Charlotte, NC – The Central Intercollegiate Athletic Association (CIAA) introduces the 2022-23 All-CIAA Preseason Men’s and Women’s Basketball Teams, as voted on by the CIAA Basketball Coaches Associations and the Sports Information Directors Association, and the predicted order of finish as selected by the men’s and women’s head coaches. The preseason teams and predicted order were both unveiled during the CIAA Basketball Media Day in Baltimore, MD.
The 2022-23 women’s preseason team features six returning players from the 2021-22 All-CIAA squad and the 2022-23 men’s preseason team features five returners from last year’s all-conference team.
Elizabeth City State’s Sireann Pitts is the reigning CIAA Women’s Defensive Player of the Year and she headlines the conference’s preseason team. Pitts led the conference in rebounding with 8.4 boards per game and blocks with 1.7 a game. The senior forward from Raleigh, NC also averaged 8.3 points per game and shot 52 percent from the field. Fayetteville State’s Rasheka Simmons is the CIAA’s top returning scorer with 14.6 points per game.
Claflin, Fayetteville State, Johnson C. Smith, and Virginia Union each had two selections on the women’s team and eight schools in total were represented among the preseason honorees.
In her first year at the helm of Lincoln, Janice Washington led the Lions to their first-ever Northern Division title en route to their first-ever conference title in 2021-22. Lincoln was the top-seed in the conference entering the tournament and finished with an overall record of 22-8 and a league mark of 12-4. The Lions were given an eight seed in the Atlantic Region of their first-ever 2022 NCAA Division II Women’s Basketball Tournament appearance.
2022-23 All-CIAA Women’s Basketball Preseason Team
Backcourt
Shaniya Jones, Johnson C. Smith*
Amaya Tucker, Winston-Salem State*
Ny Langley, Virginia Union
Andresia Alexander, Livingstone
Taniah Johnson, Virginia Union
Frontcourt
Aniylah Bryant, Fayetteville State*
Rasheka Simmons, Fayetteville State*
Sireann Pitts, Elizabeth City State*+
Katerra Myers, Bowie State*
Destiny Coleman, Claflin
Breanna Price, Claflin
Le’Zarea Bowens, Johnson C. Smith
* – Returning 2021-22 All-CIAA Selection
+ – Returning 2021-22 Women’s Defensive Player of the Year
2022-23 CIAA Women’s Basketball Predicted Order of Finish
| 1. Lincoln (PA) University (7) |
| 2. Elizabeth City State University (3) |
| 3. Johnson C. Smith University (2) |
| 4. Bowie State University |
| 5. Fayetteville State University |
| 6. Winston-Salem State University |
| 7. Virginia Union University |
| t-8. Claflin University |
| t-8. Livingstone College |
| 10. Virginia State University |
| 11. Shaw University |
| 12. Saint Augustine’s University |
First place votes in parenthesis
Northern Division
| 1. Lincoln |
| 2. Elizabeth City State |
| 3. Bowie State |
| 4. Virginia Union |
| 5. Virginia State |
| 6. Shaw |
Southern Division
| 1. Johnson C. Smith |
| 2. Fayetteville State |
| 3. Winston-Salem State |
| t-4. Claflin |
| t-4. Livingstone |
| 6. St. Augustine’s |