INDIANAPOLIS – The Horizon League announced its preseason poll for the 2026-27 season Thursday, with Milwaukee selected 10th with 40 points.
 
The Panthers return 12 players from their 15-player roster heading into the upcoming season, including three players that were regulars in the Milwaukee starting lineup a season ago.
 
Payton Rechlicz was the only player to start in all 32 games a season ago, while Jada Williams made 29 starts and Madison Fitzgibbon made 22 starts in her first collegiate season.
 
The Panthers also return seven other players who saw significant minutes in 2025-26, including Sophia Rampulla, Kendall Barnes, and Tierney Madigan, who all averaged at least 13 minutes per game.
 
Milwaukee also welcomed transfer Jaeda Murphy and true freshmen Kylie Butler and Nataya Donaldson to the roster, while last season's redshirts Lizzy Favret and Olivia Olson are also expected to make contributions in their first seasons on the court.
 
Green Bay topped the Horizon League poll with 142 points after earning the league's bid to the NCAA Tournament a year ago, falling to host Minnesota by a 75-58 score. The top five also included Youngstown State (132 points), Robert Morris (112), Oakland (108) and IU Indy (86).
 
Northern Kentucky was selected sixth with 79 points followed by Cleveland State (68), league newcomer Northern Illinois (54), Detroit Mercy (51), Milwaukee (40), Purdue Fort Wayne (34), and Wright State (30).
 
Oakland's Mackenzie Luehring was named the Horizon League Preseason Player of the Year and was a member of the Preseason All-League First Team along with Meghan Schultz of Green Bay, Myriam Traore of Robert Morris, and Sarah Baker and Jada Leonard of Youngstown State.
 
The Panthers will host a preseason exhibition on Thursday, Oct. 29 against Benedictine (Ill.), and will begin the regular season on Tuesday, Nov. 3 at Northwestern.
 
The home opener will be on Thursday, Nov. 12 against North Dakota, while Horizon League play gets underway on the road at Youngstown State on Thursday, Nov. 3. Milwaukee's first home Horizon League contest will come against Purdue Fort Wayne on Thursday, Dec. 31.
 
Season ticket memberships and single-game tickets are on sale now and available at MKEPanthers.com/tickets, or by contacting the Milwaukee ticket office at uwmtix@uwm.edu or by calling 414-229-5886. Group tickets are also available, with in-game experiences also offered to groups at no additional cost.