TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (Seminoles.com) – The Florida State Women’s Basketball program has been chosen sixth in the Sporting Newspreseason Top 20 rankings, revealed in the magazine’s 2015-16 college basketball preview edition.
The unofficial ranking is the highest given to the Seminoles so far this offseason – FSU was picked 10th in ESPNW’s Way-too-early preseason poll and Athlon Sports rated the Seminoles 15th.
The magazine makes note of Florida State’s consistency in the NCAA Tournament, making the Field of 64 in 10 of the last 11 seasons. Highlighted in the capsule are returning senior center Adut Bulgak, junior point guard Leticia Romero, junior forward Ivey Slaughter and sophomore forward Shakayla Thomas.
Bulgak has been chosen as a preseason second-team All-American by Sporting News, while Romero is tabbed as a third team All-American. FSU is one of eight Division I programs with multiple All-Americans on the Sporting News list, joining South Carolina, Connecticut, Baylor, Ohio State, Notre Dame, USF and George Washington.
A total of six ACC student-athletes made the list, including Bulgak, Romero, junior Brianna Turner (first team – Notre Dame), sophomore Azura Stevens (second team – Duke), sophomore Mariya Moore (third team – Louisville) and junior Lindsay Allen (third team – Notre Dame).
Adding to the allure of FSU’s challenging 2015-16 schedule is that it faces five teams ranked in the Sporting News preseason Top 12, with four of the five being national TV games. The Seminoles battle No. 2 Connecticut (Dec. 11, 6 p.m., Uncasville, Conn., ESPN2), No. 3 Notre Dame (Feb. 22, 7 p.m., Tallahassee, ESPN2), No. 8 Duke (Feb. 11, 7 p.m., Durham, N.C., ESPN3), No. 11 Arizona State (Dec. 21, 5 p.m., Tempe, Ariz., ESPNU) and No. 12 Louisville (Jan. 1, 4 p.m., Louisville, Ky., ESPNU).
Last season FSU was one of only seven schools to reach 30+ wins, going 32-5 on its journey to the NCAA Elite Eight. FSU Head Coach Sue Semrau has guided the Seminoles to 20 AP Top 25 wins over the last seven seasons, which included six in the 2014-15 season.
Over the last seven seasons, the Seminoles boast a 169-66 overall record (.719), including an impressive 73-35 mark in the ACC (.676) during that time.
Florida State Women’s Basketball counts down to its highly anticipated season opener at rival Florida on Monday, Nov. 16, at 5:30 p.m. on the SEC Network. The televised opening matchup will be the first of 23 regular-season games that FSU will play on TV in the 2015-16 season.
