COLLEGE STATION, Texas – Four Texas A&M women’s basketball players earned preseason All-Big 12 Conference honors in a vote by the league’s head coaches released Wednesday.

The Aggies, who are coming off a school-record NCAA Elite Eight campaign and first-ever Big 12 Tournament title, had the most preseason all-conference honorees out of any league school. In recent weeks, the A&M women have received preseason national billing by Athlon’s (No. 4), Lindy’s (No. 11), The Sporting News (No. 11) and USA TODAY College Basketball Sports Weekly (Top 16). They also finished No. 8 nationally in both the final Associated Press and USA TODAY/ESPN Coaches Top 25 Polls a year ago.

For the second-straight year, senior All-America candidate and 5-foot-8 guard Takia Starks (Houston, Texas) was named to the preseason All-Big 12 Team as one of the league’s top returning scorers averaging 16.3 points per game last season. The two-time All-Big 12 First Team selection is one of the top players in the country and currently ranks fifth all-time in career scoring (1,423) at A&M.

Meanwhile, senior All-America candidate and 5-foot-11 combination guard/forward Danielle Gant (Oklahoma City, Okla.) was named preseason All-Big 12 honorable mention. An All-Big 12 First Team and two-time Big 12 All-Defensive Team member in 2007 and 2008, Gant ranked second on the team in scoring (14.7 ppg), but led the Aggies in five statistical categories including field-goal percentage (52.9), free-throw percentage (80.0), rebounding (7.1), blocked shots (35) and steals (81) in 2007-08.

Junior college transfer and six-foot combination guard/forward Tanisha Smith (Kansas City, Mo.) was honored as Big 12 Preseason Newcomer of the Year. The former JUCO All-American led the University of Arkansas at Fort Smith to a third-place finish at the NJCAA Division I Women’s Basketball Championship in 2007-08. She averaged 18.2 points, 5.2 rebounds and 2.9 assists per game while also leading the Lady Lions with 104 steals and 71 three-pointers in 36 games played.

Redshirt freshman Tyra White (Kansas City, Mo.) was named Big 12 Preseason Co-Freshmen of the Year along with Whitney Hand of Oklahoma. White returns to the Aggie lineup after recovering from a season-ending ACL injury which occurred during her first collegiate game at SMU in the team’s season opener on Nov. 9, 2007. The six-foot guard averaged 18.5 points and 10 rebounds as a senior at Hickman Mills High School. She is a former McDonald’s High School All-American and 2007 Gatorade Player of the Year for the state of Missouri. White becomes the first-ever league player to be voted twice as Big 12 Preseason Freshman of the Year.

2008-09 Big 12 Conference Women’s Basketball Preseason All-Big 12 Team

(coaches not allowed to vote for own players)

Preseason Player of the Year

Courtney Paris (Oklahoma)

Preseason Newcomer of the Year

Tanisha Smith (Texas A&M)

Preseason Co-Freshmen of the Year

Whitney Hand (Oklahoma)

Tyra White (Texas A&M)

Preseason All-Big 12 Team

Shalee Lehning (Kansas State)

Kelsey Griffin (Nebraska)

Courtney Paris (Oklahoma)

Andrea Riley (Oklahoma State)

Takia Starks (Texas A&M)

HONORABLE MENTION (listed alphabetically by school)

Rachel Allison and Jessica Morrow (Baylor), Alison Lacey (Iowa State), Brittainey Raven (Texas) and Danielle Gant (Texas A&M)