From the CIAA:
Charlotte, NC – The Central Intercollegiate Athletic Association (CIAA) announces the 2021 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 announced on Wednesday just prior to the start of CIAA Basketball Virtual Media Day.
The 2021 men’s and women’s preseason teams each feature two returning players from the 2019-20 All-CIAA teams. Fayetteville State wing Jalen Seegars and Virginia Union forward Jordan Peebles return from the men’s team while Virginia State forward Kaaliya Williams and Johnson C. Smith forward Lezarea Bowens are the returning women’s selections.
Seegars is the CIAA’s top returning scorer and shot blocker from the 2019-20 season at 15.5 points and 1.5 blocks per game and his 6.2 rebounds per contest ranked among league leaders that season as well. Peebles enters the season as the league’s best returning rebounder at 7.8 boards per game while also bringing back 12.2 points per game.
Virginia Union has the most selections on the men’s preseason team with three while Fayetteville State, Lincoln, and Virginia State each received two selections. Seven schools are represented among the men’s preseason honorees.
Bowens paces all returners in the CIAA in both scoring and rebounding after averaging 12.5 points and 7.1 boards per game in 2019-20 as well as tops in blocked shots at one per game. Now suiting up for Virginia State as a grad transfer, Williams returns this season after averaging nearly 11 points per game for Saint Augustine’s in 2019-20. The women’s preseason team also features a pair of 2018-19 All-CIAA performers returning from injury in Elizabeth City State’s Naterria Luster and Winston-Salem State’s Amaya Tucker.
Elizabeth City State, Fayetteville State and Winston-Salem State lead the way with two selections each as nine total schools place student-athletes on the women’s preseason team.
Bowie State men and women were chosen by league coaches to win the Northern Division. The Fayetteville State men and women were both picked to win the Southern Division while also finishing atop the CIAA Standings.
Led by Head Coach Luke D’Alessio, the Fayetteville State men finished the 2019-20 campaign with a 24-8 overall record (10-7 in the CIAA), finishing third in the South in the regular season and fifth overall. Coming in as a no. 3 seed, the Broncos had a runner-up finish at the 2020 CIAA Tournament, falling to rival Winston-Salem State in the championship game in front of a sold-out crowd.
The women of Fayetteville State, coached by Serena King-Coleman, finished with a 21-8 record (15-2 in the CIAA), winning both the CIAA regular season and tournament titles. The Lady Broncos earned a playoff berth as the no. 8 seed in the Atlantic Region, but had their season cut short due to COVID-19 concerns.
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2021-22 All-CIAA Men’s Basketball Preseason Team
Backcourt
Cameron Campbell, Winston-Salem State
Bernard Lightsey, Lincoln (PA)
Zach Hobbs, Elizabeth City State
Antwan Miles, Virginia State
Tyriek Railey, Virginia Union
Frontcourt
Jordan Peebles, Virginia Union
Jalen Seegars, Fayetteville State
Zahrion Blue, Lincoln (PA)
Francis Fitzgerald, Virginia State
Navar Elmore, Livingstone
Darian Dixon, Fayetteville State
Raemaad Wright, Virginia Union
2021-22 CIAA Men’s Basketball Predicted Order of Finish
| 1. Fayetteville State (4) |
| 2. Winston-Salem State (4) |
| 3. Bowie State (2) |
| 4. Virginia State (2) |
| 5. Virginia Union |
| 6. Johnson C. Smith |
| 7. Claflin |
| 8. Elizabeth City State |
| 9. Livingstone |
| t-10. Lincoln (PA) |
| t-10. Shaw |
| 12. Saint Augustine’s |
() – First place votes
Northern Division
| 1. Bowie State |
| 2. Virginia State |
| 3. Virginia Union |
| 4. Elizabeth City State |
| t-5. Lincoln (PA) |
| t-5. Shaw |
Southern Division
| 1. Fayetteville State |
| 2. Winston-Salem State |
| 3. Johnson C. Smith |
| 4. Claflin |
| 5. Livingstone |
| 6. Saint Augustine’s |
2021-22 All-CIAA Women’s Basketball Preseason Team
Backcourt
London Thompson, Fayetteville State
Bryanna Brown, Lincoln (PA)
Nyasia Blango, Elizabeth City State
Dionna Long, Claflin
Amaya Tucker, Winston-Salem State
Frontcourt
Kaaliya Williams, Virginia State
Lezarea Bowens, Johnson C. Smith
Talanya Hutton, Bowie State
O’Shea Hatley, Winston-Salem State
Naterria Luster, Elizabeth City State
Shenell Shaw-Davis, Fayetteville State
Victoria Onozie, Livingstone
2021-22 CIAA Women’s Basketball Predicted Order of Finish
| 1. Fayetteville State (8) |
| 2. Bowie State (2) |
| 3. Johnson C. Smith (1) |
| 4. Lincoln (PA) |
| 5. Virginia Union |
| 6. Winston-Salem State |
| 7. Elizabeth City State (1) |
| 8. Virginia State |
| 9. Livingstone |
| t-10. Shaw |
| t-10. Saint Augustine’s |
| 12. Claflin |
() – First place votes
Northern Division
| 1. Bowie State |
| 2. Lincoln (PA) |
| 3. Virginia Union |
| 4. Elizabeth City State |
| 5. Virginia State |
| 6. Shaw |
Southern Division
| 1. Fayetteville State |
| 2. Johnson C. Smith |
| 3. Winston-Salem State |
| 4. Livingstone |
| 5. Saint Augustine’s |
| 6. Claflin |
