West Babylon, N.Y. – Daemen College received nine of 10 first place votes to top the East Coast Conference women’s basketball preseason poll released on Thursday afternoon. Daemen’s Katie Titus (Penfield, N.Y.) was also selected as the league’s Preseason Player of the Year.
Daemen returns all but one player from last year’s squad that advanced to the NCAA Division II Elite Eight and won the ECC Regular Season Championship with an unbeaten run through conference play. Among the key returnees for the Wildcats are All-Conference First Team picks Titus and Tiara Filbert and reigning ECC Rookie of the Year, Alahna Paige.
Titus adds ECC Preseason Player of the Year to the long list of honors accrued throughout her career. The former ECC Rookie of the Year and ECC Championship Most Outstanding Player was excellent once again in 2021. Titus ranked in the top-five in the ECC in points per game (3rd – 14.8), three point field goals made (1st – 48), three point field goal percentage (2nd – 37.5), rebounds per game (2nd – 8.1), blocked shots per gamer (1st – 2.4), and steals per game (5th – 1.6). Her outstanding play earned her a third straight ECC All-Conference selection and a spot on the Women’s Basketball Coaches Association (WBCA) All-America Honorable Mention team. Titus was also clutch in postseason play, averaging 19.5 points per game and 7.0 rebounds per game to earn the Most Outstanding Player honor at the NCAA East Regional.
Defending ECC Champion, Roberts Wesleyan, follows Daemen at No. 2 in the poll. The Redhawks lose their top scorer, Paige McCormick, but return All-Conference honoree, Dimitra Gkizani, and the Most Outstanding Player of the ECC Championship, Taryn Wilson.
St. Thomas Aquinas is next at No. 3, while Molloy earns the final first place vote to finish fourth in the poll. Queens and District of Columbia, both making returns to the court after opting out of the 2021 season, wrap up the expected playoff teams in the No. 5 and No. 6 spots in the poll.
Mercy, Bridgeport, D’Youville, and Staten Island round out the remainder of the poll in spots seven through 10. Like Queens and UDC, Bridgeport and Staten Island are also back in action after a year away due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Staten Island also makes its debut in ECC play this season.
2021-2022 ECC Women's Basketball Preseason Poll
| School | Pts. | Last Year's Record |
| 1. Daemen (9) | 97 | 14-3 (9-0 ECC) |
| 2. Roberts Wesleyan | 83 | 12-7 (6-4 ECC) |
| 3. St. Thomas Aquinas | 77 | 5-9 (5-5 ECC) |
| 4. Molloy (1) | 76 | 4-5 (3-4 ECC) |
| 5. Queens | 47 | 7-19 (4-12 ECC) * |
| 6. Dist. Columbia | 46 | 8-20 (4-12 ECC) * |
| 7. Mercy | 40 | 1-8 (1-7 ECC) |
| 8. Bridgeport | 39 | 6-23 (4-12 ECC) * |
| 9. D'Youville | 24 | 2-6 (1-5 ECC) |
| 10. Staten Island | 21 | 17-8 (n/a) * |
( ) - first place votes
* - record from 2019-2020
Preseason Player of the Year: Katie Titus, Daemen (6-0, Sr., F, Penfield, N.Y.)
