Courtesy of the CIAA:
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.
On the men’s side, Virginia State’s Francis “BJ” Fitzgerald is the CIAA’s top returning scorer after he averaged 17 points per game last season. the CIAA. Johnson C. Smith’s Augustine Ominu is the top returning rebounder. Last season, Ominu was third in the conference in rebounding with eight boards a game and his 2.9 offensive rebounds per game were second.
Virginia State, Virginia Union, and Winston-Salem State led the men’s preseason team with three selections each. Six schools are represented among the men’s preseason honorees.
Fayetteville State men and Lincoln women were chosen by league coaches to finish first in the conference. The Johnson C. Smith women’s team was picked to finish first in the Southern Division and the Virginia Union men’s squad was picked to win the Northern Division.
Last season, the Broncos won their first CIAA Basketball title since 1973. Led by Head Basketball Coach, Luke D’Alessio, Fayetteville State defeated Virginia State and Livingstone in the 2022 CIAA Basketball Tournament before downing Virginia Union, 65-62, in the championship game. The Broncos finished the season second in the South with an overall record of 22-9 and were 13-3 in CIAA action. Fayetteville State was the eighth seed in the NCAA Division II Men’s Basketball Atlantic Region Championship Tournament, its first appearance since 1993.
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 |
2022-23 All-CIAA Men’s Basketball Preseason Team
Backcourt
Cress Worthy, Fayetteville State*
Francis Fitzgerald, Virginia State*
Keleaf Tate, Virginia Union
Isaac Parson, Winston-Salem State
Jonathan Hicklin, Winston-Salem State
Frontcourt
Augustine Ominu, Johnson C. Smith*
Robert Osborne, Virginia Union*
Terrence Hunter-Whitfield, Virginia State*
Raemaad Wright, Virginia Union
Khyree Temple, Livingstone
James Love III, Virginia State
Nathan Springs, Winston-Salem State
* – Returning 2021-22 All-CIAA Selection
2022-23 CIAA Men’s Basketball Predicted Order of Finish
| 1. Fayetteville State University (6) |
| 2. Virginia Union University (3) |
| 3. Winston-Salem State University (1) |
| 4. Virginia State University |
| 5. Bowie State University (1) |
| 6. Lincoln (PA) University |
| 7. Shaw University |
| 8. Livingstone College |
| 9. Johnson C. Smith University |
| 10. Elizabeth City State University |
| 11. Claflin University |
| 12. Saint Augustine’s University |
First place votes in parenthesis
Southern Division
| 1. Fayetteville State |
| 2. Winston-Salem State |
| 3. Livingstone |
| 4. Johnson C. Smith |
| 5. Claflin |
| 6. St. Augustine |
Northern Division
| 1. Virginia Union |
| 2. Virginia State |
| 3. Bowie State |
| 4. Lincoln (PA) |
| 5. Shaw |
| 6. Elizabeth City State |
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