STATE BASKETBALL CAPSULES
Central
Last season: 7-23, 7-11 Northeast Conference
Coach: Beryl Piper, 12th season
Top players: G Kiana Patterson, F Andi Lydon
Keep an eye on: Patterson. The 5-foot-6 senior guard from Troy, N.Y., broke her own single-season record for 3-pointers, connecting at a .415 clip. She earned a spot on the All-NEC second team and was named to the preseason All-NEC team for 2018-19.
The skinny: The Blue Devils are in search of their first winning season since 2014-15. They've been tabbed to finish eighth in the 10-team NEC, a reflection of their relatively young roster.
Fairfield
Last season: 13-17, 10-8 Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference Coach: Joe Frager, 12th season
Top players: F Khadidiatou Diouf, G Sam Kramer
Keep an eye on: Diouf. The 6-foot-3 forward from Senegal was second among returning players in points per game last season (9.6, behind Kramer's 9.9) and should see an uptick now that redshirt senior Samantha Cooper (15 points per game, 10 rebounds per game) has graduated. Diouf was selected to the preseason All-MAAC third team
The skinny: The Stags have quietly logged 11 consecutive seasons with winning records within the conference, and their fifth-place position in the preseason coaches poll suggests they're a team to be feared despite a sub-.500 overall record in 2017-18. They played smothering defense, holding opponents to under 57 points per game last season, and that remains their signature.
Hartford
Last season: 19-13, 9-7 America East
Coach: Kim McNeill, third season
Top players: G Lindsey Abed, G Sierra DaCosta, G Jade Young, F/C Brielle Wilborn
Keep an eye on: The guards. Abed and DaCosta give the Hawks one of the best backcourts in the conference and should set the tone — on offense and defense. The Hawks have now broken their own program record for steals in two straight seasons, racking up 399 in 2017-18. The skinny: With eight players returning, including starters Abed, Young and DaCosta, this could be the year the Hawks break through and return to the NCAA tournament for the first time since 2011, during the Jen Rizzotti era. They were picked second in the America East preseason coaches poll, and Abed earned an
All-Conference nod.
Quinnipiac
Last season: 28-6, 18-0 MAAC
Coach: Tricia Fabbri, 24th season
Top players: G/F Aryn McClure, F Paula Strautmane, F Jen Fay Keep an eye on: Fay. McClure is once again the preseason player of the year, but Fay, who tied for the team lead in scoring last season (13.3 points per game), is the Bobcats' unquestioned leader. No one performs better in big games, as evidenced by the 12 points she scored in a gritty, losing effort when the Bobcats met UConn in Storrs during last year's NCAA second round.
The skinny: The Bobcats will be in search of their third straight MAAC title after a perfect march to last year's conference crown that culminated in another second-round appearance in the NCAA tourney. They're the favorites once again, and
with their core intact, another long postseason run is in play.
Sacred Heart
Last season: 14-16, 9-9 NEC
Coach: Jessica Mannetti, sixth season
Top players: F Katherine Haines, G Candice Leatherwood, G Adrienne Hagood, G Erin Storck
Keep an eye on: Leatherwood. The redshirt senior from Detroit led the Pioneers with 13.5 points per game in 2017-18, her first season since transferring from Liberty.
The skinny: The Pioneers have returned nearly their entire roster. They were picked to finish third in the NEC preseason coaches poll but tallied three first-place votes. This might be the most talented team Mannetti has had in her tenure, and an NCAA
tournament berth is very much a possibility.
Yale
Last season: 19-13, 8-6 Ivy League
Coach: Allison Guth, fourth season
Top players: G Gabby Nelson, G Roxy Barahman, F Camilla
Emsbo
Keep an eye on: Emsbo. The 6-foot-5 forward was a five-star recruit out of her native Colorado, where she was the Gatorade Player of the Year in 2017-18. Her size and low-post skills balance out a roster that emphasizes guard play. The skinny: The Bulldogs are coming off of a successful postseason, having captured the WBI championship with a win over Central Arkansas. They've improved on their record every year since Guth took over, and Barahman is a bona fide star in the backcourt.
Central
Last season: 14-18, 7-11 Northeast Conference
Coach: Donyell Marshall, third season
Top players: G/F Tyler Kohl, C Deion Bute
Keep an eye on: The Blue Devils' momentum. Last year's win total was the program's highest since the 2010-11 season and was a significant uptick for a team that went 6-23 in Marshall's first year at the helm. After last year's team exceeded its modest expectations to finish eighth in the NEC, the Blue Devils were picked to finish sixth in this year's preseason coaches poll.
The skinny: The 6-foot-5 Kohl was an All-NEC second team selection in 2017-18, bursting onto the scene as a junior college transfer to lead the team in scoring (16.7 points per game), rebounds (8.2) and assists (4.1). Now a known commodity, he was tabbed as a preseason all-conference pick this year, and if he takes another leap forward, so could the Blue Devils.
Fairfield
Last season: 17-16, 9-9 Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference Coach: Sydney Johnson, eighth season
Top players: G Jesus Cruz, F Jonathan Kasibabu
Keep an eye on: How the Stags handle their key departures. Senior guard and All-MAAC first team selection Tyler Nelson graduated after averaging 22.2 points per game last season. Their No. 2 option, Ferron Flavors (12.3) transferred. That leaves the Stags' incredibly thin in terms of primary scoring options.
The skinny: The stags finished right in the middle of the pack in 2017-18, winning 10 of their 13 home games and flipping those numbers on the road to merit a sixth seed in the MAAC tournament. But once there, they got hot, ultimately missing out on an NCAA tourney berth by losing to No. 4 Iona in the title game. Losing Nelson and Flavors hurts, and that's reflected in the Stags' earning the No. 7 spot in the preseason coaches poll.
Hartford
Last season: 19-14, 11-5 America East
Coach: John Gallagher, ninth season
Top players: G Jason Dunne, F John Carroll, G J.R. Lynch
Keep an eye on: How the Hawks respond to last season's taste of postseason success. After a remarkable turnaround from their 9-22 campaign in 2016-17, they earned a No. 3 seed in the America East tournament, where they were knocked out in the semifinals of the America East tournament by NCAA tournament darlings UMBC. With all three of their top scorers from a year ago returning, expectations have ratcheted up.
The skinny: Pegged as the No. 2 team in the conference by the coaches, this is the Hawks' best chance at an NCAA tournament breakthrough. They've got the depth, the experience and the weapons to push Vermont for conference supremacy, making their two meetings with the Catamounts (Jan. 12 and Feb. 16) crucial to postseason seeding.
Quinnipiac
Last season: 12-21, 7-11 MAAC
Coach: Baker Dunleavy, second season
Top players: G Cameron Young, G Rich Kelly
Keep an eye on: The season opener against reigning national champion Villanova, where Dunleavy served as an assistant coach and whose signature 1-4 offense he's adopted at the helm of the guard-laden Bobcats. It's the ultimate measuring stick for a team that's hoping to make noise, as well as a chance for its 36-year-old coach to prove himself on a big stage.
The skinny: After knocking off No. 2 seed Canisius to reach the semifinals of the MAAC tournament, the Bobcats aren't likely to sneak up on anybody in 2018-19. This was reflected in their ranking in the preseason coaches poll (tied for third, behind Rider and Canisius) and reinforced by Young landing on the preseason All-MAAC first team. The rangy guard from Los Angeles, who's completing a grad year, will try to break his own program record for scoring (622 points).
Sacred Heart
Last season: 10-21, 5-13 NEC
Coach: Anthony Latina, sixth year
Top players: G Sean Hoehn, G Kinnon LaRose
Keep an eye on: Hoehn. The senior captain from Morristown, N.J., led the Pioneers in scoring (13.1 points per game), assists (4.2) and minutes (33.4). He'll help stabilize an inexperienced roster that features only three other upperclassmen.
The skinny: Only two starters (Hoehn and LaRose) return for a team that struggled mightily in 2017-18, so the Pioneers find themselves ranked ninth in the preseason coaches poll. But that, of course, opens the door for first-year players like Hartford native Chaylyn Martin to assume key roles and seize some substantial playing time.
Yale
Last season: 16-15, 9-5 Ivy League
Coach: James Jones, 20th season
Top players: G Miye Oni, G Trey Phills, F Paul Atkinson
Keep an eye on: Atkinson. The 6-foot-10 forward was ruthlessly efficient as a freshman, scoring 9.2 points per game in just over 24 minutes per game and scoring at nearly a 70 percent clip from the field. A three-time Ivy League Rookie of the Week selection, he hit a last-second lay-up against Penn to lift the Bulldogs to an 80-79 home victory.
The skinny: The Bulldogs took a step back in 2017-18 after reaching the inaugural Ivy League tournament championship game a year prior, but they'll benefit from an almost complete lack of roster turnover. They also boast a balanced scoring output, with three double-digit scorers returning to the lineup and two others who fell just shy of that mark. Picked to finish third in the conference behind Harvard and Penn, an NCAA berth is within their grasp.