By Dave Johnson
W&M Athletics

Since taking over as women's basketball coach at William & Mary in 2013-14, Ed Swanson had never brought in a graduate transfer. That's not how this program has been built over the years.
 
This season, the Tribe has two grad students on its roster — both former Ivy League guards who are expected to make an immediate difference. Riley Casey (Columbia) and Kate Sramac (Cornell) are potential starters, but that isn't the only reason Swanson likes their addition.
 
"Riley Casey and Kate Sramac are great fits for us," Swanson said during the CAA's preseason media day. "From an academic standpoint, we had what they were looking for — they're both in our MBA program. As players, they're great fits for us because they're still hungry.
 
"The Ivy League canceled their season last year, and the first question I asked both of them was, 'What are you looking for in your graduate year?' Their first response was, 'We want to get back on the floor.' Both of them were leaders at their respective schools, and they add different perspectives."
 
The Tribe spent the entire 2020-21 season looking for a scorer to complement guard Sydney Wagner, who was the conference's third-leading scorer at 21.3 points a game. She ended up accounting for 36 percent of her team's scoring.
 
Casey, a 5-foot-8 combo guard, was Columbia's second-leading scorer as a sophomore at 12.4 points a game. She led the team in 3-pointers with 62 and shot 82 percent from the free throw line. She scored a career-high 31 points on 10-of-18 shooting (7-of-11 from deep) against Hampton University.
 
An injury limited her to six games in the 2019-20 season. She graduated Columbia with a B.A. in economics last spring and is working on her M.B.A. in the Raymond A. Mason School of Business.

Sramac, a 5-8 wing, started 25 of Cornell's 26 games as a junior in 2019-20 and averaged 7.9 points a night. She led the Big Red in assists (77) and steals (53). She had a career night against Dartmouth with 18 points and seven assists.
 
Sramac graduated Cornell last spring with a B.S. in communications. Like Casey, she is working on her M.B.A. in the Mason School of Business.
 
"I'm super excited about both of those players," said Wagner, who was picked on the preseason All-CAA second team "They bring a lot of versatility on the court. They're both really good shooters and they bring a lot of defensive tenacity.
 
"I believe both of them will have an immediate impact with this team. From what I've seen in practice so far, I can see both of them putting up big numbers this year."

Swanson believes this team will have more offensive options than last season, when it was the lowest-scoring team in the CAA at 58.8 points a game.
 
"I think we're going to be a lot more diverse, which I'm excited about," he said. "I was excited to see in our last scrimmage on Saturday, we had four players in double figures and a fifth with nine points."
 
The roster is an interesting mix with five seniors (counting the grad transfers) on one end and four freshmen on the other. Nine players are at least 6-foot, though no one is taller than 6-3.
 
"We have six newcomers," Swanson said. "Obviously we have a good nucleus coming back with Sydney leading the way. (Forward) Bre Bellamy is back to being healthy, and (guard) Chaniqwa Gilliam is back. The newcomers have filled some voids we were missing last year."
 
Because of so many new faces, this team might need some time to jell.
 
"I think it's a day-by-day process," Wagner said. "If we look at where we were at the beginning of the summer, we've already come so (far). Toward the end of the season, I think we're going to be special."

AROUND THE CAA: Delaware and Drexel were selected as co-favorites in the CAA race this season. The Blue Hens and Dragons each received 77 points and five first-place votes by the league's coaches.
Delaware finished first in the 2020-21 regular season, and Drexel won the conference tournament.

Picked third through 10th were James Madison, Towson, Hofstra, Elon, Charleston, William & Mary, UNC Wilmington and Northeastern. …
Delaware's Jasmine Dickey was picked the Preseason Player of the Year. No surprise there, since she was named Player of the Year last season after averaging 22.6 points and 9.1 rebounds a game.