South Dakota junior guard Grace Larkins and sophomore forward Carley Duffney have been voted to the Preseason All-Summit League first and second teams, respectively, while the Coyote women were selected third in the Summit League Preseason Poll. Votes were cast by the Summit’s nine head coaches, sports information directors and select members of the media.
Larkins is coming off a stellar sophomore season where she became the first player in Summit history to rank in the top-three in points, rebounds, assists and steals. No player had ever ranked in the top-five in all four categories prior to last season. A native of Altoona, Iowa, she joined National Player of the Year Caitlin Clark as the only players in the nation to average at least 17.0 points, 8.0 rebounds and 4.0 assists. Larkins had eight double-doubles and flirted with a triple-double six times, twice coming within one assist. She was the league’s Sixth Woman of the Year in 2022, going on to make the all-Summit first team and all-defensive team in 2023.
Duffney entered the starting lineup in mid-January and flourished throughout the remainder of the season. She averaged 15.3 points, 5.1 rebounds and 32 minutes in the final 12 games of the season, including four 20-point efforts during the run. Hailing from Green Bay, Wisconsin, Duffney led the Summit and ranked 27th nationally in free-throw percentage at 87 percent. She finished the season as the team’s second-leading scorer at 10.4 points per game while shooting 45 percent from the field.
This marks the second-straight season of Larkins receiving preseason recognition, being picked to the second team prior to last season. This is the first such recognition for Duffney.
South Dakota, coming off an injury-hampered season with only eight available players at times, was selected third in the preseason poll with a pair of first-place votes. The Coyotes return 11 players from last season’s roster, including four of five starters, while adding four freshmen and a pair of transfers to the mix.
Season tickets to catch the Coyotes in action this winter are available now on GoYotes.com/tickets or by calling the Coyote ticket office at 605-677-5959.