On Thursday the America East Conference announced their men’s and women’s coaches polls and preseason all-conference teams.  While it may only be October, and it is where you rank in March that matters, the one huge surprise of the announcements was that women’s basketball guard Michelle Kurowski was left off the preseason coaches poll despite their being a tie that listed seven players on the team.

Last March Kurowski was left completely off the all-conference teams, despite averaging nearly 13 points per game and six rebounds per game.  It was no surprise to see first-team All-AEC guard Chantell Alford be an unanimous selection, along with Binghamton’s Andrea Holmes and Stony Brook’s Kirsten Jeter, who have been dominant since coming into the AEC, but despite having played just two seasons Kurowski is the second-leading active scorer in the AEC.

Kurowski should be due for a much bigger season as both Carlee Cassidy (13.3 ppg) and Katie Brooks (8.3 ppg) now gone as she is likely the go-to-scorer on the team now.

Men’s Pre-Season Poll:
1. Boston U 62 (6)
2. Stony Brook 57 (2)
3. Maine 51 (1)
4. New Hampshire 41
5. Vermont 35
6. Hartford 24
7. Binghamton 23
8. Albany 22
9. UMBC 9

Points (First places votes)

Men’s All-Conference Team:
Greer Wright, Binghamton*
John Holland, Boston U*
Jake O’Brien, Boston U
Gerald McLemore, Maine
Evan Fjeld, Vermont

*unanimous selection

Women’s Coaches Poll:
1. Boston U 64 (8)
2. Hartford 56 (1)
3. Binghamton 50
4. Stony Brook 39
5. UMBC 37
6. Vermont 30
7. Albany 18
8. Maine 17
9. New Hampshire 13

Women’s All-Conference Team:
Andrea Holmes, Binghamton*
Chantell Alford, Boston U*
Kirsten Jeter, Stony Brook*
Mo Moran, Boston U
Alex Young, Boston U
Jackie Smith, Hartford
Denise Beliveau, New Hampshire

Further coverage of these will be featured in The Retriever Weekly, Volume 45, Issue 8.