Middle Tennesee State University Athletics
Hayes named to Preseason All-Conference USA team
10/16/2019 11:00:00 AM | Women's Basketball
Lady Raiders picked second in preseason poll
MURFREESBORO, Tenn. – Middle Tennessee sophomore guard Anastasia Hayes has been named to the C-USA Women's Basketball Preseason team as announced by the league office Wednesday.
Hayes is Middle Tennessee's only representative on the eight-person team that was voted on by the league's 14 head coaches. She became the first McDonald's All-American to sign with Middle Tennessee after transferring from Tennessee in 2018-19.
The C-USA Preseason poll was also announced Wednesday and Middle Tennessee was picked to finish second by the head coaches. The Lady Raiders garnered three first-place votes and were selected behind defending champion Rice, which received the other 11 first-place votes. WKU was picked third, followed by UAB, Old Dominion, Charlotte and North Texas in the top seven spots.
Hayes is the first transfer to land on the C-USA Preseason team since Middle Tennessee joined the conference in 2013-14. Hayes was named the Sixth Woman of the Year in the SEC as a freshman when she averaged 9.3 points and 3.5 assists per game.
Hayes was the Lady Vols' first player off of the bench on 27 occasions and scored double figures 18 times. Her 3.5 assists per game was fourth all-time by a Lady Vol freshman.
"It is tremendous recognition for Anastasia to be named to the preseason all-conference team," Lady Raider Head Coach Rick Insell said. "It is not too often that a transfer makes their way onto that list but that also tells you the type of player Anastasia Hayes is."
Prior to attending Tennessee, Hayes was a three-time all-state selection for Riverdale High School in Murfreesboro, where she was ranked the No. 6 overall prospect and No. 3-rated point guard nationally by Prospectsnation.com. The heralded all-star was ranked No. 7 overall and No. 3 at point guard nationally by ESPN, and the No. 9 overall prospect by BlueStar Basketball in 2017.
The 2017 Gatorade Tennessee Player of the Year and Class AAA Miss Basketball, Hayes also landed on four all-american teams in 2017 (WBCA, Naismith, McDonald's and MaxPreps). She was the MVP of the 2017 Class AAA State Tournament and played in the McDonald's All-American Game and the Jordan Brand Classic.
2019-20 C-USA Preseason Team
Anastasia Hayes, Middle Tennessee
*Erica Ogwumike, Rice
Nancy Mulkey, Rice
Shonte Hailes, Southern Miss
Rachael Childress, UAB
Miyah Barnes, UAB
Dee Givens, WKU
Raneem Elgedawy, WKU
*Preseason Player of the Year
2019-20 Preseason Poll (first-place votes)
1. Rice (11)
2. Middle Tennessee (3)
3. WKU
4. UAB
5. Old Dominion
6. Charlotte
7. North Texas
8. Southern Miss
9. Louisiana Tech
10. Florida Atlantic
11. Marshall
12. UTEP
13. UTSA
14. FIU
Hayes is Middle Tennessee's only representative on the eight-person team that was voted on by the league's 14 head coaches. She became the first McDonald's All-American to sign with Middle Tennessee after transferring from Tennessee in 2018-19.
The C-USA Preseason poll was also announced Wednesday and Middle Tennessee was picked to finish second by the head coaches. The Lady Raiders garnered three first-place votes and were selected behind defending champion Rice, which received the other 11 first-place votes. WKU was picked third, followed by UAB, Old Dominion, Charlotte and North Texas in the top seven spots.
Hayes is the first transfer to land on the C-USA Preseason team since Middle Tennessee joined the conference in 2013-14. Hayes was named the Sixth Woman of the Year in the SEC as a freshman when she averaged 9.3 points and 3.5 assists per game.
Hayes was the Lady Vols' first player off of the bench on 27 occasions and scored double figures 18 times. Her 3.5 assists per game was fourth all-time by a Lady Vol freshman.
"It is tremendous recognition for Anastasia to be named to the preseason all-conference team," Lady Raider Head Coach Rick Insell said. "It is not too often that a transfer makes their way onto that list but that also tells you the type of player Anastasia Hayes is."
Prior to attending Tennessee, Hayes was a three-time all-state selection for Riverdale High School in Murfreesboro, where she was ranked the No. 6 overall prospect and No. 3-rated point guard nationally by Prospectsnation.com. The heralded all-star was ranked No. 7 overall and No. 3 at point guard nationally by ESPN, and the No. 9 overall prospect by BlueStar Basketball in 2017.
The 2017 Gatorade Tennessee Player of the Year and Class AAA Miss Basketball, Hayes also landed on four all-american teams in 2017 (WBCA, Naismith, McDonald's and MaxPreps). She was the MVP of the 2017 Class AAA State Tournament and played in the McDonald's All-American Game and the Jordan Brand Classic.
2019-20 C-USA Preseason Team
Anastasia Hayes, Middle Tennessee
*Erica Ogwumike, Rice
Nancy Mulkey, Rice
Shonte Hailes, Southern Miss
Rachael Childress, UAB
Miyah Barnes, UAB
Dee Givens, WKU
Raneem Elgedawy, WKU
*Preseason Player of the Year
2019-20 Preseason Poll (first-place votes)
1. Rice (11)
2. Middle Tennessee (3)
3. WKU
4. UAB
5. Old Dominion
6. Charlotte
7. North Texas
8. Southern Miss
9. Louisiana Tech
10. Florida Atlantic
11. Marshall
12. UTEP
13. UTSA
14. FIU
Players Mentioned
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