TRAFFORD, Pa. - On Tuesday, the Presidents' Athletic Conference (PAC) announced its Preseason Poll and Players to Watch list for the upcoming 2025-26 Women's Basketball season.

Chatham was picked to finish second in the PAC South Division with 57 points in the poll. Washington & Jefferson (65 points) was the only team tabbed to finish ahead of the Cougars in the first year of divisional play. Bethany, Saint Vincent, Waynesburg, and Franciscan were slated to finish behind Chatham.
 
Five Cougar seniors were named as Players to Watch this season: guard Hannah Chenault, forward Alyssa Laukus, forward Madison Nereu, guard Julia Calvin and guard Maria Barela.

Chenault, an All-PAC Honorable Mention in 2024-25, is an elite shooter from distance. The East Berlin, Pa. native led the conference in both three-point field goal percentage (.391) and three-pointers made (70) last campaign.
 
Laukus was a major contributor in the paint on last year's Chatham squad. The Norwin product led the Cougars in blocks with 25 and her 139 rebounds were second-most on the team.
 
Nereu returns for a second season at Chatham following a campaign in which she paced the Cougars with 189 rebounds and had the second-most blocks on the squad with 10.
 
Calvin appeared in 26 of 27 games for Chatham in 2024-25 and knocked down the third-most three-pointers of any Cougar, shooting .329 from beyond the arc.
 
Barela will look to make an impact at Chatham after averaging 12.2 points per game and racking up 220 assists across three seasons at Maine Maritime Academy.
 
Women's Basketball begins its season on Saturday, Nov. 8 with a neutral site matchup against RIT with a 1 p.m. tip-off at Allegheny College.