Conference Predictions Day 6: The CUNYAC
Welcome to a weekend edition of The Scoop on D3 Women’s Hoops! I’ll keep this one somewhat short, but we’re headed to “The Big Apple” today with my pick to win the City University of New York Athletic Conference (CUNYAC) in 2024-25. Let’s get into it!
Pick to Win: Baruch
For the last four seasons, the CUNYAC has been represented by one team in the NCAA Tournament: Brooklyn College. Brooklyn won both the regular season title and the CUNYAC Championships final in each of those years, having sat firmly at the top of the league and by many metrics, head and shoulders above the rest. The CUNYAC is one of the weaker leagues in D3, and often left out of the national conversation because of a lack of depth and strength in the conference. But Brooklyn found itself in the Second Round of the NCAA Tournament in 2022, having taken down Emmanuel, 70-57. It was the CUNYAC’s first NCAA Tournament win in women’s hoops since 2015, when Baruch beat Stevens in an opening round matchup.
That year marked Baruch’s final CUNYAC championship in a dominant run of eight straight titles from 2008-2015. Since then, Baruch has not won the CUNYAC again, with four different programs winning the league from 2016-2019 before Brooklyn put together its recent four-peat.
But I think the pendulum shifts back in Baruch’s favor this season. The Bearcats went 17-12 overall, 10-4 in the CUNYAC last season, but more importantly, are set to bring back everyone from last year’s squad.
I haven’t seen Baruch’s roster for 2024-25 released yet, but head coach Michael Kotrozos’ squad was fairly young last season and showed a lot of promise. That included the outstanding, nation-leading play of guard Mia Castillo, who led Division III in points per game AND steals per game last season. The Pleasant Valley, NY native, who will be a senior this season, averaged 27.4 PPG, 5.5 assists/game, and 5.38 steals/game, impressive numbers regardless of the quality of competition. Amongst her high-scoring performances, Castillo had a 50-point game against Medgar Evers and a 31-point game against Brooklyn, lighting up the scoreboard game after game. Castillo’s expected return for Baruch will be complemented by Elissa Leung, a senior guard who averaged 14.1 PPG along with 108 total assists last season. D’Andre McRae is another big contributor, and completes the trio of top returners for Baruch. McRae averaged 9.1 rebounds/game as a sophomore forward, joining Castillo and Leung in starting all 29 games in 2023-24.
With those three leading the way, and Brooklyn losing three starters from last year’s 18-9 team, Baruch is in a good position. We saw a tight battle atop the league standings last season between Brooklyn and John Jay, who ended up tied for the regular season title at 12-2. Baruch was two games back, at 10-4, but I think that changes this season as the Bearcats leverage their advantage in returning production. That will allow Baruch to hopefully get out to a faster start early in the season, and begin laying that foundation for conference play. We’ll see them face some quality competition at the Pablo Coto Tournament in late November, as they face Marymount on Nov. 22, and if they win there, could get a matchup against Gettysburg the following day. We’ll also see Baruch against a tough Coast Guard team on Dec. 30.
I look forward to watching this league play out in 2024-25. I think it’ll be a close race for the CUNYAC title. But if Baruch is to get back to the NCAA Tournament at some point in the near future, this feels like the perfect opportunity to do it, especially considering it’s Castillo’s senior year.
Preseason Offensive Player of the Year: Mia Castillo, Baruch: There’s not much more I can say on Castillo’s offensive abilities. When you average 27.4 PPG and 5.5 APG, that’s game-changing for your team. The value Castillo brings to Baruch’s offense is immense, and I expect her to be amongst the nation’s top scorers again this season.
Preseason Defensive Player of the Year: Anna Vikatos, CCNY: Vikatos enters her junior year after ranking in the Top 5 in the CUNYAC in both blocks and steals. She averaged 4.2 blocks/game (second-most in the league) and 3.1 steals/game (fourth-most in the league), and will be a big piece for CCNY as the Beavers look to improve on last year’s 3-19 record.
That’ll wrap up this newsletter! Tomorrow we have the C2C. Picks so far → AMCC: PSU Behrend, A-R-C: Wartburg, ASC: ETBU, AEC: Marymount, Centennial: Johns Hopkins, CUNYAC: Baruch
Enjoy your Saturday!