University of Sioux Falls senior guard Kaely Hummel is the preseason Player of the Year in Northern Sun Conference, while her Cougars are picked to finish second and Augustana is fourth out of 16 teams in the league’s preseason basketball poll, as voted by league coaches.
Augie sophomore guard Vishe Rabb joins Hummel on the NSIC’s Players to Watch list.
MSU-Moorhead is the overall league, earning 9 first-place votes, and is the favorite in the NSIC North.
The Cougars received 7 first-place votes and are the NSIC South favorites, with Augustana picked second in the division. Minnesota-Duluth is slated third overall and 2nd in the north.
USF finished 2nd in the NSIC South last season, one game back of Concordia-St. Paul. The Coo posted a 23-8 overall record (16-6 NSIC), its most successful season in Div. II. Each of the five leading scorers return — Hummel, Mariah Symanski, Jessie Greer, Anna Goodhope, and Hannah Jones.
Hummel, a 5’8 guard from Cherokee, Iowa, earned All-NSIC honors, averaging a team-leading 15.6 points per game while shooting 47 percent from the field and 40 percent beyond the arc.
USF’s first six games will be at home, starting with a preseason tilt against Waldorf on Nov. 8 and the season-opening USF Classic on Nov. 15 and 16 in the Stewart Center against William Jewell and Chadron State.
AUGIE enters the 2019-20 season with all but three seniors from last year’s team that went 22-11 and 13-9 in conference action. David Krauth returns for his 31st season at the helm of the Vikings and has a 628-269 record at Augustana. The Vikings welcome in three freshmen and four redshirt-freshmen into the mix this season.
The Vikings return four players that started at least 15 games or more last season in Vishe’ Rabb, Abby Hora, Hana Metoxen and Janelle Shiffler.
Rabb is the reigning NSIC Freshman of the Year and Augie’s NSIC Player to Watch this season after averaging 10.7 points per game and 1.45 steals per game. The Springfield, Minnesota, native shot at a 46-percent clip and 33 percent from deep.
Metoxen also returns after being named to the NSIC All-Defensive team last season. The Apple Valley, Minnesota, native grabbed 39 steals to lead the Vikings defense. On the other side of the ball, the senior averaged 6 points and 4.2 boards a game.
As a team, Augustana averaged 74.5 points per contest while shooting 41 percent from the field and 32 percent from beyond the arc. The Vikings grabbed 41 boards per game while also dishing out 15.2 assists per game.
The Vikings will play a tune-up game on Nov. 4 against Minnesota-Morris at 7 p.m. inside the Elmen Center. Augustana opens up its regular season on the road against Truman State on Nov. 16 at 11 a.m. The Vikings will then open up conference play on the road against Wayne State on Nov. 30 in Wayne, Nebraska. On Dec. 6, the Vikings will hit Heritage Court and the Sanford Pentagon for the first time for the conference home opener against Winona State. The Vikings will close out the regular season with a matchup on the road against Southwest Minnesota State on Feb. 22.
