BIRMINGHAM, Ala. – Georgia natives
Charlese McClendon and
Caylee Simpson of the Alabama State University women's basketball team were each named to the Preseason All-Southwestern Athletic Conference (SWAC) Second Team ahead of the 2026-27 campaign, as voted on by the league's coaches and sports information directors and announced Monday evening.
The tandem, each entering their second season with the Hornets after transferring from East Georgia State College, had strong first campaigns as they helped lead the way under first-year head coach
Johnetta Hayes. The duo's success aided Bama State to an 11-win improvement from the prior season while powering the team to the SWAC Championship game at the end of last season.
McClendon, a senior forward from Waycross, Ga., started 11 games while making 31 appearances for the Hornets, averaging 6.8 points and 6.9 rebounds, the latter being second on the team. She shot 44.3 percent from the field while averaging over 20 minutes per game, and finished the season with nine double-digit scoring outings and seven double-digit rebound performances. She had a 20 point, 10 rebound double-double off the bench in a non-conference game against Faulkner, and she had similar success in a starting role in SWAC play, pulling down 21 rebounds while scoring 12 points in a February contest against Florida A&M.
Simpson, a fourth-year guard from Columbus, Ga., started 16 games while appearing in all 32 contests, averaging a team-best 9.2 points per game while shooting 48.8 percent from the floor and nearly 33 percent from three, both top three marks on the team. She had a strong defensive campaign as well, stealing 38 passes on the year to place among the team leaders. She showed out in conference play, posting a 13-point, 10-rebound double-double against Alabama A&M, scoring 21 points against Texas Southern, and closing out the season with four double-digit scoring performances in the final five games of the season.
Arkansas-Pine Bluff's Indiya Bowen was tabbed as the Preseason Player of the Year, while Jocelyn Tate of the reigning SWAC Champion Southern Jaguars was voted the Preseason Defensive Player of the Year. Only Southern, UAPB, Florida A&M and Alabama State have multiple representatives on the All-SWAC teams.
As for the Hornets, it will look to build on a season in which it ranked second in both team field goal percentage (38.7) and opponent field goal percentage allowed (37.3). These were both major factors that allowed it to excel as it made the SWAC Championship game, a goal it looks to reach for the second straight year as it looks to take the crown for the first time since 2016.
The Lady Hornets will compete in 12 non-conference games, starting with a trip down I-85 to Auburn on November 2 inside Neville Arena. It returns to the Joe L. Reed Dunn-Oliver Acadome for the third non-conference game against the Tornadoes of Talladega College on Tuesday, Nov. 10 at 5 p.m.
2026-27 SWAC Preseason All-SWAC Awards
Preseason Player of the Year
Indiya Bowen, Arkansas-Pine Bluff
Preseason Defensive Player of the Year
Jocelyn Tate, Southern
Preseason All-SWAC First Team
Demya Porter, Southern
Indiya Bowen, Arkansas-Pine Bluff
Tahnyjia Purifoy, Florida A&M
Jailah Pelly, Arkansas-Pine Bluff
Shaniyah McCarthy, Florida A&M
Preseason All-SWAC Second Team
Aniya Palmer, Alabama A&M
Khaniah Gardner, Arkansas-Pine Bluff
Jocelyn Tate, Southern
Charlese McClendon, Alabama State
Caylee Simpson, Alabama State
