MELBOURNE, Fla. – The Sunshine State Conference Women’s Basketball Preseason Coaches’ Poll was released earlier Wednesday afternoon, with Nova Southeastern being selected for fifth in the league. Tampa was tabbed for the top spot, earning 91 points and nine of the 11 first-place votes.
NSU makes its long-awaited return to the court this season, following a season-long hiatus from action due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Nova Southeastern advanced to the Sunshine State Conference tournament in 2019-20.
The Sharks most recent Sunshine State Conference Regular Season title came in 2015-16, after being selected as the Regular Season Champion. NSU advanced to the NCAA Tournament for the fourth consecutive season that season, as well.
The majority of SSC teams will start their seasons with non-conference games on Friday, November 12th. Nova Southeastern and Tampa head to Billings, Montana, a week earlier to compete in the D2CCA Tipoff Classic at the Trailhead. League play begins on Saturday, November 20th, with 10 of 11 teams in action.
Nova Southeastern returns to the Shark Tank on Fri., Nov. 12, facing off against St. Augustine’s at 6 p.m.
Below are the full results of the 2021-22 SSC preseason women’s basketball coaches’ poll. Coaches are not allowed to vote for their teams (points: 10-9-8-7-6-5-4-3-2-1, first-place votes in parentheses).
2021-22 SSC Women’s Basketball Preseason Coaches’ Poll
| Rank | School | Total Votes |
| 1 | Tampa | 91 (9) |
| 2 | Florida Southern | 83 (1) |
| 3 | Eckerd | 76 (1) |
| 4 | Saint Leo | 67 |
| 5 | Nova Southeastern | 60 |
| 6 | Barry | 53 |
| 7 | Palm Beach Atlantic | 37 |
| T8 | Embry-Riddle | 36 |
| T8 | Florida Tech | 36 |
| T8 | Lynn | 36 |
| 11 | Rollins | 30 |
