Kingsville - With just under a month before the Javelinas kick off their season, the Texas A&M-Kingsville women's basketball season clocks in at seventh on the Lone Star Conference's preseason poll, with redshirt junior guard Kaycee Groves being named to the Preseason Watch List.

The poll slots TAMUK in to earn another berth to the Lone Star Conference Tournament, which it made last year, winning a Quarterfinals game for the first time since the 2016-17 season. Kingsville collected 564 points in the poll, finishing just behind Angelo St. in sixth and Eastern New Mexico in fifth. The top four spots in the poll are filled out by Texas Woman's (810), Lubbock Christian (776), UT-Tyler (761), and West Texas A&M (663).

"The recognition is nice, I think it says a lot about our program and what we've done in years past," Head Coach Michael Madrid said. "Every year's a new year, things change, and we're just looking to go 1-0 every single day, and when the season ends we'll look up and see where we're at."

The team won 18 games last year, tying the most it had won in a single season (postseason included) since the '00 - '01 season. It will hope to build on that season behind a re-loaded roster and coaching staff. 

"I think the build of the program starts with the young ladies that you recruit and the culture that you build," Madrid said. "Obviously, this year we have a lot of new faces, they don't know much about what happened last year other than maybe what they've seen stat-wise and maybe on social media and those type of things, so we're just working to be the best team we can be this year, I really enjoy coaching this year. They are a lot of fun, they have high energy, and our workouts have been phenomenal up to this point."

Groves averaged 10.3 points per game during conference play last season, while adding 5.7 rebounds and 2.0 steals per game, earning a spot on the LSC's All-Conference Honorable Mentions list. Now, in her second year with the program, as one of three returners from last year's squad, she is set to step into a large role on the team, which is stacked with talented newcomers.

The team will kick off the basketball season Tuesday night at 6:00 p.m. at Javelina Madness, which will feature giveaways, games, and prizes for fans, as well as free pizza and T-shirts.