Where Fayetteville State basketball stands in CIAA rankings, all-preseason squad

This story has been updated with new information.

Fayetteville State basketball is set to make another big splash in the CIAA this season as the league held its media day in Baltimore, Maryland, on Monday and announced how both Broncos squads rank heading into 2024-25.

The CIAA reigning champion Fayetteville State women's basketball team was picked to repeat, ranking No. 1 in the 2024-25 preseason poll, with the men's team ranked No. 3 after a division title and championship runner-up finish last season.

Despite losing CIAA Player of the Year Aniylah Bryant, the Bronco women return several key contributors from their championship squad, with four on the preseason all-CIAA team in reigning league defensive player of the year Morgan Graham, Nyah Wilkins, Talia Trotter and Keayna McLaughlin.

The Broncos men's team put Caleb Simmons, Tairell Fletcher and Ezekiel Cannedy (the 2022-23 CIAA Rookie of the Year who transferred from Johnson C. Smith) on the all-conference preseason team. Also on the all-preseason squad is Fayetteville native Xavier Tubbs-Matthews, now a sophomore at Elizabeth City State. Tubbs-Matthews helped Seventy-First reach the NCHSAA championship in 2022.

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Media day moderator Stan Lewter, who played at Atlantic Christian before joining Coach Jim Valvano's staff at NC State, gave special praise to players from Fayetteville. With Northwood Temple Academy alum and Fayetteville native Reggie Raynor onstage representing Elizabeth City State, Lewter said, "He's part of that Fayetteville connection" as one of three local athletes on the Vikings' roster along with Tubbs-Matthews and fellow NTA alums Jaquantae Harris and John Baldwin.

"I'm from Fayetteville and I take pride in that," Raynor said. "If you're from Fayetteville, we call it The City: If you're from The City, you're just different. .... It's something different about our game. We're all dogs. We all play hard. We all want to win."

CIAA women's basketball preseason rankings

1. Fayetteville State
2. Claflin
3. Virginia State
4. Elizabeth City State
5. Johnson C. Smith
6. Virginia Union
7. Bluefield State
8. Lincoln
9. Shaw
10. Winston-Salem State
11. Bowie State
12. Livingstone

CIAA men's basketball preseason rankings

1. Lincoln
2. Claflin
3. Fayetteville State
4. Virginia Union
5. Winston-Salem State
6. Virginia State
7. Johnson C. Smith
8. Elizabeth City State
9. Livingstone
10. Shaw
11. Bowie State
12. Bluefield State

This article originally appeared on The Fayetteville Observer: Where Fayetteville State basketball stands in CIAA rankings, all-preseason squad