STARKVILLE, Miss. (WTVA/MSU Athletics) – Just as league and national media members did two weeks ago, Southeastern Conference coaches tabbed the Mississippi State women’s basketball team to repeat on Tuesday.

The league coaches also overwhelmingly tabbed Bulldog senior center Teaira McCowan as the Preseason Player of the Year, while graduate transfer Anriel Howard was named Preseason First Team All-SEC.

The pair are the SEC’s active career rebounders, with McCowan’s 1,015 boards sitting just ahead of Howard’s 1,002.

McCowan is coming off an All-American season that saw her earn the inaugural Naismith National Defensive Player of the Year Award after averaging 18.2 ppg and an SEC-leading 13.9 rpg.

The Brenham, Texas, native tallied SEC records with her 544 rebounds and 29 double-doubles. Her rebounds total was the second-best posted in NCAA Division I single-season history.

McCowan, who tallied five 20-point, 20-rebound games a year ago, averaged 17.7 ppg and an SEC-best 14.4 rpg in leading the Bulldogs to a perfect 16-0 league record.

Last season, Howard eclipsed 1,000-career rebounds after registering a double-double for the second-straight year with 12.1 ppg and 12.2 rpg.

The Texas A&M career rebounding leader, Howard tallied 20 double-doubles a year ago, giving her 32 over her first three collegiate seasons.

The Atlanta, Ga., native collected 22 double-figure scoring games in 2017-18, and she had 10-plus boards in 30 games.

McCowan is the nation’s top returning rebounder from a season ago while Howard is third, just behind Iowa’s Megan Gustafson.

Vic Schaefer’s Bulldogs were picked to repeat after winning the first league title by an MSU women’s program. MSU won a nation’s-best 37 games, the second-most in SEC history, and did so behind the second-longest win streak in conference annals (32 games). State posted the first undefeated regular season by a league squad in 20 years.

Mississippi State hosts NCAA Division II National Champion Central Missouri in a 6 p.m. exhibition on Nov. 2. The Bulldogs officially open the 2018-19 campaign in The Hump Nov. 6 against Southeast Missouri State.

General admission upper level season tickets can still be purchased online at www.hailstate.com/tickets or by calling the MSU Ticket Office at 1-888-GO-DAWGS.

2018-19 SEC Coaches’ Preseason Poll

Order of Finish

1. Mississippi State

2. South Carolina

3. Georgia

4. Tennessee

5. Missouri

6. Texas A&M

7. Kentucky

8. Auburn

9. LSU

10. Alabama

11. Arkansas

12. Florida

13. Vanderbilt

14. Ole Miss

Player of the Year

Teaira McCowan, Mississippi State

Preseason All-SEC

First Team

Caliya Robinson, Georgia

Maci Morris, Kentucky

Anriel Howard, Mississippi State

Teaira McCowan, Mississippi State

Sophie Cunningham, Missouri

Tyasha Harris, South Carolina

Rennia Davis, Tennessee

Chennedy Carter, Texas A&M.

Second Team All-SEC

Malica Monk, Arkansas

Janiah McKay, Auburn

Unique Thompson, Auburn

Taylor Murray, Kentucky

Ayana Mitchel, LSU

Shandricka Sessom, Ole Miss

Amber Smith, Missouri

Alexis Jennings, South Carolina

Evina Westbrook, Tennessee