Cal Women’s Basketball picked 12th in Pre-Season Poll, Morris on All-Freshman Team
Plus my voting ballot and where I differed from consensus
The Duke Blue Devils are tabbed as the favorites to win the conference title, and Notre Dame’s Hannah Hidalgo is the favorite for Player of the Year, in the Predicted Order of Finish and Preseason All-Conference Teams published Tuesday afternoon. Voting was conducted by the 18 league coaches and select members of media. Media members were prohibited from voting for players from their respective school.
Conference voting showed a clear tiering within the conference. All of the teams in Tier A are ranked in the top 20 of the AP Preseason Poll. After finishing last year in 7th place, Cal is forecasted to drop back to 12th place in the upcoming season.
For conference champion, I chose NC State over Duke on my ballot. The Wolfpack landed all-world transfer Khamil Pierre from Vanderbilt (20 points/game, 10 rebounds/game). Pierre was selected to the All-conference team, alongside teammate Zoe Brooks (14 ppg, 4 assists). The all-conference duo rounds out a deeper roster than Duke can offer, though Duke counters with top-ranked freshman Emilee Skinner making an immediate impact.
My ballot included Virginia breaking into the top group of teams, having them finish 4th overall, up from the consensus spot of 7th. The Cavaliers return All-ACC Junior Guard and All-American Honorable Mention Kymora Johnson and fellow upperclassmen Paris Clark and Olivia McGhee. They have the most returning starters and are not relying an a huge influx of scoring coming from freshman or transfer players.
Cal’s predicted 12th place finish puts them squarely in the 3rd tier of teams that will avoid the bottom but have to fight for bubble contention. I projected them for a 9th place finish, more firmly in bubble territory. My optimism is based on the fact that all of the teams in this region suffered major losses due to graduation and transfers. Coach Smith brings in the ESPN #20-ranked recruiting class, higher than anyone else in this range. The freshman will need to contribute immediately for the Golden Bears to exceed expectations. We’ll have a more comprehensive team breakdown by early November.
All-American Hannah Hidalgo of Notre Dame is the preseason favorite for Player Of the Year. Hidalgo was both Player of the Year and Defensive Player of the Year last season. She averaged over 20 points per game to go with nearly 4 steals per game.
No Cal Bear was chosen in the Top 10. I selected Virginia’s Kymora Johnson as Player of The Year. As mentioned earlier, I expect the Cavaliers to overperform and Johnson will be leading the effort.
Cal’s Aliyahna “Puff” Morris was selected to the All-Freshman team. The McDonald’s All-American recruit will be asked to step in immediately as the starting point guard and solidify Cal’s backcourt with Lulu Twidale.
The freshman vote was harder to evaluate than the all-conference votes. With five different school having top 25 ESPN recruiting classes (Cal #20), there is plenty of young talent being infused across all teams. Of interest is Stanford, ESPN’s 3rd ranked freshman class. Top-10 Guard Hailee Swain will impress from day one. I gave a slight edge to F/C Alexandra Eschmeyer over wing Lara Somfari for a second Stanford player, as Eschmeyer’s superior size will be utilized to have a more immediate impact for the Cardinal.
Cal and Duke kick off conference play at the Oui Classic in Paris on November 3rd. Duke will battle the Baylor Bears, while Cal faces the Vandebilt Commodores in the second game.
Being picked 12th is impressive. Given the fact we have only one returning starter and so many newcomers. I guess that this is a vote of confidence for Coach Smith after what her team accomplished last season.