City of Basketball Love

CoBL Staff (@hooplove215)
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Who’s ready for some college hoops?

Okay, the start of the 2023-24 season — CoBL’s 11th of coverage, and our first as partners with the Philadelphia Inquirer — is still six weeks away. But the first day where Division I programs can officially start their preseason regimen is always when we put our preseason awards, starting with the Big 5 women (today) and men (tomorrow).

The offseason was one of significant turnover for the six teams in the Big 5; two-thirds of last year’s all-city first team is gone, and there isn't a team in the city that doesn't have at least one major piece to replace. But there's plenty of talent back in the city, and a few players who were on the outside looking in last year should be significant factors in 2023-24.

Without further ado, our picks for our Big 5 women’s preseason awards:

2023-24 Big 5 WBB Preseason Player of the Year
Talya Brugler (Jr. | Saint Joseph’s) 

After a couple years of Maddy Siegrist dominance, the field for the area women’s player of the year is much more even — just about everybody on our preseason first team has an argument as to why she should be our pick. But there’s no doubt Brugler has the strongest case: the 6-foot-1 forward from Nazareth (Pa.) has been a major piece for the Hawks since the first game of her freshman year, and has only gotten better and better since. The high-post specialist has a reliable mid-range jumper, a never-ending motor on both ends and the ability to get to the rack and finish against just about anybody.

After averaging 10.6 ppg and 5.7 rpg in her first year of collegiate basketball, Brugler took a significant step forward as a sophomore: her 16.7 ppg are the highest of any returning player in the city, and she did it while improving her shooting numbers from 50.4% to 52.6%; according to Basketball Reference, her individual offensive and defensive ratings both improved as well. She only failed to hit double figures three times last season, topping out with a 34-point outing against Davidson.

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Preseason All-Big 5 First Team
Molly Masciantonio (Gr. | La Salle)
The outlier on an Explorers roster that’s largely young and lacking Division I hoops experience, Masciantonio has no shortage of it as the 5-10 point guard enters her sixth year of college hoops and five with the Explorers. The former Archbishop Carroll standout, who started her career at Holy Family — she got back the transfer year she sat out in 2019-20, plus the COVID season — led the nation in assist to turnover ratio (4.72:1) by a wide margin, averaging 6.0 ppg, 4.5 apg and 2.6 rpg, and she’s a top-notch defender as well (2.1 spg each of the last two years).

Aleah Nelson (Sr. | Temple)
One of the top scorers in the CAA for a couple years at Towson, Nelson brought her electrifying game right with her to Temple as she followed head coach Diane Richardson north on I-95. The 5-6 lead guard averaged 15.4 ppg, 4.4 apg and 3.3 rpg as she played more than 37.5 mpg, shouldering a massive load for an Owls squad shorthanded by injuries and dismissals; she played all 40 minutes nine times and never saw less than 32 minutes of court time. Nelson hit the 20-point mark seven times, topping out with a 33-point outing in a win over Duquesne. Back for one final season of college hoops, she should have much more support this time around.

Jordan Obi (Sr. | Penn)
A second team All-Ivy League selection the last two years, Obi is now the primary option for the Quakers following Kayla Padilla’s graduation. Obi lost her freshman year to COVID, but enters her senior year well within striking distance of 1,000 points (729) after averaging 13.3 ppg over her first two seasons. The 6-1 forward actually had a higher scoring average as a freshman (14.0 ppg) than as a sophomore (12.6), but that was because the Quakers had more offensive firepower; all of her efficiency numbers went up, especially her 3-point shooting (28.8% to 35.5%), and she also improved her rebounding (7.6 rpg) and assist (2.0 apg) numbers.

Lucy Olsen (Jr. | Villanova)
There’s no doubt about who will be the Wildcats’ primary offensive option and on-court leader this year. Olsen’s been preparing for that role for two years, the 5-9 Spring-Ford product starting all 70 games in her college career, helping ‘Nova to a Sweet 16 appearance a year ago as Siegrist’s featured supporting act. As a sophomore, Olsen averaged 12.4 ppg, 4.1 rpg and 4.4 apg on .411/.356/.763 splits; it was certainly a good sign that she shined in the NCAA Tournament, scoring a career-high 23 points with 10 rebounds and seven assists against FGCU.

Laura Ziegler (Soph. | Saint Joseph’s)
For the second year in a row, the Hawks had a freshman forward come in and immediately become a major piece of theri success, giving them one of the best frontcourts in the A-10. A 6-2 post from Harlev, Denmark, Ziegler started 30 of 31 games in her rookie season, averaging 11.8 ppg, 8.7 rpg and 1.4 bpg to earn A-10 Rookie of the Year honors as well as Third Team All-A-10 honors. Even more impressively, her numbers improved in conference play (13.0 ppg, 10.0 rpg), with her top four scoring outings all coming in league play.

Preseason All-Big 5 Second Team
Maddie Burke (Sr. | Villanova)
The sharpshooting 6-0 wing from Central Bucks West filled her role perfectly in her first year on the Main Line, averaging 7.1 ppg and 2.5 rpg while hitting 36.1% (69-of-191) from deep; she’ll have an even bigger role this year.

Christina Dalce (Jr. | Villanova) 
A 6-2 post, Dalce took a massive step from her freshman to sophomore years at ‘Nova, averaging 7.3 ppg, 7.9 rpg and 2.3 bpg last season, establishing herself as an elite defensive presence.

Tiarra East (Jr. | Temple)
East certainly benefited from the new Temple coaching staff, the 5-10 guard going from 3.6 ppg as a freshman to averaging 12.0 ppg, 5.9 rpg, 1.6 spg and 1.4 apg in a hybrid starter/sixth woman role.

Tarriyonna Gary (Sr. | Temple)
Gary brought her sharpshooting act with her from Towson to Temple this past season, the 5-8 guard — who goes by ‘T-Mac’ — averaging 9.7 ppg and 4.0 rpg while hitting 37% (61-of-165) from deep.

Grace O’Neill (Soph. | Drexel)
It was a successful debut season on Market Street for the 5-7 Archbishop Carroll product, who averaged 7.0 ppg, 5.1 rpg and 1.8 apg on .423/.351/.743 splits while starting 30 games and playing nearly 34 minutes per contest.

Mackenzie Smith (Jr. | Saint Joseph’s)
Smith was the Hawks’ second-leading scorer last year (13.6 ppg), the 5-10 Canadian shooting guard adding 4.3 rpg and 1.5 apg though her 3-point percentage fell from 41% in the non-con to 25% in league play (31.6% on the season).

Honorable Mention
Kendall Currence (Gr. | Temple), Brooke Mullin (Gr. | Drexel), Hetta Saatman (Gr. | Drexel), Simone Sawyer (Soph. | Penn), Floor Toonders (Sr. | Penn), Chloe Welch (Gr. | Saint Joseph’s)

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Preseason Big 5 WBB Breakout Player
Grace O’Neill (Soph. | Drexel)

This award is designed for someone who goes from role player to star — and while that might not quite fit O’Neill’s situation, she has an opportunity to take a major step forward in her output for the Dragons this season. (Ed Note: It's also why our answer here isn't Lucy Olsen, who's almost certain to take Maddy Siegrist's place atop the 'Nova stat sheet, but who already averaged north of 12 ppg last year.) A 5-7 guard, O'Neill was one of the best high school players around in her years at Archbishop Carroll, then jumped right into a starting role for the Dragons, though with Keishana Washington and Kylie Lavelle around she was able to be the third offensive option and more easily acclimate to the college game. The Drexel coaches brought in some transfers to help compensate for the loss of that pair, but O’Neill should take the reins as the team’s go-to offensive option and will have the ball in her hands a lot more often.

Honorable Mention
Stina Almqvist (Jr. | Penn)
Emma Egan (Soph. | La Salle)
Julia Nystrom (Jr. | St. Joe’s)
Ines Piper (Jr. | Temple)
Emilee Tahata (Jr. | La Salle)

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Preseason Big 5 WBB Freshman of the Year
Nicole Melious (La Salle)

A 5-8 guard from Staten Island, Melious comes to Olney Ave. with quite a resume: the all-time leading scorer in New York City history, boys and girls combined, she scored 3,140 points — and did it in just three seasons at Susan E. Wagner High School. She joins a La Salle squad which has to replace seven of its eight leading scorers from a year ago, without a proven bucket-getter at the Division I level on the roster. There’s a huge opportunity for her to come right in and bring her high-scoring act right to the college courts, potentially as one featured piece in Explorers coach Mountain Macgillivray’s typically-deep rotation.

Honorable Mention
Gabby Casey (St. Joe’s)
Laine McGurk (Drexel)
Tristen Tayor (Temple)
Maddie Webber (Villanova)