RUSSELLVILLE, Ark. – The Great American Conference announced the 2023-24 women's golf coaches preseason poll on Thursday, August 24. Entering his fourth year as head coach, Coach Neriah Brown and his Muleriders earned sixth-place in the rankings after receiving 40 total points.
 
Southern Arkansas is coming off a seventh-place finish at the GAC tournament championship last spring, but arrives to the fall semester with six of seven golfers returning.
 
Coach Brown returns his freshmen phenom and All-GAC honorable mention Emma Hester for her sophomore campaign along with senior Taylor Rich who is returning to complete her collegiate career. Rich also returns as a GAC Scholar Athlete Award winner as well as making the CSC Academic All-District Team.
 
Other returners for SAU include juniors Aurea Carlisle and Kelsey Saveall and sophomores Anna Cain and Aubrey Marx.
 
The Muleriders come in at sixth-place ahead of Southern Nazarene by seven points with Arkansas-Monticello and Northwestern Oklahoma State tied for eighth and trailing with 19 points. SAU also leads the newly established Southeastern women's golf program by 26 points.  
 
Southern Arkansas is prepared for the upcoming fall campaign as they begin at Blue Springs, Missouri for the Regional review hosted by Southwestern Oklahoma State (Sep. 5-6). The Muleriders will then travel to Tahlequah, Oklahoma for the Northeastern State Classic (Sep.11-12) followed by the Grace Shin Invitational hosted by Central Oklahoma at Edmond, Oklahoma (Oct. 2-3). SAU will then travel to Hot Springs, Arkansas for the Battle for the Belt hosted by Henderson State (Oct. 8-9). The Muleriders head back to the Sooner State for their final contest of the fall schedule as they compete in Tulsa, Oklahoma for the Tulsa Cup hosted by Rogers State (Oct. 23-24).