KANSAS CITY, Mo. – Rocky Mountain College received a No. 18 ranking in the 2019 NAIA DI Women's Basketball Coaches' Preseason Top 25 Poll. The Battlin' Bears received 95 points.

The poll is voted upon by a panel of head coaches representing each of the conferences, Association of Independent Institutions, and Unaffiliated Groups.

Three Frontier Conference teams received preseason rankings with Carroll College earning the highest at No. 7. The University of Providence Argos received just four more points than the Battlin' Bears to rank immediately ahead of Rocky at No. 17. 

Both Lewis-Clark State and Montana Western, who won the program's first national title last season, were placed in the receiving votes category.

The poll follows nearly two weeks after the Frontier Conference Women's Basketball Preseason Coaches' Poll  in which Rocky was ranked No. 2 in the conference behind Carroll College.

The Battlin' Bears return several key starters such as second team all-conference forward Markaela Francis and the 2018-19 Frontier Conference Freshman of the Year, Kloie Thatcher. Francis was one of five players picked to the 2019 Frontier Conference Preseason All-Conference Team.

The Battlin' Bears overall record currently stands at 1-1 with a loss to University of Calgary and a win against Mount Royal University. Rocky will next play Yellowstone Christian College on October 29 at the Shrine Auditorium.