Only seven points divided the top three teams in the CCAA Women’s Basketball Preseason Coaches Poll in the closest vote in over a decade. In the end, Cal State LA emerged as the preseason favorites for the second straight season, finishing in front of Cal Poly Pomona and Cal State Dominguez Hills.
 
Cal State LA earned five first-place votes and 131 points to place just ahead of Cal Poly Pomona and Cal State Dominguez Hills. The Broncos finished second with 128 points and four first-place votes. The Toros were third with 124 points and two first-place votes.  

2024-25 Women’s Basketball Preseason Poll
Cal State LA (5)	131
Cal Poly Pomona (4)	128
Cal State Dominguez Hills (2)	124
Chico State (1)	109
Sonoma State	87
Cal State San Bernardino	83
Cal State East Bay	68
Cal State San Marcos	51
Cal Poly Humboldt	49
Stanislaus State	42
Cal State Monterey Bay	32
San Francisco State	32
(first-place votes in parathesis)

 

Chico State also received a first-place vote and was the only other team to receive over 100 points in the voting (109). Sonoma State finished fifth (87 points), and Cal State San Bernardino was sixth (83).
 
Spots 7-10 in the preseason poll went Cal State East Bay (68), Cal State San Marcos (51), Cal Poly Humboldt (49) and Stanislaus State (42). Cal State Monterey Bay and San Francisco State completed the list, tying for 11th with 32 points.
 
Cal State LA went 17-13 last season while reaching the semifinal round of the CCAA Tournament and earned a bid to the NCAA West Regional. The Golden Eagles will bring back three starters, including leading-scorer and rebounder Lily Buggs (13.2 ppg, 7.8 rpg, 1.78 spg). Gabriella Rones (8.5 ppg) and Amaya Fuentes (5.2 ppg, 4.4 rpg) are also back for a team that ranked second in the CCAA in scoring (72.1) and rebounding (41.3).
 
All five starters are back for a Cal Poly Pomona team that went 20-10 (15-7 CCAA) last year. First team All-CCAA selection Kalaya Buggs (14.5 ppg, 5.3 rpg, 2.2 spg) and 2023-24 CCAA Freshman of the Year Sydney Nelson (15.1 ppg, 6.5 rpg) highlight the returners, but the Broncos' depth may be their biggest strength. Breanne Ha (10.5 ppg), Andrea Stajic (7.3 ppg), and Jeanette Fine (11.9, 5.5 rpg) all return after starting at least half the games in 2023-24. Four other letterwinners are also back for CPP.
 
Cal State Dominguez Hills missed out on the CCAA Tournament last year, falling just short on a tiebreaker as it finished the season at .500 (14-14, 11-11 CCAA). Nala Williams (18.4 ppg, 6.3 rpg, 3.1 spg) is back for the Toros after finishing second in the race for the CCAA scoring title last season. She will be joined by three-time All-CCAA selection Asia Jordan (14.6 ppg, 11.3 rpg), Hosanna Walker (7.0 ppg), Joe'l Benoit (6.0 ppg), Malia Goldsmith (6.2 ppg), and Kylee Edgar (5.5 ppg) who all started at least 10 games last season. The Toros won the CCAA regular season and regional championships in 2023 with this core group.
 
Chico State was the conference's most prolific offensive team last season. The Wildcats led the CCAA with 73.0 points per game and a .444 shooting percentage. They also had the best team 3-point shooting percentage (.355) while holding their opponents to a league-low .279 percent from behind the arc. Second-leading scorer Jordan Allred (12.1 ppg, 4.2 rpg) and leading rebounder Makenzi Laporte (10.6 ppg, 5.6 rpg) return to the Wildcats after earning All-CCAA honors last season. Chico will also have five more letterwinners returning in 2024-25.
 
Sonoma State went 11-11 in conference play (16-14 overall) to earn the last spot in the CCAA Tournament. It was the team's third consecutive appearance in the tournament. Three starters on the perimeter will return for the Seawolves: Jayme Blackard (11.7 ppg, 3.5 apg), Madisyn Clark (9.5 ppg), and Sienna Cherwinski (6.5 ppg). Last season, SSU ranked third in the CCAA in defense (62.8) and assist-to-turnover ratio (0.92).
 
Cal State San Bernardino completes the top half of the poll. The Coyotes were the No. 5 seed in the 2024 CCAA Basketball Tournament after going 14-14 and 12-10 in the CCAA. It was their first appearance in the CCAA Tournament since 2017. All-CCAA selection Mia Dufresne (8.2 ppg, 7.4 RPG, 1.8 bpg) returns to lead a CSUSB team that brings back three starters and added transfer Deannah Buckner from Cal State San Marcos.
 
Cal State East Bay finished seventh in the preseason poll with 68 points. The Pioneers went 11-17 last season (9-13) and will return two starters from that team in Lailah Carey (5.4 ppg) and Kayla Roseman (7.8 ppg, 5.9 rpg).
 
Cal State San Marcos is the defending CCAA regular season and tournament champions. Last season, they went 27-7 en route to winning the NCAA West Regional and reaching the NCAA semifinal game. However, the Cougars will have almost a whole new team as they lost all five starters and their top three reserves in the offseason.
 
Cal Poly Humboldt (49), Stanislaus State (42), San Francisco State (32), and Cal State Monterey Bay (32) complete the 2024-25 CCAA women’s basketball preseason poll.
 
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The 2024-25 season will begin for all CCAA women's basketball teams on Friday, Nov. 8. The 12 CCAA teams will try to earn one of the six bids to the CCAA Women's Basketball Tournament starting Thursday, Mar. 6, in San Marcos. For more information on the CCAA Basketball Tournament, click here.