Kansas Jayhawks guard S’Mya Nichols earns preseason All-Big 12 basketball honors

Kansas Jayhawks women’s basketball guard S’Mya Nichols has been named to the preseason All-Big 12 women’s basketball team, the conference announced Thursday.

The league’s coaches voted on the teams.

Last season, Nichols led KU in scoring at 15.4 points per game — the second-highest scoring average by a freshman in program history.

She made the 2023-24 All-Big 12 First Team and was a unanimous selection for the Big 12’s All-Freshman Team.

The conference on Thursday also unveiled its 2024-25 preseason poll, in which the Jayhawks are picked to finish eighth in the league.

K-State is picked to win this seaons’ Big 12 championship, and KSU’s Ayoka Lee was tabbed as the conference’s preseason player of the year.

Kansas hosts Lindenwood Nov. 6 at Allen Fieldhouse to open the season. Last season, the Jayhawks lost to USC in the second round of the NCAA Tournament.