Ball State University Athletics
Women’s Basketball Places Four on All-MAC
March 10, 2026 | Women's Basketball
Towers & Salenbien Lead the League in First Team All-MAC Honors
CLEVELAND, Ohio. – Following a historic regular season that saw the Ball State women's basketball team capture a share of its second consecutive Mid-American Conference regular-season title for the first time in program history, four Cardinals have been recognized with prestigious postseason honors, the league office announced today.
Bree Salenbien and Tessa Towers headlined the awards as All-MAC first team selections. Sophomore Grace Kingery was tabbed as an All-MAC honorable mention recipient, and freshman standout Aniss Tagayi earned spots on both the MAC All-Freshman Team and the MAC All-Defensive Team.
Salenbien joined the Cardinals as a graduate transfer for the 2025-26 season after a standout career at Gonzaga. In her lone season in the MAC, Salenbien has been a force on both ends of the floor. She is second in scoring for the Cardinals this season averaging 15.1 points per game and has been named MAC Player of the Week three times. She set a career-high 32-point performance in dominant win over Bowling Green while recording seven double-doubles this season. Despite facing significant injury setbacks throughout her collegiate journey, Salenbien's resilience and "three-level scoring threat" has been vital to the Cardinals' 25-win season.
In her breakout 2025–26 campaign, Towers has evolved from a limited-minute reserve into a dominant interior force for Ball State. Averaging 15.3 points and 8.3 rebounds, she leads the team in both categories, highlighted by ten double-doubles and a career-high 29-point performance this season at Kent State. Towers' efficiency is among the best in the country, ranking 20th nationally in field goal percentage (56.9%) and leading the MAC in both shooting accuracy and total field goals made.
Kingery has evolved into a premier deep threat for Ball State during her sophomore campaign. Recently, she exploded for a career-high 24 points and seven 3-pointers in a victory over Ohio. Kingery ranks third on the team in scoring, averaging 13.2 points per contest. On the national stage, she sits ninth in 3-pointers per game (2.94) and 12th in total triples (91). She continues to lead the league in these categories, while maintaining a stellar 41.0% shooting clip from beyond the arc.
In her breakout debut, Montpellier, France native Tagayi proved to be a dominant two-way force. After anchoring the Cardinals with lockdown defense and a massive 18-point, 11-rebound double-double against Akron, she earned a spot on both the all-freshman and all-defensive teams.
Now, No. 2 seed Ball State—led by 14th-year head coach Brady Sallee—heads to Cleveland on a mission to defend its tournament title from 2025. The Cardinals tip off the 2026 MAC Tournament against No. 7 Bowling Green this Wednesday, March 11, at approximately 4 p.m.ss at Rocket Arena.
Bree Salenbien and Tessa Towers headlined the awards as All-MAC first team selections. Sophomore Grace Kingery was tabbed as an All-MAC honorable mention recipient, and freshman standout Aniss Tagayi earned spots on both the MAC All-Freshman Team and the MAC All-Defensive Team.
Salenbien joined the Cardinals as a graduate transfer for the 2025-26 season after a standout career at Gonzaga. In her lone season in the MAC, Salenbien has been a force on both ends of the floor. She is second in scoring for the Cardinals this season averaging 15.1 points per game and has been named MAC Player of the Week three times. She set a career-high 32-point performance in dominant win over Bowling Green while recording seven double-doubles this season. Despite facing significant injury setbacks throughout her collegiate journey, Salenbien's resilience and "three-level scoring threat" has been vital to the Cardinals' 25-win season.
In her breakout 2025–26 campaign, Towers has evolved from a limited-minute reserve into a dominant interior force for Ball State. Averaging 15.3 points and 8.3 rebounds, she leads the team in both categories, highlighted by ten double-doubles and a career-high 29-point performance this season at Kent State. Towers' efficiency is among the best in the country, ranking 20th nationally in field goal percentage (56.9%) and leading the MAC in both shooting accuracy and total field goals made.
Kingery has evolved into a premier deep threat for Ball State during her sophomore campaign. Recently, she exploded for a career-high 24 points and seven 3-pointers in a victory over Ohio. Kingery ranks third on the team in scoring, averaging 13.2 points per contest. On the national stage, she sits ninth in 3-pointers per game (2.94) and 12th in total triples (91). She continues to lead the league in these categories, while maintaining a stellar 41.0% shooting clip from beyond the arc.
In her breakout debut, Montpellier, France native Tagayi proved to be a dominant two-way force. After anchoring the Cardinals with lockdown defense and a massive 18-point, 11-rebound double-double against Akron, she earned a spot on both the all-freshman and all-defensive teams.
Now, No. 2 seed Ball State—led by 14th-year head coach Brady Sallee—heads to Cleveland on a mission to defend its tournament title from 2025. The Cardinals tip off the 2026 MAC Tournament against No. 7 Bowling Green this Wednesday, March 11, at approximately 4 p.m.ss at Rocket Arena.
Players Mentioned
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/ Women's Basketball
/ Women's Basketball
/ Women's Basketball
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