Early Preseason Top 30: Ranking the Top 5
It’s Saturday morning and I am in transit to Minneapolis, then onto River Falls, Wisconsin for the season-opening football game for Mary Hardin-Baylor in my role as the managing editor of True To The Cru. So what better time to break down the top five teams in my Early Preseason Top 30?
First off, my apologies on the delay in wrapping up this preseason ranking. Some other, more pressing assignments came up within the past few days that didn’t allow me much time to write this last segment of this series of posts. But here we go….
#5: Tufts (2022-23 record: 24-7): The Jumbos are neck-and-neck with Trinity (CT) when it comes to the NESCAC title race in 2023-24. At least in my opinion. I really don’t know who has the better team. Both have some very talented players, which will make for a fun conference championship race, and I could totally see either (or both!) in the Final Four come March (bracketing wise, both in the Final Four is possible, but probably unlikely the more I think about it…I can see a path to it, but it’d be tough to get those two into completely separate quadrants).
Tufts reached the Elite Eight last season paced by the play of Maggie Russell, who is an incredible player and certainly a National Player of the Year candidate. Russell averaged a double-double of 19.8 points and 11.4 rebounds per game in 2022-23 and is almost unstoppable in the paint. She has good range on her shot, and is just one of the players that makes everyone around her better. As I noted last year, I do worry somewhat about the reliance on Russell when it comes to Tufts’ scoring production. In the few games that she wasn’t on the floor (ex. Emory), the Jumbos struggled a bit offensively.
But Sophia Gonzalez was really impressive over the homestretch of the season, and it seems that she can offset the scoring production a little more this season. Her 11.3 points per game ranked second on the team behind Russell. She’s a dynamic shooter and probably the best 3-point shooter Tufts has on its roster.
Sarah Crossett is a forward that I would keep an eye on, as she started 17 games as a freshman, and looked extremely sharp in terms of her skill set. To average 10.4 points and 5.8 boards against Tufts’ tough non-conference schedule deserves a lot of credit.
There is lots of depth on Tufts’ roster, with 97 percent of last year’s team returning. They’ll face another gauntlet of a non-conference schedule, against teams like Rhode Island College, Colorado College, MIT, and NYU, before getting into the NESCAC slate. Lots of RRO opportunities there!
#4: Scranton (2022-23 record: 28-1): Full disclaimer…these final four teams all were No. 1 at some point when I started putting this together back in April. That’s how good I think these four will be. That starts with Scranton, who was dominant in Landmark Conference play throughout last season.
The Lady Royals may have exited the NCAA Tournament earlier than they would’ve liked last spring, but that doesn’t take away from what was a truly remarkable 2022-23 campaign under first-year head coach Ben O’Brien. Scranton hung around in the Top 5 all of last season, and that’s where I see them staying in 2023-24 as well.
Losing Bridget Monaghan (who went to D1 St. Joseph’s as a grad transfer) will be tough, but the returning production, along with a few key transfers make Scranton just as, if not more, dangerous, this year. Kaci Kranson was undoubtedly one of the country’s most prolific freshmen last season, and saw quite a bit of playing time, which should help her step into more of a leadership role as a returning starter in 2023-24. She is an outstanding shooter, and will be a challenge for opposing defenses all season, especially from beyond the arc.
In the transfer portal, the Lady Royals bring in D-I transfer Victoria Toomey, who played for O’Brien in high school. Toomey was a main contributor for Rider throughout all four years, and started all 31 games as a senior last season. She joins Scranton as a grad transfer, and should provide some added post presence. Balance within the roster is something I look for; teams that tend to be guard-heavy or post-heavy aren’t often as successful as those that can attack from both the outside and the inside.
Quick note on the schedule: Scranton could again go undefeated in the regular season, but I do think DeSales and Stevens can both give the Lady Royals some trouble. Even if they do go undefeated, replacing two non-conference games with two conference games in Wilkes and Lycoming will drop the SOS number a bit. But what can you do? The Landmark looks more like the MIAC now, and I can definitely see this being a one-bid league in 2023-24.
#3: Christopher Newport (2022-23 record: 31-1): With Anaya Simmons supposedly coming back, CNU was an early candidate for the top spot in my ranking. But when Simmons announced her decision to not return for the 2023-24 season, the Captains’ ranking dropped a bit. And yet, I still think the talent on the roster makes CNU extremely tough to beat, certainly warranting a No. 3 ranking.
The Captains reached the NCAA title game in Dallas last season and battled Transylvania to a high level. CNU was No. 1 for the majority of the final month of the season and brings back 68 percent of that roster now in 2023-24.
Katy Radar will bring both experience and an excellent shooting touch as she returns for her fifth year, and returners such as Alivia Giles will step into more prominent contributing roles. Senior Gabbi San Diego should pace the offense in the backcourt and Camille Malagar is another guard who scores at a consistent rate.
I know that head coach Bill Broderick recruits well and several freshmen and sophomores from last year will be ready to step up this season. CNU is always a disciplined squad, and plays incredibly tough. Their schedule isn’t expected to be easy, though with the C2C schedule, it is tough to know how the slate will look. Overall, I think we see CNU tested in some games within the first two months of the season, but this is every bit a Top 5 team in my opinion.
#2: Transylvania (2022-23 record: 33-0): The Pioneers proved a lot of doubters wrong en route to a national title last season, posting an immaculate 33-0 record. They were so in sync throughout the season, and dominated their competition. The low strength of schedule was the main reason that Transy wasn’t ranked No. 1 on all Top 25 ballots during the regular season, despite the perfect record. But once I saw them play against Millikin, Ohio Northern, NYU, Smith, and of course, CNU, I realized just how good this team was. They faced the best of the best in the country, and won their first five games of the tournament by double digits.
And here’s the thing: 86 percent of that roster comes back (according to Scott Peterson’s model, which you should definitely check out! https://d3data.weebly.com/2024-preseason-outlook.html.)
Dasia Thornton highlights the returning core of the Pioneers’ roster, after averaging 12.2 points and 9.8 rebounds per game last season. She is such a versatile player who is incredibly important to Transy’s success on both ends of the floor.
In fact, outside of Madison Kellione, the rest of the 2022-23 roster is anticipated to return. Kellione was an incredible player, and leaves behind big shoes to fill with her leadership and scoring ability. But the fact that so much experience will be back on the floor is key and increases the chances of seeing a back-to-back national champion in 2023-24.
I definitely see a path to another undefeated regular season for Transy, though I do look forward to the season-opening matchup at DePauw as I expect DePauw to bring back a solid returning group and compete with the the top of the HCAC. Five of their seven non-conference games will also be played at home, which adds to my thought of Transy continuing the 33-game win streak.
#1: NYU (2022-23 record: 25-3): The Violets are going to be one of the most exciting teams to watch in 2023-24. No question about it. And they have so much talent on the roster that opposing coaches are going to have a tough time finding a weakness.
Nine players from last year’s Elite Eight squad are back, including Belle Pellecchia, who is one of the UAA’s top scoring guards, and Natalie Bruns, a 6-foot-1 forward who led the team in scoring last season. NYU was incredibly talented in 2022-23, and the 25-3 record (with non-conference wins over Tufts and Bowdoin) displayed that.
Then you throw in the 2022-23 D-III National Player of the Year, Morgan Morrision, transferring in for her fifth year from Smith. And D3hoops.com Third Team All-America honoree Megan Bauman transferring in from Babson, another NCAA Tournament team. And Northwestern transfer Laya Hartman, who has experience playing in the Big Ten. Don’t forget that Jordan Janowski is likely to be fully healthy after spending the entirety of last season on the sidelines due to injury. That is what you could accurately call a “super team”.
The addition of two All-Americans, along with a guard who was productive in limited minutes at a power conference D1 program, is what pushed me to put NYU in the top spot. If all of this talent can come together and be on the same page from Day 1, there is no telling how far this team can go. They will have depth at every position, and the experience level on the roster will be outstanding as well.
The UAA schedule is no joke, and NYU will have challengers for sure. But this looks like a championship-caliber team when you evaluate the talent on the roster. Their schedule was up, but it appears it has now been taken down. I know the non-conference schedule with a notable opening weekend tournament should be competitive and give the Violets plenty of RRO opportunities.
Thanks for following along as I ranked my Top 30 teams entering the 2023 season! Here is a look at my complete Early Preseason Top 30:
NYU
Transylvania
Christopher Newport
Scranton
Tufts
Trinity (CT)
Wartburg
Baldwin Wallace
Gustavus Adolphus
Smith
Rhode Island College
UW-Whitewater
Loras
DeSales
Ohio Northern
Whitman
Amherst
Elizabethtown
Trinity (TX)
Mary Hardin-Baylor
Babson
Chicago
UW-Stout
Messiah
UW-Oshkosh
Emory
Washington & Jefferson
Illinois Wesleyan
Puget Sound
Marietta
Also, once again this season, I’ll be tracking the scheduled D3 vs D1 women’s basketball games. It was a fun project last year, but I started it in late October. So I’m starting earlier this year, and look forward to watching some of these matchups! If you know of any scheduled D3 vs D1 WBB games/exhibitions, email me at rileyzayas@proton.me or comment below…or you can message me on X/Twitter, at @ZayasRiley. Have a great week. I’ll check back in soon!