Unsurprisingly, they’re the conference favorites again.
James Madison was picked to win the Colonial Athletic Association by league coaches and sports information directors, the CAA announced Tuesday as part of its virtual media day.
“That’s who we are,” third-year JMU coach Curt Cignetti said. “That’s what we do. We win.”
The Dukes, who have won 36 of their last 38 games against CAA competition, received 15 of 24 first-place votes and also swept the individual preseason recognitions.
JMU fifth-year senior running back Percy Agyei-Obese was named Preseason Offensive Player of the Year and Dukes fifth-year senior defensive lineman Mike Greene was named Preseason Defensive Player of the Year.
“I’ve been working hard throughout my career just to be the best player I could possibly be,” Greene said, “so winning it means a lot especially after playing a different a position.”
Greene played defensive end out of necessity because of injuries within the defensive line this past spring, but he said he will return to his natural position of defensive tackle this coming fall.
In the spring, JMU won the South Division when the conference split into two as a result of schools’ desire to cut down on travel because of the pandemic. Delaware captured the North Division title and the league’s automatic qualifying berth into the FCS playoffs. In the spring, the Blue Hens were 4-0 in the CAA and Dukes were 3-0 in the CAA. They did not play against each other.
Both programs reached the national semifinals, with JMU falling at Sam Houston and Delaware losing at South Dakota State. It was the fourth semifinal appearance in the last five seasons for the Dukes, who reached the FCS championship game in 2019, 2017 and 2016.
“Guys come here expecting that,” Cignetti said. “There’s a high standard here and expectation level and a great culture here.”
Delaware, which earned seven first-place votes, was picked to finish second in the CAA this fall. Villanova and Richmond are projected to finish third and fourth. The Wildcats and the Spiders were positioned to possibly reach the FCS playoffs during the final week of the spring season when they lost to Delaware and JMU, respectively.
New Hampshire, Rhode Island, Towson, Albany, Maine and Stony Brook round out the top ten in that order while William & Mary was picked to finish 11th and Elon was picked to finish last. Towson was the only CAA school not to attempt playing in the spring, so when the Tigers open their fall slate on Sept. 4 in non-conference action against Morgan State, it’ll be their first game since Nov. 23, 2019 when they lost to Elon.
In addition to Agyei-Obese and Greene, JMU placed five others – junior wide receiver Kris Thornton, senior offensive lineman Liam Fornadel, senior safety MJ Hampton, senior kicker Ethan Ratke and senior punter Harry O’Kelly – on the Preseason All-CAA team. Freshman wide receiver Antwane Wells Jr. and senior linebacker Kelvin Azanama earned honorable mention accolades.
Greene was last season’s Co-Defensive Player of the Year, sharing the award with Richmond’s Kobie Turner. Agyei-Obese ran for 1,216 yards in 2019 and for 102.4 per game in the spring.
CAA Preseason Poll
1. James Madison (15)
2. Delaware (7)
3. Villanova
4. Richmond (2)
5. New Hampshire
6. Rhode Island
7. Towson
8. Albany
9. Maine
10. Stony Brook
11. William & Mary
12. Elon
