ABILENE - Abilene Christian women's basketball's
Payton Hull was named the 2025-26 Western Athletic Conference Preseason Player of the Year by
ESPN's Charlie Creme on Tuesday. The junior guard looks to build upon a 2024-25 campaign that saw her lead the conference in scoring while leading the Wildcats to a 22-13 record.
Hull tallied 18.95 points per game last year with the WAC's sixth-highest field goal percentage at .452. She appeared in 22 games with 21 starts despite missing 13 conference matchups due to an injury suffered in mid-January. Hull also boasted the WAC's top free throw percentage, shooting at an .818 clip from the charity stripe.
The Peaster, Texas product has shined for ACU since stepping on campus, earning WAC Freshman of the Year and All-WAC Second Team honors in 2023-24. Hull was twice named the Jersey Mike's a Sub Above WAC Player of the Week last season, being recognized twice within a three-week period on Dec. 2 and Dec. 23, 2024.
The versatile Hull also ranked 11th in the conference in assists (2.82) and steals (1.86) per game. Her 2.41 three-pointers per game were fourth-most, as she carried a .358 percentage from long distance. Hull was one of the most-used players in the WAC, averaging 32.27 minutes per game to rank sixth.
Hull totaled 78 rebounds, 62 assists and 41 steals and scored in the double digits in all but one game. She notched 20 points or more on nine occasions, including the Wildcats' final two games of the Women's National Invitation Tournament at Central Arkansas and Illinois State.
Across two seasons, Hull is averaging 16.6 points per game at a .439 mark, including a .355 clip from three-point range. She's hit 78.5% of her free throws with 181 total rebounds, 123 assists and 91 steals. Hull has 864 career points.
ACU is on the heels of a run to the Super 16 of the WNIT. The Wildcats built a 9-7 mark in WAC play, marking their most victories, highest overall winning percentage and highest conference winning percentage since 2020.
ACU meets Houston Christian in an exhibition at Moody Coliseum at 5 p.m. Friday before opening the season at home versus Howard Payne on Monday, Nov. 3.
