Two-time reigning CIAA champion Fayetteville State women’s basketball has been picked to win again.
The Broncos are No. 1 in the league preseason poll, announced Tuesday, Oct. 7, with three players named to the women’s Preseason All-CIAA Team. The FSU men, who won their first NCAA Division II Tournament game last season and a third straight Southern Division title, were picked to finish third by a panel of coaches and sports information directors.
Advertisement
Fayetteville State senior guard Talia Trotter, junior guard KaNyah O’Neal and senior forward Nyah Wilkins earned preseason all-conference nods, along with senior guard Ezekiel Cannedy and senior forward Larry Howell from the men’s squad.
Both teams have been on historic runs, with the FSU women bagging 81 wins over the last four years, three division titles, two conference tournament championships, the winningest season in program history and a trip to the Sweet 16 while the men’s team snapped a nearly 50-year conference title drought in 2022 and made a pair of NCAA tournament appearances in a span of four seasons after not making the field since 1993 when Jeff Capel Jr. was coach.
“This year, we’re just starting over fresh, like we haven’t even won anything, so everybody’s hungry. … We’re the hunted but we’ve still got to hunt,” women’s coach Tyreece Brown said at the league’s media day, held Tuesday in Baltimore, Md.
The men’s team is under new leadership this year, swapping head coaches with Bluefield State in the offseason as Devin Hoehn was named FSU coach while Luke D’Alessio went to the Big Blue. “They’ve had winning culture recently, so just continuing that. Just a different style,” said Hoehn, who brought several players from his Bluefield State roster to FSU, including Howell, and is known for fast-paced, full-court defense.
Advertisement
Both teams tip the 2025-26 season on Nov. 14, with the women at Shippensburg, Pa., in the CIAA/PSAC Challenge and the men facing West Chester in Bowie State’s BSU Classic.
CIAA women’s basketball predicted order of finish
CIAA men’s basketball predicted order of finish
This article originally appeared on The Fayetteville Observer: CIAA basketball preseason poll Fayetteville State
