2024-25 MAAC preview

For starters, Sacred Heart and Merrimack officially joined the conference from the NEC. They are the second and third new teams in the MAAC in the past three years.

“We’re so excited for such a great basketball challenge,” Sacred Heart head coach Jessica Mannetti told The Next. “The MAAC teams are proven winners.”

Additionally, two MAAC head coaches stepped down, a plethora of players left and arrived from the transfer portal, and the regular-season and postseason schedules evolved.

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In the regular season, teams will play eight of the other 12 opponents twice and the other four only once, instead of every team playing each other twice.

The final change is for the conference tournament in Atlantic City. Usually, all MAAC teams go to Atlantic City regardless of their regular-season records. That’s no longer the case. The top 10 teams in the regular season will now earn a trip to Jim Whelan Boardwalk Hall, and the top six will earn a first-round bye. The bottom three teams are done.

“Bring it on,” Iona head coach Angelika Szumilo told The Next.

Amid all those changes, a lot remains the same. MAAC Player of the Year Janelle Brown still leads Fairfield; Niagara still brings “Hurricane Havoc” wherever it goes; and the longtime head coaches of Quinnipiac and Rider, Tricia Fabbri and Lynn Milligan, still remain.

Here’s how the 13 MAAC teams shape up heading into the season. The teams are divided into tiers based on how far along they in are climbing the mountain that is the MAAC. Most statistics are from the MAAC and individual schools’ websites; all other sources are hyperlinked.

Looking for a specific team? Click the links below to skip to your favorite:

Fairfield | Siena | Quinnipiac | Niagara | Sacred Heart | Manhattan | Mount St. Mary’s | Merrimack | Iona | Marist | Rider | Saint Peter’s | Canisius

The summit

Fairfield

The Stags are coming off a monumental season. They won the conference and regular-season championships, went undefeated in MAAC play, made the NCAA Tournament, and were the third current MAAC team to ever be ranked in the AP poll.

What’s the kicker? There isn’t one. Fairfield didn’t lose any of its core players and, if anything, will be improved this season.

Brown, sophomore road runner Meghan Andersen and senior guard Emina Selimovic all return to Fairfield after personal-best seasons. (Fairfield uses the term “road runner” on its roster instead of “forward.”)

“We’re ready to get to work again,” Brown told The Next.

Brown earned MAAC Player of the Year and first-team All-MAAC honors last season, Andersen made the All-MAAC first team and the All-MAAC rookie team, Selimovic collected third-team All-MAAC honors, and sophomore guard Kaety L’Amoreaux joined Andersen on the rookie team.

The Stags also improved their post and wing depth in the transfer portal by adding a 2,000-point scorer in graduate roadrunner Raiana Brown and two 3-point-flinging wings in junior Sydni Scott and sophomore Jillian Huerter.

“Syd’s just a dog,” Andersen told The Next. “There’s no other way to explain her. She’s just so active.”

Fairfield plays five-out basketball and shoots a lot of 3-pointers. Last season, the Stags shot from beyond the arc nearly 200 more times than the next-closest team in the MAAC. They play fluid, nearly positionless basketball that is lights out when it’s going well.

This year, count on Fairfield to continue to shoot the rock a ton but also have contributions up and down the bench. Janelle Brown and Andersen will lead the way, but Selimovic, Raiana Brown, L’Amoreaux, Scott, Huerter and graduate guard Izabela Nicoletti Leite will all play pivotal roles.

Barring an injury crisis, Fairfield has all the pieces to repeat its glorious season from last year. The million-dollar question is whether the Stags’ metaphorical crown is too heavy for their head.

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Nearly there

Siena

Siena head coach Jim Jabir retired following last season, and the Terry Primm era has begun in Loudonville. But really, it was already there: He was a Saints assistant coach for three years prior to taking the top job.

“Primm has been the same Primm since I’ve gotten here,” senior forward Anajah Brown told The Next. “He’s been a coach with high intensity.”

Not much of Siena’s core is different. A head coaching shift can result in drastic change, like at Canisius, but the Saints’ leadership group of junior guard and preseason first-team All-MAAC selection Teresa Seppala, Brown, and graduate guards Ahniysha Jackson and Valencia Fontenelle-Posson remains.

“When you add a core of kids that you’ve been on that campus with for an extended period of time, it makes it even more fun,” Primm told The Next.

Siena has six freshmen on the roster who each have an opportunity to play significant minutes. Expect guard Aniya Hooker to get a lot of minutes and share responsibilities at the one for the Saints. Also, look out for guards Zyriah Price and Zoe Richardson to play significant roles.

“They’re basketball players at the end of the day,” Primm said. “We’re not going to restrict them just because they’re young.”

Following a preseason trip to Ireland — “an indelible experience,” Primm said — the Saints have clear expectations: Play hard-nosed, fast-paced, efficient, intense basketball.

Offensively, Siena aims to score within seven seconds of receiving the ball and play based on reads and basketball IQ, something that takes time to develop. On the other side of the court, the Saints will play a high-intensity defense that should feel like being inside a burning building for their opponents.

“We want to create pressure,” Seppala told The Next. “We pressure them on offense and defense. We suffocate them on defense.”

The one hurdle is learning and adjusting to what Primm expects. But by March, the Saints hope to put it all together and march to the NCAA Tournament.

“It’ll all click,” Brown said.

Quinnipiac

In Fabbri’s 30 years at Quinnipiac, last year was “one of [her] most enjoyable years coaching,” she said following the Bobcats’ second-round loss to Niagara in Atlantic City.

If you only looked at the Bobcats 13-18 record, you’d be dumbfounded as to why Fabbri would say that. But last year saw the emergence of a new core of Bobcats: sophomore forward Anna Foley and sophomore guards Karson Martin, Ava Sollenne, Maria Kealy and Paige Girardi.

Mixed in with senior forward Grace LaBarge, senior guard Jackie Grisdale, junior forward Ella O’Donnell and junior guard Bri Bowen, Quinnipiac has an excellent foundation.

“It’s a fortified roster with experience that’s still relatively young,” Fabbri told The Next.

Grisdale was a preseason second-team All-MAAC selection, even though she hasn’t played since Dec. 10, 2023. There’s nothing more she wants to do right now than play competitive games.

“Words can’t describe it,” Grisdale said.

She and LaBarge have been named captains and hope to lead Quinnipiac to its first MAAC championship since 2019.

The Bobcats plan to do that through a mix of high and low looks and playing inside out. Foley and O’Donnell will be forces in the post, but Quinnipiac’s backcourt can also shoot 3-pointers and create points. Grisdale, Martin and freshman guard Gal Raviv are all talented three-level scorers.

“Our guards are as dominant as we’ve had in my program’s history,” Fabbri said.

The Bobcats are building something promising in Hamden. But they’re just focused on being great today.

“That’ll ultimately carry us where we want to be when March gets here,” Fabbri said.

Niagara

Niagara will contend this year because of its style of play, leadership and existing systems. The enforcers of those systems are senior forwards Aaliyah Parker and Amelia Strong and graduate guard Lore Porter.

Parker is a preseason first-team All-MAAC selection, and Strong earned a nod on the MAAC All-Tournament Team following three straight postseason games in which she put up double digits.

Besides them, there’s a lot of unproven talent on the roster. The Purple Eagles welcome eight newcomers, four from the transfer portal and four true freshmen. Headlining the newcomers is sophomore guard Safiatu Kolliegbo. The Willingboro, New Jersey, native averaged 15.1 points, 5.3 rebounds and 2.0 assists last year at Division II Georgian Court University.

“I think we’re going to be somebody that is going to do very well, but it’s going to take us some time to mesh and grow,” head coach Jada Pierce told The Next.

Niagara’s “Hurricane Havoc” (which should be trademarked, if it isn’t already) is an aggressive, athletic, relentless style of play that prioritizes pressing full court and forcing turnovers.

“The people we’re defending, they’re feeling anxiety, they’re feeling confusion. … They just want to get out of it,” Strong told The Next.

The downside is that Hurricane Havoc can sometimes shift from causing chaos to becoming chaos. How Niagara can overcome that is with what internet self-help gurus preach: discipline. And that’s built from an unflappable trust in each other and team chemistry.

The Purple Eagles can win a MAAC championship this year, but only if they successfully mesh the abundance of newcomers with the five returners.

Sacred Heart

It’s not too often that you have two NCAA Tournament teams in a mid-major conference, but Sacred Heart takes that second spot. The Pioneers went 15-1 in NEC play and won the NEC Tournament last season before losing in the First Four of the NCAA Tournament to Presbyterian.

Individually, junior guard Ny’Ceara Pryor won NEC Player of the Year for the second year in a row and was a first-team All-Conference honoree. She averaged 18.7 points, 7.1 rebounds and 4.5 assists per game. If she had been in the MAAC last year, she would’ve led in points, been third in rebounds and third in assists among guards.

All of this to say, Pryor instantly becomes one of the best players in the MAAC.

Additionally, junior guard Amelia Wood earned All-NEC third-team honors and sophomore guard Nalyce Dudley was selected to the rookie team.

Sacred Heart has a lot of returners for its first MAAC campaign. No one transferred out, and only three graduated — though one graduate was third-team forward Sajada Bonner.

“Our depth is something that’s going to be really strong for us,” Mannetti said.

That depth will have to adjust to MAAC opponents and embrace the challenges of being the new kids on the block and going from the hunted to the hunters.

The Pioneers play fast and aim to put up 75 points per game with a combination of transition offense and free throws, while pressing teams often on defense.

Sacred Heart was picked fifth in the preseason coaches’ poll, which shows respect to a team that hasn’t played a conference game yet. “But we don’t like the number five next to our name,” Mannetti said.

The Pioneers have lofty ambitions and hope to start proving themselves in the conference on Dec. 19 at Iona.

Manhattan

The Manhattan Jaspers have been so close to, yet so far from, glory recently. In 2022 and 2023, respectively, Fairfield and Iona won the MAAC. The team on the losing side of both of those championship games was Manhattan. Then in 2024, Manhattan lost in its first MAAC Tournament game to Canisius.

So how do the Jaspers get back to the promised land? Rebounding, stout defense, and a fast pace of play.

“The two years we made the MAAC championship game, we were ranked nationally in rebounding,” head coach Heather Vulin told The Next.

The good news for Manhattan is it has all of the pieces to do that this season.

Starting on the interior, senior forward Petra Juric returns for her final season of collegiate basketball. “I’m ready for it,” she told The Next.

Juric has struggled to stay healthy, but when she is, she’s a stalwart on the glass and can provide much-need frontcourt length.

Additionally, graduate forward Leyla Ozturk, sophomore forward Teagan Young, junior forward Caroline de Klauman and sophomore forward Kristina Juric all will get minutes up front.

Going to the backcourt, the Jaspers replaced guard Anne Bair’s ball-handling abilities with junior guard Hana Muhl, who has impressed early with her work ethic.

“She’s one of those kids that does extra almost every single day in terms of working on her craft,” Vulin said.

Graduate guard Ines Gimenez Montserrat is a true-three level scorer who will keep defenses on their toes.

Manhattan has the pieces and depth to make a deep run in the MAAC Tournament. Its biggest hurdle, however, is finally winning the championship game and leaving Atlantic City as champions.

“We want to get to the finals and hopefully win,” Petra Juric said.

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On their way

Mount St. Mary’s

Mount St. Mary’s is another extremely young team. Most of the seniors and graduate students on last year’s squad transferred or graduated. Six true freshmen and one redshirt freshman fill in the roster this year.

The downside to that is the Mount doesn’t have a lot of size. With freshmen Lenora Nkangwen and Teodora Ivanovic out with knee injuries, that leaves only two healthy forwards — sophomore Tessa Engelman and redshirt junior Jaedyn Jamison.

Arguably the Mountaineers’ biggest strength is their guard depth. There are four to six multi-talented guards on the roster.

Senior guard Jo Raflo — whose 12.2 points per game ranked second on the team last season — will provide the biggest offensive spark. Playing and leading alongside her in the backcourt is graduate guard Anna LeMaster, who Raflo has a lot of chemistry with dating back to AAU ball.

“We would always practice together, ride to tournaments together,” Raflo told The Next. “She’s a great vocal leader.”

Head coach Antoine White plans to play Raflo in the post, to get her more looks close to the basket. LeMaster will also get a lot of scoring opportunities and is a three-level scorer.

“It wouldn’t surprise me if she’s our leading scorer,” White told The Next.

Additionally, redshirt freshman guard Gabrielle Kennerly and freshman guards Nyodie Guerard and Madison Ruff will all play a lot of minutes.

“We’re throwing them right into the mix,” White said. “We wanted to bring a large freshmen class and have them play right away.”

Mount St. Mary’s plays gritty, defensive-minded basketball that involves mixing different schemes. Its offense focuses on Raflo and LeMaster scoring while the freshmen accumulate minutes.

It’s a transition year for the Mountaineers, but they hope to build a foundation.

Merrimack

Merrimack is the most unknown team in the conference right now, both to itself and the 12 other teams. But that unknown status is what propels the Warriors. Being ranked 12th in the preseason poll wasn’t a knockout blow, but bulletin board material.

“We like to be slept on,” graduate guard Dejah Jenkins told The Next.

Merrimack will rely on younger players to lead this season. It lost three of the five players who registered the most minutes last year, two of whom were NEC All-Conference selections. Nine of the 14 players on this year’s roster are freshmen and sophomores.

“We got to figure things out, but everybody else has to figure us out, too,” head coach Kelly Morrone told The Next.

Of the five upperclassmen, two have some MAAC experience. Jenkins transferred from Manhattan — where she only played one game — and redshirt junior guard Rose Caso spent two years at Quinnipiac.

But every Merrimack player has something to prove, regardless of experience.

The Warriors play an up-tempo, aggressive style of basketball on both ends of the floor that relies on making reads. In this system, Merrimack’s guards will be crucial.

“When we’re able to play off each other, we make really good plays,” sophomore guard Thalia Shepard told The Next.

In the frontcourt, sophomore forward Madison Roman will garner a lot of minutes and a lot of attention from other teams. She can be a strong post presence but also pass the ball. Roman registered the third-most assists on the team last season.

“If you give her the ball and you’re in the paint with her, good luck,” Shepard said.

Merrimack is unproven, which can be both its biggest strength and its biggest weakness.

At the base

Iona

Szmuilo takes a lot of peace and pointers out of the process of playing MAAC games. “Every game is like a piece of gold,” she said.

Iona took so much gold out of its games last year that it probably made the university’s celtic gold a couple shades darker.

In Szumilo’s first season in New Rochelle, New York, the Gaels learned a bit about each opponent and learned to shift their locus of control internally. In her second year, Iona has a balanced roster that will play hard and push the ball more. It wants to apply a lot more pressure this year.

However, the Gaels will have to do it without three of their four leading scorers last year.

Guard Natalia Otkhmezuri and forward Sierra DeAngelo graduated, and sophomore forward Petra Oborilova joined former Iona head coach Billi Chambers at Xavier.

Senior guards Ella Fajardo and Judith Gomez will lead Iona and continue to play starting minutes like they did last year. Alongside the returners, expect sophomore guard Mya Zaccagnini to get a lot of minutes coming off an injury.

Among the six newcomers, freshman guard Chloe Vasquez will receive minutes at the one through three, and freshman forward Destinee Salgado will play the five.

Being the No. 9 seed in the MAAC last year and losing in the first round of the MAAC Tournament stung for Iona. Even when the Gaels play intrasquad scrimmages in the preseason, the losing side feels it afterward.

“That feeling of losing is the worst feeling ever,” Fajardo told The Next.

The Gaels hope to avoid that sting starting on Nov. 5 in Orlando at UCF.

Marist

Marist was the worst team in the MAAC last year at 6-25 and lost its two leading scorers, guard Kiara Fisher and forward Zaria Shazer. But the Red Foxes are looking forward to this season.

“We have a lot of talent this year,” redshirt junior guard Lexie Tarul told The Next. “There’s such a new dynamic.”

In head coach Erin Doughty’s second season, Marist returns a lot. Senior guard Catie Cunningham, Tarul, junior guard Jackie Piddock and junior center Morgan Lee headline the roster.

What they and their teammates bring to the court is the ability to let the ball fly from beyond the arc.

“We’ve had practices where we’ve shot, as a group, [in the] high 40s from three,” Doughty told The Next.

Marist’s offense will center around Lee, a 6’5 dominant post player who can distribute and also drain threes like no one’s business. Among Marist players with at least 50 3-point attempts last season, she shot the highest percentage at 35.8%.

“No one in the league really has anyone like her,” Doughty said. “If you want to double her, she’s probably our best passer too.”

Looking at the newcomers, Marist welcomes two freshmen — guards Nicole Decker and Chloe Escanillas — and two transfers in sophomore guard Malea Egan and graduate forward Brooke Jarvis. Decker and Escanillas both will help stretch the floor, Egan can help play the point along with Piddock, and Jarvis will be an athletic option in the post.

Marist had 10 single-digit losses last season. What will turn some of those losses into wins this year is more 3-pointers, better defense and fewer turnovers. If most of those go Marist’s way, that could turn the Red Foxes into a team that makes the postseason.

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Rider

Rider is largely starting with the new. The Broncs have five freshmen and two transfers on their roster. Also, Rider’s three leading scorers last year in guards Makayla Firebaugh, Taylor Langan and Jessika Schiffer all are gone.

“It’s a challenge, but it’s an exciting one because we’ve got the right five freshmen,” Milligan told The Next.

Look to senior guards Sanaa Redmond and Mariona Cos-Morales and La Salle transfer Gabby Turco to get a lot of minutes in the backcourt. Up front, junior forward Emilee Tahata and sophomore Kaylan Deveney will collect a lot of minutes. Around them, sophomore guard Aliya McIver, senior guard Jamia Blake and freshman forward Winner Bartholomew will earn minutes off the bench.

“The mix we have of upperclassmen and some experience mixed in with our younger players could be a winning formula,” Milligan said.

Rider will rely on more players this season to score. A team motto this year is, “Give up the shot you could make for the shot you can’t miss.”

However, like all teams, the Broncs still need to work out some kinks before Game 1, including nailing down fundamental individual defense and focusing on getting 1% better.

“We’re all trying to find our way,” Blake told The Next.

The Broncs have a sound culture and earned some confidence by beating Iona in the MAAC Tournament last season and taking No. 1 seed Fairfield to the wire before losing. They have the pieces for a solid campaign this season. It’s just about putting those pieces together.

Still prepping

Saint Peter’s

Coming off an overtime loss to Quinnipiac in the MAAC Tournament, things were looking up for the Saint Peter’s Peacocks. Their two best players, then-freshman forward Fatmata Janneh and sophomore guard Jada Leonard, put up 15 points each in the effort.

With junior forward Jada Williams on the mend from an injury, the Peacocks appeared to have their young core intact.

But Leonard transferred to Bryant and Williams went to Eastern Michigan. To add further salt to the wound, graduate guard Rachel Kuhl transferred to Monmouth for her final collegiate year.

Saint Peter’s can really only do one thing now. “Adapt or die,” head coach Jennifer Leedham told The Next. “The show goes on.”

The Peacocks are young: There are 10 freshmen and sophomores to five upperclassmen, and only five players got significant collegiate minutes last season. That lack of experience will impact Saint Peter’s throughout this season in turnovers, common mistakes and potentially losses.

Janneh, a preseason third-team All-MAAC honoree, will lead the way along with Robert Morris transfer and junior guard Louella Allana and senior forward Layla Laws. They will help the younger Peacocks lay a foundation for the future.

Saint Peter’s plans to play through its bigs, play in transition and stay focused on defense. And in a year where there’s no guarantee the Peacocks make the postseason, Saint Peter’s hopes to keep trusting the process.

“That process of building is hard,” Leedham said. “This is a marathon.”

Canisius

First-year head coach Tiffany Swoffard loves museums. She sipped out of a mug that said, “I heart museums” on it while talking to The Next. Why?

“You get to explore history and you get to explore different cultures within two hours,” Swoffard said.

That’s fitting because, following former head coach Sahar Nusseibeh’s departure to Eastern Michigan and the mass exodus of the 2023-24 Canisius squad, what’s left is a team of players from all backgrounds of basketball and life.

On the court, they come from Division II and III colleges and straight out of high school. The new Golden Griffs also come from six different countries. But connection is effortless.

“It’s a very fluid thing,” sophomore guard Mary Copple told The Next.

Nusseibeh took with her All-MAAC first team forward Sisi Eleko, MAAC Sixth Player of the Year Athina Lexa, junior forward Adrien LaMora, graduate guard Mackenzie Amalia and sophomore forward Brooklyn Thrash.

There are only three returners from last year, all guards: Copple, sophomore Saige Randolph and senior Xanthippi Karatasiou.

So what should we expect from this new-look Canisius team? A team that is going to trust the process.

“For as long as I am the head coach at Canisius, we will be process driven,” Swoffard said.

Swoffard’s Golden Griffs play fast, play hard and distribute the ball at their best. At their worst, they will turn the ball over and show signs of a team that only has two players who have averaged over 15 minutes per game in Division I basketball.

Graduate guard Jaela Johnson — who will start and finish her collegiate career with Swoffard — Copple and junior guard Franka Wittenberg will see a lot of time in the backcourt. Up front, sophomore forward Shariah Gailes and freshman forward Yasmine Djibiri will both play.

This year isn’t about winning the MAAC for Canisius. It’s about getting experience so it can keep building toward being a championship-caliber program.

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