Texas State selected to play in preseason WNIT

Triple Crown Sports announced Tuesday that the Texas State Women’s Basketball will be included in the 16 teams invited to the 2018 Preseason Women’s National Invitation Tournament.

The selections were based off expected program success, their relevant past and conference standings.

“Being able to participate in the Pre-Season WNIT is exciting,” head coach Zenarae Antoine said in a statement. “Our program has worked hard and it is nice to see the work of our student-athletes and staff recognized by being extended with an invitation. This upcoming season we will have a new schedule, team and set of challenges to face and I cannot wait. It is a great day to be a Bobcat.”

A historic 2017-18 season which included a second place finish in both the Sun Belt regular season and conference tournament has led to an invitation to one of the game’s prestigious preseason tournaments. The Bobcats broke several school records this past season which included the single-season record of victories with 23 wins at the Division I level. With Antoine leading, Texas State has competed in postseason basketball in four of the last five seasons.

The competition in the tournament will include nine teams that competed in postseason basketball after the close of the 2017-18 regular season. Three of which were in the 2018 NCAA Women’s Division I Basketball Tournament: Marquette, Miami (Fla.) and Nicholls State.

Five programs in the preseason tournament also competed in the 2018 Women’s National Invitation Tournament: Texas State, Delaware, Northern Iowa, Stephen F. Austin and New Mexico.

The remainder of the field will be comprised of Yale, Auburn, Hartford, Iowa State, Montana State, Morgan State, Niagara and Northern Illinois.

The Preseason WNIT began in 1994 and is organized by Crown Sports, a national sports event company based out of Fort Collins, Colorado. Over the years, 200-plus of the nations Division I programs have competed in the even. 

Previous champions of the event include: Baylor, Colorado, Colorado State, Connecticut, Georgia, Kansas State, Louisiana Tech, Louisville, Maryland, Mississippi State, North Carolina, Notre Dame, Ohio State, Purdue, Texas Tech and Washington.

The first round matchups, locations and official bracket will be announced at a later date.