Ogayemi named preseason All-CUSA
10/8/2026 11:00:00 AM | Women's Basketball
DALLAS – Sam Houston's Deborah Ogayemi was named to the Conference USA preseason all-conference team, while the Bearkats were picked fifth in the league's annual preseason poll, announced Thursday.Â
Ogayemi earned preseason recognition for the second consecutive year after landing on the All-CUSA second team in both 2024–25 and 2025–26. The graduate forward started all 27 games she played last season, averaging 11.9 points and a team-leading 7.2 rebounds while shooting 48.9 percent from the field. She also ranked third in CUSA with 2.6 steals per game.Â
Her production increased in conference play, where she averaged 14.3 points and 7.5 rebounds per game. Ogayemi ranked eighth in league scoring and third in field-goal percentage at 53.0 percent while leading CUSA with 4.1 offensive rebounds per conference game.Â
Ogayemi recorded seven double-doubles, including three straight to open CUSA play in wins over LA Tech, Liberty and Delaware. She closed the regular season with career highs of 23 points and seven steals in a victory over NM State.Â
Sam Houston received 60 points in the preseason poll after finishing tied for third in the league last season. Missouri State, who won the 2026 CUSA Tournament and advanced to the NCAA Tournament, was picked first with eight first-place votes and 90 points, followed by MTSU with 84 points and Liberty with 83. Both MTSU and Liberty received one first-place vote, while FIU was picked fourth with 70 points.Â
Missouri State's Kaemyn Bekemeier was selected as the league's preseason player of the year.Â
Ogayemi and the Bearkats are scheduled to open the 2026-27 season on November 2 when they host McMurry at Johnson Coliseum.
2026–27 CUSA Preseason PollÂ
First-place votes in parenthesesÂ
1. Missouri State (8) – 90 pointsÂ
2. MTSU (1) – 84 pointsÂ
3. Liberty (1) – 83 pointsÂ
4. FIU – 70 pointsÂ
5. Sam Houston – 60 pointsÂ
6. WKU – 42 pointsÂ
7. Delaware – 37 pointsÂ
8. NM State – 31 pointsÂ
9. Jax State – 29 pointsÂ
10. Kennesaw State – 24 points
