BILLINGS, Mont.- Rocky Women's Basketball earned two first-place votes and was selected to finish second in the 2026–27 Frontier Conference Women's Basketball Preseason Poll, released Monday morning by the conference office.

Coaches were not permitted to vote for their own programs. The Battlin' Bears accumulated 110 total points in the poll. Dakota State, the reigning 2025–26 regular-season champion, was chosen as the preseason favorite with eight first-place votes and 117 points. Montana Tech, the 2025–26 conference tournament champion, received the remaining two first-place votes to finish third with 103 points.

The full 2026-27 Frontier Conference Women's Basketball Preseason Poll can be found below. 
 

Rank	Team	Points
1	Dakota State (S.D.) (8)	117
2	Rocky Mountain (Mont.) (2)	110
3	Montana Tech (2)	103
4	Carroll (Mont.)	89
5	MSU-Northern	75
6	Montana Western	70
7	Providence (Mont.)	65
8	Valley City State (N.D.)	60
9	Bismarck State (N.D.)	44
10	Bellevue (Neb.)	31
11	Dickinson State (N.D.)	25
12	Mayville State (N.D.)	13

Rocky enters the 2026–27 campaign following another excellent season under head coach Wes Keller, in which the team posted a 21-10 overall record, a 17-5 mark in conference play, and a perfect 12-0 home record inside the Fortin Education Center. The Battlin' Bears earned an at-large bid to the NAIA National Championship Tournament, advancing past Southern Oregon 83–64 in the opening round.

The Battlin' Bears return an experienced and cohesive roster for the upcoming season, headlined by four returning starters from last year's national tournament squad. Leading the way are First Team All-American Paige Wasson and reigning Frontier Conference Defensive Player of the Year Isabelle Heggem. Rocky also welcomes back veteran seniors Iliana Moran and Madeline Heggem—both former starters who return to full health after missing the majority of the 2025–26 season due to injury.

Rocky tips off its 2026–27 campaign this weekend at the Northwest Crossover Classic in Spokane, Washington, facing Lewis-Clark State College on Saturday and Southern Oregon on Sunday.

The Battlin' Bears will make their home debut on Tuesday, Oct. 27, hosting crosstown rival MSU Billings in a Rimrock Rivalry exhibition matchup at the Fortin Education Center.