NEWTOWN, Pa. – The Stevens Institute of Technology women's basketball team earned the top spot in the Middle Atlantic Conference (MAC) Freedom preseason coaches' poll, as unveiled Thursday.
Stevens collected four of the eight first-place votes and amassed 45 points, two points and two first-place votes ahead of Arcadia, whom the Ducks beat on the road in last season's MAC Freedom semifinals. Lebanon Valley, last season's regular season champions, earned the final two first-place votes and totaled 37 points, two points ahead of fourth-place DeSales.
Head coach
Megan Haughey and company finished 2024-25 with a 19-9 record, going 11-3 in conference play, then knocked off Arcadia and DeSales (six-time reigning champions) for the team's first MAC Freedom Tournament championship.
Leyla Castro returns for her senior year after a second straight all-conference season in which she ranked among the conference leaders in scoring average (13.7), assists (4.8 per game), and steals (2.6 per game). Castro is one of five returners who were among the team's top seven scoring leaders last season, including
Olivia Schubiger, who dropped a career-high 22 in the NCAA Tournament, and
Dorothy Loffredo, who averaged 9.6 points, 5.8 rebounds, and 2.2 assists per game.
Joining the returners is an eight-woman first-year class looking to help the Ducks repeat as conference champions.
The entire coaches' poll can be found below:
| Rank |
Team |
Points |
1st Place Votes |
| 1 |
STEVENS |
45 |
4 |
| 2 |
Arcadia |
43 |
2 |
| 3 |
Lebanon Valley |
37 |
2 |
| 4 |
DeSales |
35 |
|
| 5 |
FDU-Florham |
22 |
|
| 6 |
Misericordia |
18 |
|
| 7 |
King's |
17 |
|
| 8 |
Delaware Valley |
7 |
|
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