AMHERST, N.Y. - Daemen College senior forward Katie Titus (Penfield, N.Y.) has been named the East Coast Conference Women's Basketball Preseason Player of the Year, the conference announced today. The announcement comes following a vote of the 10 head coaches representing ECC institutions, and it marks the second straight season that a Daemen player was selected for the honor.
Titus has been a key contributor for the Wildcats ever since arriving on campus. Over her first three seasons, Titus has appeared in 73 games while making 65 starts, totaling 958 points, 573 rebounds and 127 blocked shots in those contests. Her efforts have helped the Wildcats to a 55-18 overall record while winning more than 85% of their conference games (37-6).Â
Already a three-time All-ECC selection, Titus is coming off arguably her finest collegiate season. She averaged a career-high 14.8 points and added 8.1 rebounds, 2.4 blocks and 1.6 steals per game while leading the Wildcats to their first-ever NCAA Division II East Region championship and subsequent trip to the Elite Eight. She led the ECC in total blocks (40) and three-point field goals (48), and also ranked second in rebounding and third in scoring. Titus was named the Most Outstanding Player at the East Regional and went on to be selected as an honorable mention All-American by the Women's Basketball Coaches Association (WBCA).Â
Titus, who ranks sixth in career rebounding average and ninth in blocked shots among Daemen's all-time leaders, will enter her senior season just 42 points shy of becoming the 27th player in program history to reach 1,000 points.Â
Titus joins teammate Tiara Filbert (Batavia, N.Y.) as the only Daemen players to be named ECC Preseason Player of the Year since the Wildcats joined the league in 2013. Filbert, who earned the Preseason Player of the Year nod last season, is back for a fifth collegiate campaign after having her 2020-21 season cut short due to injury.
Titus leads the Wildcats into the 2021-22 season beginning Thursday, November 4 with an exhibition tilt vs. Division I Buffalo. The regular season gets underway November 12-13 when Daemen takes on St. Anselm and Felician as part of the Redhawks Classic hosted by Roberts Wesleyan.Â
Daemen College features the premier NCAA Division II athletics program in the Buffalo-Niagara region, sponsoring 18 intercollegiate teams. For the latest information on Daemen Athletics, follow the Wildcats via social media on Twitter, Facebook, YouTube and Instagram, or sign up to receive customizable news alerts, e-mail newsletters and weekly schedule alerts.
Follow the Daemen College women's basketball program on Twitter and Instagram at @DaemenWBB.Â
