The Big 12 coaches aren’t buying TCU as a runaway favorite anymore.
After back-to-back regular-season titles, the Horned Frogs were slotted second in the league’s preseason poll, finishing just behind Oklahoma State in a tight race that came down to a handful of points. Oklahoma State landed at No. 1 with 215 points and seven first-place votes, while TCU checked in at 212 points with six first-place votes.
Baylor followed in third with 199 points and two first-place votes. West Virginia came next at 186 with one first-place vote, and Kansas rounded out the top five at 160.
Even with the No. 2 spot, TCU still showed up strongly in the league’s preseason honors. Center Clara Silva earned a place on the preseason All-Big 12 team, and guard Jessie-May Hall was named preseason Freshman of the Year.
Silva is the only returning starter from last season’s Elite Eight team, and the 6-foot-7 junior arrives as one of the league’s most imposing interior defenders. Last season, she averaged 9.0 points, 7.4 rebounds and 1.8 blocks per game, and she was one of only six players in the country to post at least nine points, seven rebounds and 1.5 blocks per game. She also enters the season as the Big 12’s leading returning shot blocker.
Hall gives TCU another reason for optimism. The 5-8 guard from Sydney, Australia was a major addition for the Horned Frogs after three seasons with the Hornsby Spiders in Australia’s top semi-professional league.
In 2026, she averaged a team-best 19.6 points, 6.4 rebounds, 5.2 assists and 3.9 steals per game. She is the first TCU player to win preseason Freshman of the Year since the program joined the Big 12 in 2011.
The Horned Frogs are chasing a place in conference history as well. TCU is trying to become just the third Big 12 program to win three straight regular-season championships, joining Baylor from 2007-12 and Oklahoma from 2000-02.
TCU opens the season Nov. 3 against Oral Roberts before Big 12 play begins Dec. 20 against Cincinnati.
Oklahoma State’s Audi Crooks was selected as preseason Player of the Year, and the Cowgirls also claimed preseason Newcomer of the Year honors with Liv McGill. The preseason All-Big 12 team also included McKinna Brackens of Arizona State, Taliah Scott of Baylor, Delaney Gibb of BYU, Zyanna Walker of Colorado, Jaliya Davis of Kansas, S’Mya Nichols of Kansas, Audi Crooks and Liv McGill of Oklahoma State, Clara Silva of TCU and Gia Cooke of West Virginia. Unanimous selections were marked with an asterisk.
In Other News...
BYU Just Picked Up A Backfield Concern TCU Fans Will Notice
BYUs backfield took a hit this week, and it is the kind of development TCU fans will file away when looking ahead on the schedule. Running back LJ Martin is expected to miss four to six weeks because of a lower-body injury, according to ESPNs Pete Thamel, and that leaves the Cougars without one of their most reliable contributors as they move deeper into the season.
For BYU, the timing matters because Martins absence will ripple through several upcoming games and force the staff to reshuffle touches in a hurry. Freshman Journee Tonga is expected to see a bigger workload during Martins recovery, which adds another layer of uncertainty to a position group TCU will be watching closely if the teams meet with the Cougars still adjusting on offense. [Read more 🡒]
TCUs Bye Week Comes With One Big 12 Result To Watch
A bye week can feel like a reset button, and for TCU it comes at a useful moment after consecutive Big 12 losses. With no game on the schedule, the Horned Frogs get a chance to regroup, sort out what has gone wrong in conference play and watch the rest of the league sort itself out around them before their next Big 12 test.
The weekend still matters in Fort Worth because the standings will keep moving, and the KillerFrogs staff is tracking a slate of conference matchups that could shape the stretch run. Their previews and picks highlight where opinions line up and where they split, making this a timely snapshot of how the league looks while TCU waits to see which result may matter most. [Read more 🡒]
TCU Mourns A Coach Who Helped Change Horned Frogs History
Dennis Franchione, whose run in Fort Worth helped reshape TCU football, has died at 75 after his cancer returned. The veteran college coach also led programs at New Mexico, Alabama, Texas A&M and Texas State, but for Horned Frogs fans he remains tied to a stretch that brought real momentum to a program looking for a breakthrough.
TCU joined Alabama and other schools in mourning his passing, noting the mark he left on the sport and on the places he coached. For TCU, the news is a reminder of how much one coach can alter a programs direction, and why Franchiones name still carries weight around Fort Worth. [Read more 🡒]