LOS ANGELES -- Cal State LA's women's basketball team, after an outstanding 2021-22 season, has been picked to finish second in the California Collegiate Athletic Association in a preseason poll of conference coaches released by the conference on Wednesday.

The Golden Eagles matched the highest conference finish in program history after their third-place showing last season and they also won a game in the CCAA Tournament for the first time since 2014. Cal State LA was 14-13 overall and 12-7 in conference play. The Golden Eagles finished in sole possession of third place for the first time since 1987-88, which was well before the CCAA expanded to its current state. The Golden Eagles finished in a five-way tie for third in 2014.

Cal State San Marcos was picked to finish first in the conference and got 10 of 12 first-place votes and 142 points. Cal State LA picked up one first-place vote and was second with 128 points, while Cal State Dominguez picked up the other first-place vote and was third with 111 points.

Cal Poly Pomona (103 points), Chico State (87 points) and Cal State East Bay (73 points) round out the top six. The top six teams will qualify for the CCAA Tournament, which will be held this year at Stanislaus State.

Cal Poly Humboldt, Stanislaus State, San Francisco State, Sonoma State, Cal State San Bernardino and Cal State Monterey Bay complete the poll.

The Golden Eagles have a deep and talented roster that includes five of the six leading scorers from last year's team as well as a recruiting class to looks to be one of the best in recent memory.

Cal State LA has three players on the conference's preseason watch list of returning players who earned first or second-team All-CCAA honors last year. The Golden Eagles boast the conference's last two Freshmen of the Year, Nicole Flennaugh (2020) and Lily Buggs (2022). Both players earned first-team All-CCAA honors last season. Flennaugh was the conference's top 3-point shooter with 90 makes (3.5 per game), which set a new program single-season record. She was fourth in the conference in scoring with 15.2 points per game. 

Buggs, meanwhile, had a sensational freshman season, finishing fifth in the conference in scoring with 14.5 points per game and earning All-Tournament honors at the CCAA tournament after two tremendous games against Sonoma State and Cal State East Bay.

Jada Johnson also returns after earning second-team All-CCAA honors last season. She led the conference with 10.3 rebounds per game and was fourth on the team in scoring with 8.1 points per game.

Anai Washington, who earned All-CCAA honorable mention last year after averaging 10.0 points and 6.0 rebounds per game, also returns as does Raya Smith, who started 23 of 26 games for the Golden Eagles last season as a freshman and averaged 5.5 points and 2.9 rebounds per contest.

Cal State LA has eight regulars in all returning, including Yesenia Smith, Iyanna Lamb and Melena Bland, all of whom played in at least 24 games for the team last year.

The Golden Eagles are also excited about a recruiting class that includes both experience and youth. Cal State LA welcomes transfers Tiara Scott (Sacramento State), Paola Roa (Irvine Valley College), Ashley Orozco (Moorpark College) and freshmen Silivia Fonongaloa (Salesian College Prep), Olivia Hodges (Pasadena High School), Nevaeh Asiasi (Salesian College Prep) and Amaya Fuentes (Ventura High School)

Cal State LA will kick off a three-game exhibition season against NCAA Division I competition on Sunday at USC at 3 p.m. and continues next Wednesday at the University of Arizona at 6 p.m. and next Friday at Pepperdine at 7 p.m. The Golden Eagles begin their regular season on Nov. 11 at Concordia in Irvine at 11 a.m.