LILBURN, Ga. – After being named the preseason favorites in the South Atlantic Conference, Carson-Newman was the only league unit to be nationally ranked entering the 2022-23 season coming in at No. 9 in the Women's Basketball Coaches Association poll released on Tuesday.
The Lady Eagles are the highest ranked team in Southeast Region with the Peach Belt's Georgia Southwestern at No. 14 and North Georgia, the reigning region champions, at No. 18. Wingate received 27 votes, Lander produced 26 and Columbus State tallied six to round out the recognition for the region.
The preseason prognostication is the second time in the last five years that the program starts in the top 10 opening the 2018-19 campaign ranked third, tied with Tusculum for the highest position in the history of the league. This year makes it back-to-back years in the preseason poll, third time in the last five and fourth in school history.
When the year begins, the Orange and Blue will enter their 24th week ranked in the top 10 in any major poll. Current members of the league have a grand total of 32 with no school hitting double figures. (Limestone was ranked in the top 10 for 37 weeks but all came as members of Conference Carolinas). All told, C-N has been ranked in the top 25 for 65 weeks, second to Wingate's 67 for the most among SAC programs.
In coach Mike Mincey's tenure, the school has been ranked for 42 weeks holding a 51-16 record when playing as a top 25 club. Last year, the Lady Eagles spent 11 weeks either in the top 25 or in the receiving votes category of the polls.
Earlier Tuesday, the Lady Eagles were picked as the SAC preseason favorites for the fourth time in the last five years after reaching a fifth straight NCAA Tournament. Carson-Newman has led the league in scoring in seven straight years and won the SAC Tournament by a record margin and throttled Wingate by 16 in the opening round of the NCAA Tournament.
Lindsey Taylor (Maryville, Tenn.) and Braelyn Wykle (Greeneville, Tenn.), a pair of first-team All-SAC picks, anchor the returning group that features six of the team's top seven scorers.
It will be another dandy of a matchup to open the season with the Lady Eagles clashing with Lander at 3 p.m. from Aiken, S.C. on Nov. 12. Broadcast coverage starts at 2:45 p.m. on 106.3 WPFT-FM and cneagles.com/live with "The AEC Countdown to Tip-Off" on the Eagle Sports Network.
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