not-exactly-Atlantic Saint Louis), but it does tend to depict widespread membership. Conference USA indeed.
Here were the Conference USA volleyball standings a season ago:
1. Tulsa 14-2 (26-10)
2. Rice 12-4 (19-12)
3. UAB 11-5 (20-14)
4. UCF 11-5 (18-15)
5. UTEP 10-6 (16-13)
6. Marshall 8-8 (18-13)
7. Memphis 7-9 (12-19)
8. SMU 7-9 (11-20)
9. Houston 7-9 (9-19)
10. Southern Miss 4-12 (8-20)
11. Tulane 4-12 (6-21)
12. East Carolina 1-15 (2-25)
There’s been quite a bit of coming and going in this conference over the last academic year, and more is planned. Central Florida, Memphis, Southern Methodist, and Houston have all left for the American Athletic Conference, and Tulsa, Tulane, and East Carolina are due to follow them effective next season. Seven schools joined the league this year, and another — Western Kentucky — is due to join next year. So good luck keeping straight who’s who in this league.
Tulsa, buoyed by the nation’s top scorer, were rarely challenged in C-USA play a season ago. Their opponents in the NCAA tournament were the 14th-seeded Florida Gators, who outclassed the Golden Hurricane (25-9, 25-21, 25-21).
The Tulsa Golden Hurricane are, narrowly, picked joint second in the C-USA preseason coaches’ poll. Two words for you to describe Tulsa last season — Tyler Henderson. Her 5.22 kills per set led the nation last season, and she did it at an efficiency you’d expect to see from a middle rather than a pin. Her blocking and serving weren’t anything particularly special, but being a scoring machine as she was got her second-team All-American honours — the first Golden Hurricane to garner such recognition in three straight seasons.
It makes her a big, big loss this year.
Kellie Culbertson (C-USA second team all-conference) probably takes up the mantle of top scorer, having been the secondary option last year. It’s unlikely she’ll equal Henderson’s output (it’s unlikely anyone would). She adds value as a six-rotation player, chipping in over 3 digs per set. The team’s top blockers Ashley Hooper (C-USA all-freshman team 2012) and Carly Boatwright also return from last year, though the Golden Hurricane weren’t especially good in that area last season. Setting last season for the Golden Hurricane was handled in a 6-2 between the Clampitt sisters, Jordan and Bailey. Jordan has now graduated, while her kid sister remains as a junior.
One of the team’s incoming recruits, Puerto Rican freshman Genesis Viera, could keep the team in the same offensive formation this year. Another important newcomer, one who figures to start regularly, is South Florida transfer Valerie El Houssine. The Belgian attained second-team all-Big East honours last year and will aim for the same if not better this year. Outside hitter Erica Bohannon and libero Brooke Berryhill fill out the incoming ranks, as members of the class of ’17. Berryhill fills the void left by second-team all C-USA libero Jessica Adams, who put up over 5 digs per set last year. This is another area where the Golden Hurricane will probably regress a little from last year.
The Golden Hurricane have an impressive non-conference schedule lined up this year. They start the season at an invitational hosted by Dayton, the first of six 2012 NCAA tournament teams they’ll face (the others are Kansas State, Arkansas, Oklahoma, Long Island, and Miami). They also have a non-counter against the Italian under-23 national team lined up for 27 September. And they also face other big conference opponents, at Baylor’s invitational. They’ll be battle tested come conference play.
The Rice Owls are, narrowly, the conference pre-season favourites by the coaches’ poll. Rice return the conference’s top setter from a season ago, first team all-conference Megan Murphy. She topped 11 assists per set last year, a fine mark indeed. The Owls emphasise the middle pretty frequently in their offence. Their two top scorers from 2012 were both middles. Jillian Humphrey, the top returning blocker in the conference, comes back as a junior. She was Rice’s second-leading scorer last season, behind another middle who has now graduated. Lizzy Bache will probably be the secondary option, being the second-highest returning scorer. She’s listed at middle just like Humphrey, though she didn’t put up much in terms of blocking last year. Maybe that’ll change this year with her being the second option. The most prodigious returning pin hitter is Mariah Riddlesprigger, who had less than 2 kills per set last season. So look to the middle when you see the Rice Owls. It’s defence by committee for Rice, as they out-dug their opponents last season despite not having anyone top even 4 digs per set. Regular libero Daniela Arenas returns in 2013 for her junior season.
The Owls have four incoming players for the class of ’17, three of them highlighted in an announcement last winter at the tailend of the fall signing period (two opposite hitters and another middle blocker). Rice don’t have a particularly difficult non-conference schedule ahead of them. The Owls open the season at an invitational hosted by Fresno State. Louisville, hosts of a later invitational which Rice are set to attend, are the only NCAA tournament team from last year on the docket. So while Tulsa will be battle tested, Rice should be the ones to come out of the preseason with a nice, shiny won/lost record.
One of my favourite logos in the NCAA. The UAB (that’s Alabama-Birmingham) Blazers are picked seventh in the C-USA coaches’ poll. The Blazers’ big strength last season was also the middle, though they’ve lost conference blocks leader and first-team all-conference Sam Serley to graduation. The Blazers’ second-leading blocker from last season is also now gone, leaving Kiriana Hirini, a part-timer last season, to be the number-one middle. Hirini has had an interesting path to Birmingham. She’s originally from Tauranga, New Zealand and first came stateside playing for the Long Beach State 49ers. She’ll be a junior this season. American University transfer Sara Rishell, also a junior, will likely be the other regular starter up the middle.
As for the pins, you probably have to look to Sam Skinner to lead the way. She was a regular starter last season, albeit not a constant one. She and Ally Slaughter both averaged a little over 2 kills per set last season, and you’d figure they’ll have to ratchet that up a little if the Blazers are to be competitive in 2013. UAB are another team that ran with a regular two-setter formation with only one retained. Becca Howard averaged only 3.5 assists per set last year, so she’ll have to step up a little as well. Redshirt freshman Emma Schroer probably hits the floor with her (there is also a true freshman on the team, but you don’t usually see three pure setters on an active roster — I’d imagine she redshirts). Libero Rachel Fairbanks, second-team all C-USA last year and the only libero returning who averaged 5 digs per set last year, anchors the defence. She’ll be a senior this year.
The Blazers have five new players this season, three for the class of ’17 and two transfers (including the aforementioned Rishell). The Blazers sadly had a death in the family this past year, as head coach Kerry Messersmith‘s husband Hal, who had held various positions within the program including being the school’s first-ever sand volleyball coach, lost his two year battle with cancer a month ago. UAB open their season with a home invitational. They face their most difficult preseason opponent there, NCAA tournament team Minnesota.
UTEP, picked fifth in the preseason coaches’ poll, had a changing of the guard at the top of the ranks from last year to this. I’m not sure, but I think this may be why that coaches’ poll has only 14 votes rather than 15. Previous head coach Ken Murphy, honoured as the C-USA Coach of the Year last year, has taken over the helm of Northern Arizona University. In his place, as announced only a month ago, is former Florida State assistant coach Holly Watts. The four incoming players originally signed by Murphy, as announced in March and in June, still remain with the team.
The Miners will lean on Mexican middle blocker Xiltali Herrera, back for her senior season after being named first-team all C-USA last year. A reliable scorer, a solid blocker, and even a decent option on defence, Herrera should match that first-team all conference selection this year and has the potential for even more. Jeane Horton, third in the conference last year in scoring output and second among pins in efficiency, was also first-team all C-USA last year and also returns as a senior this year. Setter Malia Patterson, second-team all conference, is also back for her senior season. It’s another defence by committee situation with this team, and the Miners were roughly the equal of their opponents last season. Libero Victoria Valencia, yet another senior, leads the way. So this is a pretty big core that will depart after this year, but for this year they seem awfully strong. I actually wonder a little why they didn’t get any first-place votes in the coaches’ poll (five different teams did).
The Miners have a very difficult start to their season, facing three NCAA tournament teams (including the reigning national champions Texas) at an invitational hosted by Hawaii. Things get a little easier from there, as there are no especially strong teams in either the Rhode Island invitational, UTEP’s home invitational, or the invitational joint-hosted by UTEP and New Mexico State.
The Marshall Thundering Herd were picked eighth in the C-USA coaches’ poll. Their team is largely built around outside hitter Laura Der, second in conference in scoring output a year ago and a returning first-team all conference player. Her 4.4 kills per set are quite impressive for someone of her relatively small stature (5-foot-9). What she lacks in blocking she makes up for as a defender, chipping in 3 digs per set. Top blocker Jillian Shemanski may be poised for a breakout. She just missed a block per set last year as a freshman (100 total blocks in 103 sets), making the conference all-freshman team. Together with Ashley Arnold, of the Winthrop diaspora, they’ve got a chance to be a really nice 1-2 punch up the middle. Arnold too is a sophomore, so it may be more about next year or the year after than this year — but the possibility is there. Five other student-athletes join the Thundering Herd this season, as members of the class of ’17.
Setter Sammie Bane, third among conference setters last year, topping 10.5 assists per set, returns as a junior. She and returning libero Dorothy Rahal were in fact the only team members to play every set last season. The Thundering Herd made a little hay in the service game last season, out-acing their opponents by sixty. Usually it’s much closer than that. The Thundering Herd’s own service numbers were middle-of-the-road, so I think it speaks well of their reception game.
I think this is a solid team, but it’s looking like this is a conference full of them. Marshall open their season at an invitational hosted by Virginia. Later, they’ll travel to Final Four team Michigan for the Wolverines’ home invitational.
And now we skip all the way down to the Southern Miss Golden Eagles, who are picked eleventh in the coaches’ poll. And speaking of coaches, they, like UTEP, have had a changing of the ranks at the top of the pecking order. Previous head coach Abbey Sutherland is now the head coach at Division III Wisconsin-Stevens Point. I don’t know what happened here, but it’s obvious something did. The Stevens Point announcement has a quote from Sutherland about being grateful for the chance to extend her career. There was no announcement at all from Southern Miss, at least not that I can find. It wasn’t that long ago that Sutherland was being used promotionally by the Golden Eagles’ marketing people. And a coach just doesn’t choose to leave her team a month before the season starts — certainly not in order to take a Division III job.
So something smells a little funny here, but I’ll refrain from speculating. Hopefully I’m wrong about that altogether. Assistant coach Amanda Berkeley has now taken over the reins of the program on an interim basis.
The Golden Eagles return two from the conference all-freshman team a year ago, outside hitter Lydia Bonner and towering middle blocker Quinci Hayward. Both played every match a year ago, and posted reasonable numbers for freshmen. Leading scorer Jasmine Crowell, middle-stroke-outside, returns as a senior having posted better than 3 kills and almost a block per set in her junior season last year. Setter Kristen Fleming comes back from a 10+ assists per set campaign as a sophomore. With the regular libero from last season gone, it’s probably Alex Pfefferle who suits up in the off-colour jersey this season. Defence was a bit of a weak point for the Golden Eagles last year, getting out-dug and allowing 48 more aces than their opponents.
Southern Miss added three players in spring signing, and all are still with the team after the coaching change. Their season begins with a home invitational, and they don’t have any 2012 NCAA tournament teams scheduled.
The Tulane Green Wave are picked tenth in the preseason poll. They return an all-conference second-teamer from last season, senior middle blocker Cori Martone. She led the team in scoring, at three and a half kills per set, though her blocking was actually pretty mediocre — only about half a block per set. The team’s top blocker last season Olivia Utt also returns. She’ll be a junior this year. Grace Weaver is an interesting returner, being listed at OH/L. She saw time at both positions last year, so while 1.7 kills and 3.1 digs per set don’t seem especially impressive in either field, her rates were surely higher in those sets were she was getting the statistic in question. A libero just about never gets any offensive stats, and while an outside hitter can be a supporting player on defence, she’ll never rack up digs at the rate of a regular libero. So I don’t doubt Weaver could put up stronger totals for a season concentrating on one role or the other — but that might not be how she’s most valuable to the team.
‘Director of volleyball’ (how’s that for a title?) Sinisa Momic has announced an interesting five-player incoming class — two scholarship freshmen, two walk-ons, and and outside hitter Amy Lanski as a transfer from DePaul. The Green Wave kick off their season with a home invitational. They don’t play any NCAA tournament teams, nor anyone from a particularly strong conference.
The East Carolina Pirates brought up the rear in Conference USA last year, and they’re projected to again this year — the coaches’ poll has them 15th. East Carolina had no one recognised as all-conference last season.
Top scorer Nicole Willis returns for her senior season, having averaged a pretty healthy 3.7 kills per set in mostly full time. No one else on the team managed to top 2, though. Second-leading blocker Virginia Fitch also returns as a senior this year. The Pirates gave time to two setters last year, neither of whom played a full season. The more prodigious of the two was Zarah Cecich, who is back this year as a junior. New freshman Bella Borgiotti affords the possibility for the same offensive formation this year.
Three other freshmen join Borgiotti this season as new recruits. They begin their season at an invitational hosted by Wake Forest, who are probably the most noteworthy team on the docket for them.
And now the new members.
The Florida Atlantic Owls come to Conference USA from the Sun Belt. They’re picked 13th in the coaches’ poll. They went 7-19 last season, 2-13 in conference, and didn’t have anyone named all-Sun Belt. For this season, they’ve added a remarkably large incoming class, 12 players strong (eight new freshmen and four transfer students). The team bring back their top two scorers from last year, outside hitters Alessia Pizzocheri and Darija Sataric, junior and senior to be respectively. Setter Jelena Jovanovic handled full-time duties at the position as a freshman last season. She posted 9.1 assists per set, which isn’t great, but from a true freshman gaining experience I could see it as the groundwork for future improvements.
The Owls lack standout returners in terms of defence or blocking, and they were pretty well outdone by their opposition last season there anyway. Surely a lot of the new players will break into the starting lineup — options are plentiful, but I woudn’t really know which ones to highlight. Florida Atlantic begin their season with a home invitational. At a later tournament hosted by South Florida, they’ll face NCAA tournament team Purdue.
The Florida International Panthers also join from the Sun Belt. They’re picked ninth in the preseason poll. They did have a player highlighted as all-Sun Belt last year, but she has now left to graduation. Last year, the Panthers went 10-20 overall and 7-8 in conference.
Senior middle blocker Kimberly Smith is the player to watch on the Panthers’ team this year. She was the team’s second-leading scorer last year and best blocker, averaging exactly a block per set (105 blocks in 105 sets). The Panthers are a strong blocking team, and junior middle Silvia Carli actually outdid in terms of rate, but with less playing time and fewer total blocks (83 blocks in 79 sets, for 1.05 per set). Another part-timer, Brittany “CeCe” Smith, posted a strong blocking rate (50 in 56 sets). Gloria Levorin also put up a nice rate, 90 blocks in 105 sets. Lucia Castro is the only returning pin hitter of any note (played every match last season), presenting one of the team’s weaknesses. Back-row defence is another. Only one player averaged over 3 digs per set last year, and just barely did so at 3.03. And even she’s gone now. FIU were outdone by their opponents by almost a dig per set last year, which adds up as the season winds on.
The Panthers have added three players to the ranks this year, two new freshmen and one transfer student. Fittingly, all three are international players (Croatia, Switzerland, and Poland). They start their season at an invitational hosted by South Carolina. Later on, they’ll head to Purdue for another invitational, and the Boilermakers are probably the team’s most prominent non-conference oppoenents.
The Middle Tennessee Blue Raiders also join from the Sun Belt. They’re picked sixth in the coaches’ poll, but did garner two first-place votes. They finished 10-23 last season, and 7-8 in conference. They’ll host the conference tournament at season’s end.
The Blue Raiders were a very young team last year, with just two seniors on the roster, both in supporting roles. So this year will feature some young starters coming into their own. Top scorer Chelsea Ross was just a freshman last year, one of eight on the squad (six are back this year as sophomores). The outside hitter was the only Blue Raider to start every match and set last season, missing 500 total kills by just a one, which was good for a rate of 4.06 per set. Middle blocker Tyler Richardson, another sophomore this season, played nearly the entire year last year, missing just two sets. Her 1.23 blocks per set immediately slots her in as one of the top blockers in C-USA this year. Nobody else put up particularly good blocking rates, though, and the Blue Raiders were in fact slightly out-blocked by their opponents last season. It’s unclear who else merits calling out, as the playing time was pretty well spread around. Everything on the stat book looks promising, especially considering that most of the team were freshmen last year.
Middle Tennessee add two players to the ranks this year, Midwest transfer students Ailime de Freitas and back-row specialist Kristina Headrick. De Freitas is from Brazil — I wonder if she’s related to beach player Barbara Seixas de Freitas. Headrick played for Division II Christian Brothers University last year, earning honourable mention All-American status as the Lady Bucs made the NCAA tournament and won a match as a 7-seed. I’d be surprised if she didn’t start regularly. The Blue Raiders begin their season with a very strong home invitational, facing NCAA tournament teams North Carolina and Notre Dame. Later at the Missouri State invitational, they’ll play another tournament team, that being Oklahoma.
The Louisiana Tech Lady Techsters (what is THAT, exactly?) come to Conference USA from the WAC. And that’s probably a good move for them. The amount of travel requisite for a team in Louisiana being in a conference with ‘Western’ in its name was probably always more than they should be taking on. They’re picked 14th in C-USA this year, and after a 3-27 mark last year, 0-18 in conference, that might even constitute an improvement.
Setter Maria Coelho was was the only Lady Techster to play every match and set last year. Middle hitter Dalane Guidry and outside hitter Clara Vido played every match, but not quite every set. Middle blocker (and yes, the team’s roster does list MB and MH separately — never seen that before) Caitlin Germany played 80 of the team’s 105 sets, and no one further down the line played more than 67. Nobody had very strong statistical outputs — Vido was the team’s leading scorer at two and a half kills per set, and on only a .103 efficiency. I’d imagine the moving-parts nature will remain the case this year, particularly as Vido and Germany are the only two seniors on the roster.
The team have four new freshmen this year, from Australia, Puerto Rico, Italy, and North Carolina, as the team have had a global recruiting touch (Vido and Coelho are both from Brazil). Originally another Puerto Rican was announced as joining the team, but she’s not listed on the 2013 roster. The Lady Techsters open their season at an invitational hosted by Texas-Arlington.
The North Texas Mean Green join from the Sun Belt Conference. They did well in that conference, going 26-12 overall and 9-5 in league. They finished one match shy of making the NCAA tournament. They’re tabbed solidly fourth in the C-USA coaches’ poll, nipping three first-place votes to get there. The Mean Green were a stop on the coaching carousel this offseason, as prior head coach Ken Murczek resigned in February to take the job at Wake Forest. His replacement is Andrew Palileo, no less than a former Pac-12 Coach of the Year (2009, Washington State). He was most recently an assistant with Ohio State.
The Mean Green mostly leaned on a freshman last year, 5-foot-8 outside hitter Carnae Dillard. Despite being one of the shortest primary pin hitters you’re gonna find, Dillard put up a very respectable 4 kills per set in her freshman campaign, taking over 1500 swings on the year. She’s also a serviceable defender as a six-rotation player, chipping in a little better than 2 digs per set. These performances earned her first-team all Sun Belt and Sun Belt Freshman of the Year recognition last season. Courtney Windham, who transferred into North Texas from Baylor last year, was also first-team all Sun Belt last season. She’ll be a senior this year. Listed at OH, her numbers look a lot more like those of a middle, with a very strong attacking efficiency and a whopping 1.3 blocks per set. Senior middle Karissa Flack nearly reached a block per set last year (125 in 133 sets), and clearly forms a strong front-line wall with Windham. The Mean Green are another team that ran with two setters last year but bring back only one, that being junior Camille Cherry. She was the less prodigious of the two in the 6-2 last year, so I’d tab new freshman Amy Henard to see some solid court time as well.
North Texas begin their season at an invitational hosted by Loyola Marymount. In addition to the Lions, they’ll face another NCAA tournament team there, 2011 national champions UCLA.
The UTSA (Texas-San Antonio) Roadrunners join from the WAC. They were solid in the WAC last year, going 21-9 and 13-5 in-league. They’re picked joint second in the C-USA coaches’ poll with Tulsa, and got two first-place votes.
The star of the show is senior outside hitter McKenzie Adams, who averaged well better than 4 kills per set last season and nearly 4 digs per set as well. That versatility got her named WAC Player of the Year last season, and she’s similarly been tabbed in the Conference USA preseason poll (there’s actually an entire all-conference team, but I didn’t feel it particularly significant). Junior outside hitter Dempsey Thornton is the woman who will be called upon to alleviate some of the scoring burden from Adams. Thornton grew into her role last season, playing in all 30 of the team’s matches but only starting 16 of them. Two and a half kills per set, Thornton’s output, isn’t bad for a secondary option.
Setter Brandy Huskey is back for her senior season, having posted better than 10 assists per set last year. Interestingly, regular libero Annie Kunes set frequently enough last year to have better than an assist per set herself, indicating that the Roadrunners probably feel perfectly comfortable in out-of-system rallies. Kunes was also very good at her ‘day job,’ racking up over 5 digs per set, and even this season she’s only a sophomore — she could be really good by the time she hangs ’em up if she keeps improving. Blocking was another strength for the Roadrunners, with sophomore middle Kylie Schott leading the way at better than a block per set.
With seniors mixing in with sophomores, this looks like a team who are good now and will still be in the future. The Roadrunners open their season at an invitational hosted by LSU, where they’ll face NCAA tournament team San Diego State. They’ll then host three NCAA tournament teams at their home invitational — Loyola Marymount, Florida, and Texas A&M.
We reach our conclusion with the Charlotte 49ers. They were actually charter members of Conference USA, but spent the last eight seasons in the Atlantic 10. They’re back this year, and are picked to finish 12th in the league by the coaches’ poll. Last season they went 10-16 overall, and 2-12 in conference play.
The 49ers will look to middle blocker Amanda Videmsek to lead the way this year. The senior led the team in total kills and in attacking efficiency last season. She’s also the only player on the team who was in every match and set. Sophomore outside hitter Carly Ochs is the returning pin who saw the most playing time last year, featuring in all but one match. She’ll need to improve up on a flat 2 kills per set if the 49ers wish to contend in 2013. I wonder if middle blocker Savannah Gaster will expand beyond her limited role last season. She certainly has the phyiscal tools to be an elite middle — she stands as tall as a lady named Sarah Pavan, who you may have heard of — but she played in only about a third of the team’s action last year and her blocking totals were unremarkable. I don’t know if maybe injuries played a role in that.
The 49ers were a good defensive team last year, but they’ll need to find new top dig-earners this year. Their leaders in that area last year are both gone to graduation. Options are plentiful, as the two spring signees are both back-row specialists, and so is sophomore holdover Michelle Hovey. They’ll join three freshmen inked in the fall signing period. The 49ers begin their season at an invitational hosted by Davidson. Later, at the Chattanooga invitational, they’ll face NCAA tournament team Tennessee.
The verdict
Good god, that is a lot of teams. Some pretty clear separation between the haves and the have nots, but within those groups there’s some considerable wiggle room. Look no further than the fact that five different teams got first-place votes in the coaches’ poll. This one’s ripe for the picking, and it’ll be exciting to see who can rise up and take it.
TNS SWAG
1. UTSA
2. Rice
3. North Texas
4. UTEP
5. Tulsa
6. Middle Tennessee
7. FIU
8. UAB
9. Marshall
10. Southern Miss
11. Tulane
12. Charlotte
13. Florida Atlantic
14. Louisiana Tech
15. East Carolina
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