LUBBOCK, Texas (October 29, 2025) – Lubbock Christian University will open the 2025–26 women's basketball season ranked No. 13 in the nation, as announced Tuesday by the Women's Basketball Coaches Association (WBCA) Division II Preseason Top 25 Coaches Poll.
The Lady Chaparrals are coming off a 32–5 campaign that included a Lone Star Conference co-championship, a South Central Regional title, and the program's fifth NCAA Division II Elite Eight appearance. Head coach
Steve Gomez, entering his 23rd season at the helm, leads a retooled roster featuring eight returners and seven newcomers into a season defined by both tradition and transition.
The No. 13 national ranking marks LCU's highest WBCA preseason position since 2021–22, when the Lady Chaps opened at No. 1 following their national championship run the year prior. It also represents the program's first appearance in the WBCA Preseason Poll since 2022–23, when LCU began the year at No. 23. Last season, the Lady Chaps were not among the WBCA's preseason Top 25 but were receiving votes.
Defending national champion Grand Valley State earned the top spot in the 2025–26 preseason poll, collecting 21 of 22 first-place votes. Union (Tenn.), Texas Woman's, North Georgia, and Gannon round out the national top five. Texas Woman's (No. 3) and Texas–Tyler (No. 20) join LCU as Lone Star Conference programs represented in the poll, while West Texas A&M also received votes.
The WBCA poll is the only national ranking exclusively focused on NCAA Division II women's basketball. Prior seasons included national rankings from the D2CSC, but the organization chose to discontinue doing national polls for all sports.
LCU's return to the national rankings follows another dominant season in which the Lady Chaparrals finished 21–1 in league play, tied for the best conference record in the LSC, and earned postseason wins to capture the South Central Regional championship in Denton, Texas. The Lady Chaps' season concluded in the Elite Eight quarterfinals in Pittsburgh, Pa., with a loss to Pittsburg State, which advanced to the national semifinals.
Despite the graduation of All-Americans
Grace Foster and
Maci Maddox, the Lady Chaps' core remains anchored by junior guard
Kennedy Chappell, the team's top returning scorer and rebounder, along with senior guard
Taylor Thomas and senior wing
Tia Johnson. Gomez's roster also features one of the largest freshman classes in program history, including standout newcomers
Meg Meekins (Nocona, Texas), who led the team with nine points in their exhibition game at Texas.
The Lady Chaparrals will open the regular season November 1 against Adams State at the D2CCA Tip-Off Classic, hosted by the St. Joseph Sports Commission inside St. Joseph Civic Center. LCU will play its first four contests on the road before returning home to Rip Griffin Center for its home opener November 21.
