The Miles women's basketball program again enters the upcoming season with lofty expectations as it continues to sit atop the Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Conference. At the 2026 SIAC Basketball Media Day, two players earned preseason All-Conference honors as the Lady Bears look for a historic fourth consecutive conference championship.

Sophomore guard Samarian Franklin and sophomore forward Nayla Wesley were among the 15 student-athletes lauded by the conference with their selections to the Preseason All-Conference squad. Franklin was the biggest winner, being named to the First Team while also being chosen as the Preseason Player of the Year. Wesley made her first All-SIAC list with a slot on the Third Team. All of the choices were made by vote of the SIAC women's basketball coaches.

There was little surprise seeing Franklin, from Birmingham, Ala., on the list after her gaudy freshman campaign. She averaged 12.4 points, 5.3 assists, 2.8 rebounds and 1.6 steals in 31 games - all starts. She was named First Team All-SIAC, SIAC Freshman of the Year, SIAC All-Freshman Team, and Most Valuable Player of the SIAC Tournament as she helped lead the Lady Bears to a third straight conference title and NCAA Division II Tournament berth. She led the Lady Bears in scoring and was 10th in Division II in assists, and was the top freshman in that category. Additionally, Franklin was a CCA Division All-South Region Second Team selection.

Wesley, also from Birmingham, Ala., showed her mettle all season long for the Lady Bears. She averaged 8.5 points and 6.1 rebounds while adding 37 steals, 21 assists and 16 blocks in her freshman campaign. She was the third-leading scorer for Miles while finishing second on the team in rebounds and blocked shots. In the NCAA Regional loss to Nova Southeastern, she had 16 points and four rebounds. She also made the SIAC All-Tournament Team.

The vote for Predicted Order of Finish was also a big win for Miles, which was picked to finish first in the conference. Under head coach Pete Asmond, the Lady Bears have played in the SIAC championship game in each of his four previous seasons and became the first conference team since Fort Valley State in 2000-03 to win three consecutive SIAC crowns. The squad finished 25-6 - a school record for victories - and return a team filled with members from last year's championship squad.