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Bridgewater, NJ -- The 2025-26 NEC women’s basketball season is shaping up to be one defined by elite guard play, as all five members of the preseason All-NEC team is occupied by a member of the backcourt.
Each Preseason All-NEC selection hails from a different program, with three of the honorees picked unanimously by the league’s head coaches. The preseason honor adds to the resumés of these five ballers, all of whom are coming off impressive 2024-25 campaigns.
The trio of unanimous selections is highlighted by FDU sophomore
Ava Renninger (Yardley, PA/Archbishop Wood), who garnered a plethora of honors during her freshman campaign, including NEC Rookie of the Year and All-NEC first team laurels. The 5-6 guard was the lone freshman to land on the 2025 All-Conference first team. Now, as the defending NEC champion and unanimous preseason favorite, FDU looks to build around its rising star.
Fellow sophomore
Aiyanna Culver (Queens, NY/Christ the King) represents Chicago State on the list. The 5-3 guard landed on the All-Conference second team squad and the All-Rookie team during the Cougars’ debut season as an NEC member.
Stonehill junior
Brooke Paquette (Hudson, NH/Bishop Guertin), who was tabbed the NEC’s Most Improved Player a season ago, was a breakout player for the Skyhawks last season, earning an All-NEC second team nod for the Skyhawks.
Le Moyne sophomore
Eli Clark (Oakhurst, NJ/Ocean Township) inked her name in the All-Conference preseason lineup after turning in an All-Rookie-team worthy campaign in ‘24-25.
Mercyhurst senior
Jenna Van Schaik (Cincinnati, OH/Ursuline Academy), a double-digit scorer for the Lakers in their NEC debut campaign, rounded out the preseason quintet.
Culver, Renninger, Van Schaik and Paquette all ranked among the top-10 scorers in the conference last season.
The announcement of the team, along with the unveiling of the preseason coaches’ poll results, was made on Monday, October 20 as part of #NECWBB Media Week.
Renninger added an extra element to a deep FDU backcourt. She began her college career as the first player off the bench in FDU's first three games where she averaged 16 points per game. The Philadelphia Catholic League product became a fixture in the starting lineup at that point and hit her stride in conference play, scoring 10 or more points in 16 contests, including seven with 15-plus points.
Highlighted by a 28-point game against Mercyhurst and 25-point showcase against LIU, Renninger averaged 13.8 points per game, good for seventh in the NEC, while her 59 three-pointers ranked third in the NEC, averaging 1.8 per game. In addition to her scoring prowess, Renninger was a talented facilitator for the Knights, ranking in the top-10 with 2.67 assists per game. The shifty guard can was also one of the top rebounding guards in the NEC, pulling down 4.7 per game. Now, she moves from breakout rookie to program cornerstone as FDU looks to run it back following a perfect NEC campaign last season.
Culver was one of the catalysts for Chicago State in its initial NEC campaign. The New York City product was not only one of the top-scoring freshmen in the conference, but also among the best in the country. Her 14.6 points per game was 12th among all DI rookies and led all NEC freshman while ranking sixth overall. With 3.4 assists per game, Culver ranked fourth in the NEC and 16th nationally among freshmen. A disruptive force on the defensive end, she racked up 1.6 steals per game.
Most notably, Culver led Chicago State to an upset of third-seeded Central Connecticut in the NEC quarterfinals with 16 points and five assists. The 5-3 guard was a scoring machine as she notched double digit scoring outings in 25 of 30 games played, including 10 straight to end the year. Culver netted 20+ in four of those 25 contests, including a career-high 33 against CCSU on January 23. If Culver’s scoring is firing on all cylinders, the Cougars could make a deep run in March.
A do-it-all guard for the Skyhawks, Paquette is equally dangerous attacking the rim or setting up a cutting teammate. Significantly, the 5-8 guard led the NEC in with 4.4 assists per game last season. Paquette dropped seven or more dimes on eight occasions, including a career-best 10-assist performance against Chicago State on January 9, 2025. The Hudson, NH native is also the top returning free throw shooter in the league after knocking down 83.9 percent of her shots from the charity stripe, which was third in 2024-25.
Averaging 35.3 minutes per game, Paquette played a key role on both sides of the ball for the Skyhawks on her way to capturing the NEC MIP awad. Offensively, she bumped her scoring from 6.0 ppg to 13.2 points per game and netted 20 or more points in six contests, including three straight outings down the stretch, including Stonehill's NEC quarterfinal win over Wagner. Defensively, the junior finished second in the league with 1.6 steals per contest. A leader on both ends of the floor, Paquette will play a key role as Stonehill enters its first season of Big Dance eligibility.
Clark put together a promising rookie campaign as the Dolphins were one of two lower seeds to win a conference tournament game on the road. The one-time NEC Rookie of the Week was one of Le Moyne’s top scoring options in her freshman season, supplying the Dolphins with 8.2 points per game while reaching double figures 10 times. Clark came up big in Le Moyne’s nail-biting playoff victory at Saint Francis by tallying 14 points, collecting five boards and dishing out three assists.
Despite being a true freshman, Clark made an immediate impact, starting the first 19 games of the season and 27-of-30 on the year. Spending an average of 31.5 minutes per game on the floor, Clark posted the 11th-highest scoring average in the conference and was second among freshman only behind Renninger. The Oakhurst, NJ, native also showcased her passing, averaging 2.9 assists per game, which tied for seventh in the conference. Clark dropped a career-high 10 dimes against the Cougars on January 18, 2025. The 5-8 sophomore aims for a breakout sophomore campaign on a Dolphin team just one year removed from an NEC finals appearance.
Van Schaik’s contributions were instrumental as Mercyhurst's strong inaugural NEC season that saw them finish tied for fifth in the league standings. The 5-7 guard improved her scoring by 9.0 points per game last season, averaging 13.6 to finish second on the Lakers while posting double-digit points in 18 contests. Van Schaik turned heads in the NEC with a 28-point outing against eventual champion FDU in early January and a double-double of 25 points and 13 rebounds at LIU later that month.
A jack of all trades, Van Schaik registered a team-high 3.0 assists per game, good for sixth in the conference. Defensively, the Queen City product brought the intensity with 1.7 steals per game, which ranked third on the circuit. The Lakers will lean on Van Schaik as they chase their first NEC Tournament appearance in their initial year of eligibility.
2025-26 Northeast Conference Women's Basketball Preseason All-Conference Team
Name School Pos. Ht. Cl. Hometown/High School