NEW HAVEN, Conn. (October 22, 2025) – Holy Family University has been chosen for first place in the 2025-26 Central Atlantic Collegiate Conference Women’s Basketball Preseason Coaches Poll. The voting was conducted by the conference’s 11 head coaches and the results were announced today by CACC Commissioner Dan Mara.
For the first time in a full season since the 2006-07 campaign, the CACC women’s basketball regular season will not be contested in a divisional format. The conference’s 11 teams will play a double round-robin schedule. Each school will have 20 league games, and the top eight teams in the standings at season’s end will qualify for the CACC Championship tournament.
Holy Family (26-7, 13-3 CACC in 2024-25) won the 2025 CACC championship and reached the final of last year’s NCAA Division II East Regional Championship tournament. The Tigers received seven first-place votes and 96 total points in the poll.
Thomas Jefferson University was selected for second place with 91 points, including three first-place votes. Jefferson captured the South Division regular-season title a year ago and was a CACC Tournament finalist and NCAA at-large selection. Caldwell University received the final first-place vote and was chosen for third place with 80 points, while Dominican University New York, last year’s North Division winner, was fourth at 65 points.
Chestnut Hill College and Felician University tied for fifth place, each with 60 points. The No. 7 spot went to Post University with 53 points, followed by the 42 points of eighth-place Goldey-Beacom College. Rounding out the balloting were Georgian Court University (26 points), the University of Bridgeport (22), and Wilmington University (10).
The 2025-26 regular season begins on Friday, November 14, with conference action slated to start on Tuesday, November 25. The CACC Tournament quarterfinals will be held on Tuesday, March 3, 2026, at campus sites, and Caldwell will host the semifinals and finals on March 7-8, 2026, at the George R. Newman Center. The CACC champion will automatically qualify for the 2026 NCAA Division II East Region Championship.
2025-26 CACC WOMEN'S BASKETBALL PRESEASON COACHES' POLL
(First-place votes in parentheses)
1. Holy Family University 96 pts (7)
2. Thomas Jefferson University 91 (3)
3. Caldwell University 80 (1)
4. Dominican University New York 65
5. Chestnut Hill College 60
Felician University 60
7. Post University 53
8. Goldey-Beacom College 42
9. Georgian Court University 26
10. University of Bridgeport 22
11. Wilmington University 10
Founded in 1961, the Central Atlantic Collegiate Conference has been affiliated with NCAA Division II for 20 years. Conference institutions compete for championships in 17 sports – seven for men, nine for women, and one co-ed. The CACC contains 11 full members in Connecticut, Delaware, New Jersey, New York, and Pennsylvania. Membership includes the University of Bridgeport, Caldwell University, Chestnut Hill College, Dominican University New York, Felician University, Georgian Court University, Goldey-Beacom College, Holy Family University, Post University, Thomas Jefferson University, and Wilmington University.