Photo Courtesy of Mark Campbell

WASHINGTON, D.C. -- The University of Delaware men’s basketball team was picked 11th while the Blue Hen women were selected fourth in the Colonial Athletic Association Basketball Preseason Polls announced Tuesday at the league’s Media Day at the ESPN Zone in Washington.

Drexel, the women’s defending champion, was picked to repeat as the Dragons were selected to the top spot in the women’s poll. James Madison was picked second, while Old Dominion was selected third and Delaware was fourth. VCU rounded out the top five, followed by Towson, Hofstra, UNC Wilmington, William & Mary, Northeastern, Georgia State and George Mason.

Blue Hen junior Tesia Harris (at right) and redshirt freshman Elena Delle Donne were selected to the CAA Preseason Second Team, along with Brittany Blackwell of UNC Wilmington, Jess Fuller of Hofstra and Jasmina Rosseel of Drexel. Harris, a third team all-conference selection last season, led the Blue Hens and was eighth in the league by averaging 13.6 points per game while ranking third on the squad with 5.2 rebounds per contest. She posted 20 double figure scoring games on the year, including a career-high 29 points against Towson. Delle Donne was named the National Player of the Year by the Naismith, McDonald’s and Gatorade foundations during the 2007-08 season as a high school senior.

The first team consisted of CAA Preseason Player of the Year Gabriela Marginean of Drexel, Shanae Baker-Brice of Towson, Tiffany Benson of William & Mary, Jessica Canady of Old Dominion, and Dawn Evans of James Madison. Joelle Connelly of Hofstra and Katrina Wheeler of Towson were selected honorable mention.

Old Dominion was picked to win the men’s championship in a vote of the league’s coaches, sports information directors, and media. Northeastern was selected second while VCU was picked third, George Mason was fourth, and James Madison was selected fifth. Hofstra was picked sixth, followed by Drexel, Georgia State, Towson, William & Mary, Delaware and UNC Wilmington.

Delaware men’s junior guard Jawan Carter was named CAA Honorable Mention after earning All-CAA Third Team honors a year ago. Carter, who started all 32 games last season, ranked second on the team and sixth in the conference by averaging 15.0 points per game. He also led the Blue Hens with 62 three-pointers made and a 77.8 free throw percentage, while he was second on the squad with 34 steals and third with 83 assists. Carter reached double figures in 24 games on the year, including eight 20-point performances.

The CAA Preseason First Team consisted of Matt Janning of Northeastern, Charles Jenkins of Hofstra, Gerald Lee of Old Dominion, Cam Long of George Mason, and Larry Sanders of VCU. Jenkins and Lee shared CAA Preseason CAA Co-Player of the Year honors.

Manny Adako of Northeastern, Joe Dukes of Georgia State, David Schneider of William & Mary, Chad Tomko of UNC Wilmington, and Julius Wells of James Madison made up the CAA Preseason Second Team. Ben Finney of Old Dominion and Chaisson Allen of Northeastern joined Carter on the honorable mention list.

The Delaware men’s team, which will hold a home exhibition game on November 2 against Philadelphia University at 7 p.m., opens its regular season on Saturday, November 14 when the Blue Hens host Temple at the Bob Carpenter Center at 12 noon.

The UD women, who open the season with seven straight road games, kick off their season on November 17 with a 7 p.m. game at St. Francis (Pa.). The Blue Hens face Navy on December 11 at 7 p.m. in their home opener.

2009-10 CAA Women’s Basketball Predicted Order Of Finish
1. Drexel
2. James Madison
3. Old Dominion
4. Delaware
5. VCU
6. Towson
7. Hofstra
8. UNC Wilmington
9. William & Mary
10. Northeastern
11. Georgia State
12. George Mason

2009-10 CAA Women’s Basketball Preseason All-Conference Teams

First Team
Shanae Baker-Brice, Towson
Tiffany Benson, William & Mary
Jessica Canady, Old Dominion
Dawn Evans, James Madison
Gabriela Marginean, Drexel (CAA Preseason Player of the Year)

Second Team
Brittany Blackwell, UNC Wilmington
Elena Delle Donne, Delaware
Jess Fuller, Hofstra
Tesia Harris, Delaware
Jasmina Rosseel, Drexel

Honorable Mention
Joelle Connelly, Hofstra
Katrina Wheeler, Towson