1. Vermont (25-7, 14-2 AE)

The Catamounts enter the 2023-24 campaign as preseason title favorites for the first time in fourteen years. This will be the first time that Vermont has been selected first in the America East (AE) preseason poll in six seasons under Vermont head coach Alisa Kresge. The Catamounts ranked No. 3 in last year’s AE preseason poll and ended up with a 25-7 record, earning a share of the AE regular season title. Vermont dominated the AE playoffs, winning their 17th straight game in the championship game against Albany. Senior forward Anna Olson received the preseason all-conference honor for the third consecutive year. Last season saw Olson lead AE in field goal percentage, averaging 11.4 points, 1.5 assists and 0.9 blocks while leading the team with 6.5 rebounds per game and was rightfully named to the 2023-24 AE first-team all-conference. Graduate student guard Emma Utterback earned her second consecutive preseason all-conference honor this season after being named to the AE all-conference first team a season ago, having ranked fifth in the conference in scoring at 14 points per game last season, in which she led AE play with 4.2 assists per game while shooting 40.9 percent. She was named the 2022-23 AE championship most outstanding player as well for her performance in the AE tournament. Vermont will be the team to beat in the AE this year as the Catamounts have all the pieces to make a deep run in the AE tournament once again.

2. Maine (16-14, 11-5 AE)

The Black Bears will be bringing back all five starters and their eight top scorers from their 2022-23 campaign, including junior forward Adrianna Smith, the reigning AE player of the year and graduate student guard Anne Simon, who were both selected to the preseason AE all-conference team. The Black Bears finished with a 16-14 overall record, and 11-5 in conference play, ultimately coming up short against Albany in the AE semifinals. Smith led the conference in both scoring, averaging 17.9 points per game and rebounding, grabbing 9.5 rebounds a game while adding 16 double-doubles on the season. Simon, a 2021 and 2022 AE first-team selection, also returns a year after averaging 13.6 points and 4.1 rebounds in 14 games last season. Graduate student guard Anna Kahelin, who was injured in the Black Bears season opener will also make a return for her graduate season. Maine opens its season on Monday, Nov. 6 with a trip to Quinnipiac before meeting La Salle on Thursday, Nov. 9. Maine will then host UMass on Nov. 12 for their home opener at Memorial Gymnasium in Orono, Maine. The Black Bears will be a formidable opponent once again in the AE and will look to put all of its pieces together in search of an AE title.

3. UAlbany (22-11, 14-2 AE)

The Great Danes were picked third in the preseason AE poll, with returning stat leader — senior guard Kayla Cooper —being named to the preseason AE all-conference team. The Great Danes finished the season as the co-regular season champions, tied with Vermont for first place in the conference. The Great Danes won 20 of their 30 regular season matches, 12 of them being wins against AE opponents. Cooper, a Fredrick, Maryland native, amassed an impressive 15.2 points per game and racked up an average of 8.3 rebounds per game. While doing so, she ranked second in the AE conference in points and the top five for rebounds. The Great Danes will look to build off their 2022-23 success and look to top their second-place finish in last year’s season. Albany is set to begin the 2023-24 slate on Monday, Nov. 6 at Merrimack. The Great Danes will likely be a strong contender in the AE once again and will be a team to watch this year.

4. Binghamton

5. NJIT (13-16, 8-8 AE)

The Highlanders finished below .500 for the second time in their three years as a member of the AE Conference. For a team that finished at .500 in conference play, sophomore guard Alejandra Zuniga was a bright spot on the floor. Zuniga averaged 12.3 points per game with a .420 field goal percentage and 37 steals. As a result, Zuniga was named AE Rookie of the Year and she will look to build on her strong freshman campaign with the Highlanders. Two-time AE third-team all-conference graduate student guard Kenna Squier will also return to NJIT for her fifth year. Squier has been a prominent player on the court for NJIT for several years now, having started all 105 in her Highlanders career, averaging 11 points per game and 5.2 rebounds per game, while shooting 49.8 percent from the field. The Highlanders will look to carry off of their successes in the past three seasons as a member of the AE when they begin their 2023-24 campaign on Nov. 6 in West Point, New York against Army before returning to Newark for their first home game against Merrimack. Despite being picked to finish fifth in AE, NJIT has been trending in the right direction so don’t be surprised if they climb its way up this list by the end of the year.

6. UMBC (14-15, 10-6 AE)

The Retrievers were knocked out of the AE tournament in the AE semifinals at the hands of the eventual champions in Vermont. Last year, UMBC shot 47.2 percent from the field and 40 percent from beyond the arc. Ultimately, UMBC finished under .500 for the 16th consecutive season. The Retrievers, who advanced to their first AE semifinal game since 2015, collected the highest win total since the 2016-17 season when the team won 15 games. Despite having arguably the best offense in the AE, the Retrievers were unable to reciprocate their abilities on the defensive end as they surrendered an average of 66.1 points per game to opponents last season which was the worst in the AE. Junior guard Laycee Drake will be making a return as the team’s highest returning scorer as she averaged 7.9 points per game last year. UMBC also welcomed six newcomers who are poised to contribute to the UMBC’s lackluster defense. The Retrievers will look to exceed their projected sixth-place finish this upcoming season.

7. Bryant (9-21, 3-13 AE)

The Bulldogs struggled mightily in their first year in the AE conference, cobbling a measly three conference wins — including one against UNH at home, one against UMass Lowell and a sneaky win against NJIT at home. A bright spot in the Bulldogs’ debut season was senior forward/center Mariona Planes Fortuny, who earned AE second-team all-conference and all-defensive team honors. Fortuny hails from Bellpuig, Spain and recorded twenty-three 10-plus scoring efforts and 10 20-plus scoring games. She has also tallied 455 points this season, which ranks seventh all-time. Fortuny leads the team in field goal percentage, shooting 46.9 percent from the floor and points per game, averaging 15.6 points per game, field goals made per game with 5.7, free throw-attempts with 4.9 and free throws made with 118. Fortuny and her teammates look forward to a clean slate but with little direction for the future, Bryant’s struggles are bound to continue as the team continues to rebuild for the future.

8. New Hampshire (7-21, 2-14 AE)

The Wildcats finished last in the AE last year as its offense struggled for the majority of the year. UNH averaged just 53.6 points per game, the lowest total in the AE last season. The Wildcats will return four of five starters from last year’s team including sophomore guard Avery O’Connor, who was the second-leading scorer for the team, averaging 12.0 points per game while also grabbing an average of 6.1 boards per game. The Wildcats finished their 2022-23 campaign with a 55-49 loss to UMass Lowell in the final game of the regular season as they failed to make the AE postseason. A notable loss for UNH is senior guard Brooke Kane, who started and played in all 28 Wildcat games last year, leading the team in blocks with 24 and averaging 11.8 points per game. UNH added four newcomers to the team for the upcoming season including freshman guard Maggie Cavanaugh, freshman forward Sharmela Reid and junior guard Clara Gomez who will look to make an impact in the upcoming season. With a subpar offense, UNH is bound to struggle this season and will likely finish in the bottom half of the AE once again

9. UMass Lowell (5-22, 4-12 AE)

The River Hawks finished seventh in the AE last season, their first season under .500 since 2021-22 and their first with less than 10 wins since 2018-19, when the team mustered just seven victories. Last season, they averaged 53.3 points per game as a team, 32.6 rebounds per game and averaged nearly two fewer steals per game than their opponents. UMass Lowell added eight newcomers to the 2023-24 squad, five freshmen and three transfer students, to boost the depth that was absent on the River Hawks’ bench last year. The freshmen include forward Rayne Durant, and guards Abbey Lindsey, Maddie Rice, Gabby Ross and Cire Worley. Sophomore guard Sophie Baydanov, redshirt junior guard Sydney Watkins and junior forward Alex Gitchenko join UMass Lowell for its upcoming title quest. At Moorhead State last season, Baydanov made 27 appearances with two starts. She averaged 3.3 points and 1.3 rebounds for a total of 90 points, 36 rebounds, 10 steals and seven assists. In two seasons at Miami University, Watkins made 44 appearances and five starts, averaging 2.1 rebounds and 1.7 points per game. In 29 games in 2022-23, she tallied 83 rebounds, 68 points and 33 steals, shooting 37 percent from the field. Gitchenko, who previously played for Georgia State, made 39 appearances and 20 starts. She averaged 3.3 points and 2.6 rebounds per game in her two years at GSU. Despite making an effort to revamp its roster, the River Hawks will most likely not be in contention for an AE title, earning the last place spot in this year’s poll.