Jackson State predicted to win 2023-24 SWAC basketball title

BY HBCU SPORTS

BIRMINGHAM, Ala.- The SWAC announced its 2023-24 Women’s Basketball Predicted Order of Finish and Preseason All-SWAC teams and individual award winners during the league’s media day event on Tuesday morning. The all-conference honors and preseason polls were voted on by the league’s head coaches and sports information directors.

Jackson State was tabbed as the favorite heading into the season. The Lady Tigers were followed by Southern (2^nd), Arkansas-Pine Bluff (3^rd), Alabama A&M (4^th), and Alabama State (5^th) to round out the top five preseason poll selections.

Prairie View A&M (6^th), Bethune-Cookman (7^th), Grambling State (8^th), Alcorn State (9^th), Florida A&M (10^th), Texas Southern (11^th), and Mississippi Valley State (12^th) were tabbed to finish 6-12 respectively.

JSU led all preseason poll selections, garnering 11 first-place votes, followed by Southern (5), Alabama A&M (1), Arkansas-Pine Bluff (4), Grambling State (2), and Prairie View A&M (1), with each tallying one first-place vote.

Jackson State’s Ti’lan Boler was named Preseason Player of the Year, while her fellow teammate Angel Jackson claimed Preseason Defensive Player of the Year recognition.

Boler was a standout for Jackson State in her third year, as she appeared in 31 games last season. She averaged 12.6 points and 4.9 rebounds a game. Boler notched 21 double-figure scoring games last season for JSU, including three double-doubles. She shot 40.4 percent from the field and 83.7 percent from the free throw line this past season.

Jackson was the key defensive presence for a Jackson State Tigers Women’s Basketball team that held opponents to the fewest points per game in conference play (59.1 ppg). She led the conference in blocks per game with 2.4 blocks per outing.

The complete list of the preseason poll rankings and all-conference selections and individual awards winners is listed below.

2023-24 SWAC Women’s Basketball Preseason Poll

1. Jackson State 267 (11)
2. Southern 245 (5)
3. Arkansas-Pine Bluff 216 (4)
4. Alabama A&M 200
5. Alabama State 190
6. Prairie View A&M 174 (1)
7. Bethune-Cookman 144
8. Grambling State 128 (2)
9. Alcorn State 119
10. Florida A&M 79
11. Texas Southern 66
12. Mississippi Valley State 44

First-place votes listed in parentheses

2023-24 SWAC Women’s Basketball Preseason Awards

Preseason Player of the Year

Ti’lan Boler, Jackson State

Preseason Defensive Player of the Year

Angel Jackson, Jackson State

Preseason All-SWAC First Team

Ti’lan Boler, Jackson State
Chanel Wilson, Bethune-Cookman
Destiny Brown, Alcorn State
Genovea Johnson, Southern
Coriah Beck, Arkansas-Pine Bluff

Preseason All-SWAC Second Team

Angel Jackson, Jackson State
Daphane White, Jackson State
Chloe Fleming, Southern
Maori Davenport, Arkansas-Pine Bluff
Ahriahna Grizzle, Florida A&M

Courtesy: SWAC