NEW ORLEANS - The Little Rock Trojans have been selected as the preseason favorite to win the 2018-19 Sun Belt Conference women's basketball title and senior Ronjanae DeGray was chosen as the Preseason Player of the Year in a vote of the league's 12 head coaches, the conference office announced on Wednesday.

The league also announced its Preseason All-Sun Belt first, second and third teams.

The Trojans received eight of the 12 first-place votes and tallied 133 points. Little Rock won both the Sun Belt regular-season and tournament titles last year after posting a 23-10 (17-1 Sun Belt) record. It was the second tournament title in the last four years for the Trojans.

Since the 2014-15 season, Little Rock is 68-8 in league games, going 17-1 in back-to-back seasons (2016-17 and 2017-18). Little Rock returns three of its five starters from last year's NCAA Tournament team that led the league in scoring defense, the teams' sixth consecutive year leading that category.

Troy was picked second as the Trojans earned the other four first-place votes and 131 points. Troy finished tied for third in the league a season ago, finishing with a 18-13, 12-6 record. The Trojans led the league in scoring for the sixth consecutive season and return four of its five starters from a season ago, including Preseason All-Sun Belt selections Kayla Robinson (First Team) and Amber Rivers and Sky'Lynn Holmes (Second Team).

UTA and Texas State were picked to finish tied for third as the teams garnered 97 points in the voting. Texas State finished second in the league a season ago with 14 wins while UTA was tied for third at 12-6. Arkansas State rounds out the top five in the preseason poll as they come in at No. 5 with 95 points.

Little Rock's Ronjanae DeGray, a senior, was tabbed as the league's Preseason Player of the Year. DeGray, a first-team All-Conference selection last season, averaged 13.8 points per game and 5.6 rebounds per game to lead the Trojans last year. DeGray, her sister Raeyana and Tori Lasker make up 47 percent of the Trojans' offense and all return this year. Lasker joins Ronjanae on the preseason team as a third-team selection.

Arkansas State's Akasha Westbrook, South Alabama's Savannah Jones, Texas State's Toshua Leavitt and Troy's Robinson all join DeGray on the Preseason All-Sun Belt First Team.

The 2018-19 season begins on Tuesday, Nov. 6. This season's conference schedule features an 18-game slate with 10 teams advancing to the 2019 Sun Belt Women's Basketball Championship. The tournament begins on Monday, March 11 with two first-round games taking place at on-campus sites. The remaining eight teams will convene at Lakefront Arena in New Orleans starting on Wednesday, March 13, with the winner of the championship earning the league's automatic bid to the NCAA Women's Basketball Tournament. The championship game of the tournament is scheduled for Saturday, March 16 at 11 a.m. CT. All nine tournament game will be carried live on ESPN+.

2018-19 Sun Belt Women's Basketball Coaches' Preseason Poll
first-place votes in parentheses

1. Little Rock - 133 pts (8)
2. Troy - 131 pts (4)
3. Texas State - 97 pts 
3. UTA - 97 pts 
5. Arkansas State - 95 pts 
6. South Alabama - 78 pts 
7. Louisiana - 75 pts 
8. Coastal Carolina - 72 pts 
9. Appalachian State - 67 pts 
10. Georgia Southern - 39 pts 
10. Georgia State - 39 pts 
12. ULM - 13 pts

Preseason All-Sun Belt First Team

• Ronjanae DeGray (Little Rock, Forward, Sr.)
• Akasha Westbrook (Arkansas State, Guard, RS-Sr.)
• Savannah Jones (South Alabama, Guard, RS-So.)
• Toshua Leavitt (Texas State, Guard, Sr.)
• Kayla Robinson (Troy, Guard, Jr.)

Preseason All-Sun Belt Second Team

• Bayley Plummer (Appalachian State, Center, Jr.)
• Madi Story (Appalachian State, Guard, RS-Sr.)
• Naheria Hamilton (Coastal Carolina, Center, Jr.)
• Sky'Lynn Holmes (Troy, Forward, Sr.)
• Amber Rivers (Troy, Forward, Jr.)

Preseason All-Sun Belt Third Team

• Arsula Clark (ULM, Guard, So.)
• Lapresha Stanley (Appalachian State, Guard, So.)
• Tori Lasker (Little Rock, Guard, So.)
• Skyler Goodwin (Louisiana, Guard/Forward, So.)
• Brooke Holle (Texas State, Guard, Jr.)

Preseason Sun Belt Player of the Year

• Ronjanae DeGray (Little Rock, Forward, Sr.)