Women's Basketball | 10/8/2025 11:55:44 AM
NORFOLK, Va., October 8, 2025 – North Carolina Central graduate forward Morgan Callahan has been named the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference (MEAC) Women's Basketball Preseason Player of the Year, the league announced today. Howard University was selected as the preseason favorite to win the 2025-26 MEAC women's basketball title.
All awards were voted on by the conference's head coaches and sports information directors.
Callahan, a standout for the Eagles, returns after an impressive 2024-25 campaign in which she ranked among the MEAC's top performers. She averaged 12.5 points per game (9th in the MEAC) and 8.3 rebounds (3rd in the MEAC) while recording 48 blocks (3rd in the MEAC) and 43 steals (15th in the MEAC). The graduate forward started all 29 games, averaging 35.7 minutes per contest (3rd in the MEAC) and shooting 41 percent from the field. Her season highlights included an 18-rebound performance against South Carolina State, tied for the third-best single-game mark in the conference last season, and four games with four or more blocked shots.
Howard earned the top spot in the preseason poll after receiving 118 total points and 10 first-place votes. The Bison finished the 2024-25 season with a 22-11 overall record and a 12-2 mark in MEAC play, placing second in the regular-season standings. For the fifth consecutive year, Howard advanced to the MEAC Tournament Championship Game, narrowly falling to Norfolk State, 51-46 last season. The Bison finished last season ranked second in both scoring offense and scoring defense and were again predicted near the top of the standings after sharing the No. 1 preseason ranking last year.
Reigning MEAC Tournament and regular-season champion Norfolk State was picked to finish second, earning 107 points and four first-place votes. Maryland Eastern Shore placed third with 93 points, followed by North Carolina Central in fourth (68 points, one first-place vote). Rounding out the preseason poll were Morgan State (5th, 62 points), Coppin State (6th, 60 points), Delaware State (7th, 41 points), and South Carolina State (8th, 27 points, one first-place vote).
Joining Callahan on the Preseason All-MEAC First Team are Ja'la Bannerman (Morgan State), Nile Miller (Howard), Anjanae Richardson (Norfolk State), and Zennia Thomas (Howard).
The 2025 MEAC Basketball Tournament is set for March 11-14, 2026, at the Norfolk Scope Arena in Norfolk, Va.
2025-26 MEAC Women's Basketball Preseason Predicted Order of Finish
- Howard (10) – 118 pts
- Norfolk State (4) – 107 pts
- Maryland Eastern Shore – 93 pts
- North Carolina Central (1) – 68 pts
- Morgan State – 62 pts
- Coppin State – 60 pts
- Delaware State – 41 pts
- South Carolina State (1) – 27 pts
2025-26 Preseason All-MEAC Teams
First Team
- Ja'la Bannerman, Morgan State
- Morgan Callahan, North Carolina Central
- Nile Miller, Howard
- Anjanae Richardson, Norfolk State
- Zennia Thomas, Howard
Second Team
- Brianna Barnes, Maryland Eastern Shore
- Da'Brya Clark, Norfolk State
- Jasha Clinton, Norfolk State
- Shakiria Foster, North Carolina Central *
- Ericka Huggins, Delaware State
- Ashanti Lynch, Maryland Eastern Shore *
Third Team
- Jael Butler, Morgan State
- Aniya Finger, North Carolina Central
- Aysia Hinton, North Carolina Central
- Gabrielle Johnson, Morgan State
- Jazmine Spencer, Norfolk State
(*Denotes a tie)
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