Women’s Basketball Tabbed as Favorite in MAAC Preseason Poll
The Fairfield women’s basketball team has been chosen as the preseason favorite in the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference, as voted upon by the conference’s 11 head coaches. The Stags, who have posted a winning MAAC record in each of their eight seasons under Head Coach Joe Frager, also boasted a pair of Preseason All-MAAC honorees in Casey Smith ’17 and Kristin Schatzlein ’16.
Smith was a First Team Preseason All-MAAC selection after finishing her 2014-15 campaign just three points shy of the Stags’ all-time rookie scoring record. She notched 11.9 points per game last season and was named to the All-MAAC Third Team and the All-MAAC Rookie Team
A Second Team Preseason All-MAAC recipient, Schatzlein was also named to the All-MAAC Third Team last season as the Stags’ primary shooting threat. The senior ranks sixth all-time at Fairfield with 156 three-pointers after sinking a team-best 66 treys in 2014-15.
Head Coach Sydney Johnson and the Fairfield men’s basketball team were tabbed for eighth place in the preseason poll. The Stags are set to be led by Marcus Gilbert ’16, who was recognized by the conference’s head coaches as a First Team Preseason All-MAAC honoree.
Gilbert, who received a berth to the All-MAAC Third Team following the 2014-15 regular season, ranked fifth in the MAAC last season with a team-high 16.4 points per game. Gilbert placed second among his teammates with 5.6 rebounds per game, while his 25 steals were a team standard. He became the latest member of the 1,000-point club last winter and enters 2015-16 ranked 26th all-time at Fairfield with 1,142 career points.
The Fairfield men’s and women’s basketball teams open their respective 2015-16 seasons on Friday, Nov. 13. The men will take the court in New Britain, Connecticut, kicking off the Connecticut 6 Classic at 3 p.m. against Yale, while the women will be on campus at Alumni Hall to host La Salle at 7 p.m.
Fairfield men’s basketball plays its first home game on Saturday, Nov. 21 as the Stags host a doubleheader at Webster Bank Arena against crosstown rival Sacred Heart.
Season tickets for men’s and women’s basketball – as well as a combo pack that includes tickets to every regular-season game at Webster Bank Arena and Alumni Hall this season – are now available. Visit or call the Fairfield Athletics Ticket Office at (203) 254-4136.
