St. Joseph’s women picked first, men sixth in preseason Atlantic 10 polls

WASHINGTON — For the first time in over two decades, St. Joseph’s women’s basketball was selected to finish first in the Atlantic 10 preseason coaches poll.

The Hawks were chosen as the preseason favorite unanimously, receiving all 14-first place votes. Under coach Cindy Griffin, St. Joe’s has put together 20-win seasons in four consecutive years. Last season, the Hawks finished their regular season 20-11 overall and 11-5 in A-10 play. They were ousted by Davidson in the quarterfinal of the conference tournament.

Hawks senior guard Gabby Casey received all-conference first team honors after averaging a team-high 15.7 points last season, alongside 6.2 rebounds and 3.1 assists. After doubling her scoring output from her sophomore season, the Lansdale Catholic graduate was named the conference’s most improved player.

Casey was not the only Hawk to receive recognition on Monday. Senior guard Aleah Snead, a graduate of Penn Charter, was named to the all-conference second team and preseason all-defensive team. Snead scored 11.6 points per game last season. Meanwhile, junior guard Rhian Stokes was a third team selection.

One name to watch for the Hawks this season is Deja Evans. The senior forward averaged 9.8 points and 6.4 rebounds with Drexel last season and previously starred at Archbishop Wood.

On the men’s side, St. Joe’s was selected to finish sixth out of the Atlantic 10’s 14 teams.

After starting slow under first-year coach Steve Donahue, the Hawks rattled off wins in 13 of their final 16 games of the regular season. They went on to make the A-10 tournament semifinals before being eliminated by Virginia Commonwealth. They accepted a bid to the NIT and won a game in the tournament for the first time in 20 years.

» READ MORE: Villanova men picked third, women second in preseason Big East polls; several players make all-conference team

Junior guard Jaiden Glover-Toscano was selected to the conference’s first-team. There was buzz that Glover-Toscano, who averaged 15.7 points, would transfer following last season, but the sharpshooter opted to stay. Transfer forward Sean Logan was named to the defensive team after notching a conference-high 2.4 blocks per game with Davidson last season.

Despite an impressive 2025-26 campaign, the La Salle women were selected to finish 10th in the conference.

Last season, the Explorers finished 19-14 overall and 10-8 in the A-10 — marking a significant uptick in play. In the previous two seasons, coach Mountain MacGillivray’s squad finished 18-45. A big reason why the team may have not been chosen higher is because of two key departures: Ashleigh Connor and Aryss Macktoon. The guards, who both transferred to high-major programs, ranked No. 1 and 2 on the Explorers in total scoring last season.

The Explorers did have two honorees on Monday’s poll. Junior Joanie Quinn, a product of Cardinal O’Hara, was named to the conference second team after averaging 11.2 points. Sophomore Kiara Williams was named to the third team. The forward put together an impressive freshman campaign last season, notching 9.6 points and 4.9 rebounds per game.

On the men’s side, La Salle was selected to finish 13th in the conference.

Last season, under first-year coach Darris Nichols, the injury-plagued Explorers finished 9-23 and 5-13 in A-10 play. The team was ranked the third-most injured team in Division I basketball and was eliminated by St. Bonaventure in the first round of the conference tournament.

» READ MORE: On both the men’s and women’s side, Drexel hoops believes it can do big things this season

The big story for the Explorers this offseason was the team’s retention of 6-foot-6 guard Rob Dockery. Reports indicated that Dockery, who scored 12.5 points per game last season, had entered the transfer portal. However, two weeks after the initial report, the school announced Dockery would return. He was named to the conference’s second team on Monday.