The SLU women will being their season on November 9, with a home game against Drake. (Image courtesy: SLU Athletics)
Nora Nichols
Staff Writer
HENRICO, VA — Saint Louis University women’s basketball guards Kyla McMakin, Julia Martinez and Kennedy Calhoun have been named to Atlantic 10 Preseason All-Conference teams, the league announced today.
McMakin, a grad student from Virginia Beach, Va., was picked to the conference’s first-team, while Martinez, a grad student from Chicago, earned spots on the second-team and the league’s All-Defensive teams. Calhoun, a junior from Harrisburg, N.C., rounds out the Billikens’ preseason honorees with a selection to the prestigious all-defensive team.
McMakin makes her way onto the first team following a stellar first year at SLU, which culminated in a historic season for the Billikens. She finished her 2022-23 campaign fourth in the A-10 in scoring with 17.2 points per game. She also set SLU’s single-season points record with 602 on the year. Her efforts landed her on the A-10 second-team and All-Championship team to conclude last season.
In addition to earning one of the five All-Defensive team spots, Martinez earns preseason recognition for the first time after being named the A-10 Championship MVP. In the championship game, she recorded her first-ever triple-double (17 points, 13 rebounds, 12 assists) en route to the team’s first-ever tournament crown. During the regular season, Martinez averaged 9.7 points and 7.7 rebounds while leading the A-10 and ranking second in the NCAA with a school-record 117 steals.
Calhoun captured one of the prestigious All-Defensive spots after setting a SLU single-season record for sophomores and ranking third on SLU’s overall single season steals list with 71 during the 2022-23 season. She closed out the year eighth in the A-10 in steals (71 total, 2.0 per game) and 10th in assists (135 total, 3.9 per game).
The preseason teams were released at the start of A-10 Women’s Basketball Media Day at the Henrico Sports & Events Center, the site of the 2024 Atlantic 10 Women’s Basketball Championship.
As a team, SLU was picked to finish third in the league this season with 186 points earning two first-place votes. This coming after the Billikens won the A-10 Conference Tournament last season, bringing home the program’s first ever conference championship.
Voting for the All-Conference teams and the preseason poll was conducted by each of the A-10’s 15 head coaches.
Saint Louis opens the season Thursday, November 9, when it hosts Drake at Chaifetz Arena. Tipoff is set for 7 p.m.
The full A-10 Women’s Basketball Preseason Poll is below:
- Rhode Island (12): 218
- Saint Joseph’s: 203
- Saint Louis University (2): 186
- Richmond: 176
- Duquesne (1): 172
- George Washington: 150
- Davidson: 124
- George Mason: 111
- Dayton: 100
- VCU: 96
- Massachusetts: 70
- La Salle: 66
- Fordham: 54
- St. Bonaventure: 39
- Loyola Chicago: 35
Number in parentheses indicates number of first-place votes.