In 2022, Baltimore welcomed its first CIAA tournament in more than 70 years. It was a delayed welcoming after the coronavirus pandemic pushed the arrival of the tournament here back a year. This week, the city prepares to host the fourth consecutive edition of an event that is both a basketball tournament and a cultural celebration that will last all week.

Saturday opened the festivities with a youth sports clinic, marking the start of an eight-day celebration that lasts well past next Saturday’s championship games at CFG Bank Arena, through the night with the Grand Finale Block Party.

The women’s tournament begins at 10 a.m. Tuesday, and all four women’s first-round games will be completed that day, followed by two men’s games. The tournament concludes with both championship games Saturday afternoon.

A local team to root for in women’s tournament

The women’s tournament will be an exciting one for Maryland basketball fans as Bowie State, the closest this tournament has to a local team, enters as one of four top title threats. Fayetteville State, Virginia State, Virginia Union and Bowie State separated themselves as the only teams to exceed 10 conference wins.

Fayetteville State is the defending champion and will run on an elite defense, which ranked in the top 15 in the nation, allowing less than 54 points per game. Like a bevy of teams at this tournament, it will bring Maryland talent to CFG Bank Arena. Ellicott City product Talia Trotter leads the team in scoring.

“Talia had a pretty good tournament up there last year playing in front of friends, family, former teammates and everyone,” Fayetteville head coach Tyreece Brown said. “We recruit the type of kids that love those environments.”

A title win for the Broncos would be their third championship in five years and make them the first repeat women’s champion since Virginia Union in 2018-19.

“We look at ourselves as underdogs,” Brown said. “We want to prove that we can win it back to back. We’re looking it as ourselves chasing a goal, not that other teams are chasing us.”

Virginia State beat Virginia Union 82-68 Saturday to earn the top seed for the tournament. Both teams figure to be major players this week, with another Ellicott City player, Ani Harris, leading the scoring for Virginia State.

Bowie State will bring a roster that loves to create chaos, powered by local star Destiny Ryles, a St. Pauls graduate. Ryles averages over 18 points per game and ranks in the top five in total steals, sparking a Bowie State defense that has notched over 300 steals this season.

Outside the four favorites, the best bet to cause chaos is Claflin. It is led by the conference’s leading scorer in Nya Morris and can stay in any game with that star power.

Parity on the men’s side

The men’s tournament figures to have a couple of prime title contenders in Fayetteville State and Virginia State, but with nine teams having won six-plus conference games, there are plenty of teams with their eyes on playing spoiler.

“The biggest difference between the CIAA and [other conferences] is that anybody at the bottom of the conference can beat anybody at the top on any given night, fairly easily. Every team has that level of talent,” said Fayetteville head coach Luke D’Alessio, who has coached at CCBC Catonsville and Loyola.

Lincoln won the men’s tournament last year and looked like a strong contender to repeat until losing four of five late in the season to slide down several seed lines.

Fayetteville State may be a favorite, but its 13-game winning streak was snapped last week by Claflin, reminding the conference that this tournament may be wide open. However, at its best, Fayetteville State, which lost the championship game at this event last year, should be considered the favorite. Three players — Tairell Fletcher, Caleb Simmons and Ezekiel Cannedy — average over 16 points a game, and the Broncos ride a strong defense and playing style conducive to postseason success.

“We like to make it a halfcourt game, and that benefits us,” D’Alessio said. “We always have a really good defense, and that helps us in this tournament. ... You don’t want to get caught up in an up-and-down-the-floor game.”

However, Fayetteville State will have plenty of competition, starting with Virginia State — the other team to win 12-plus conference games — and Claflin, which both beat the top seed this season. Virginia State avenged all three of its conference losses in a late-season winning streak, led by Jacob Cooper. Claflin is that electric team with a high ceiling and low floor, featuring six players who have taken 50-plus 3-point attempts.

In the world of dark horses, keep an eye on Bluefield State, averaging over 90 points per game while giving up over 87. Additionally, Lincoln, Virginia State, Bowie State, Johnson C. Smith and Shaw have all won six-plus conference games.

Maryland talent on display

The CIAA tournament provides an opportunity for Maryland athletes to showcase their talents on a big stage. On the women’s side, Bowie State has 14 players from the state, led by the dynamic Ryles.

Trotter and Harris are from Ellicott City, while Harris’ teammate Carmen Kweti, ranking second in the nation in rebounds per game, is a product of Frederick. Other top Maryland talent to watch includes Taniyah Greene (Cheltenham), the leading scorer for Virginia Union. Two Baltimore Poly alumni and former teammates, Kaziah Akinniyi and Ariana Makumi, lead Lincoln.

On the men’s side, 12 of 15 players on Bowie State’s roster come from Maryland. Outside the Maryland school, keep an eye out for Jamal Cannady Jr. (Baltimore), the leading scorer for Livingstone, and DJ Mitchell, who is out of Catonsville and leads Virginia Union in scoring. Guy Fauntleroy is a role player for Claflin, one of many sharpshooters on the roster. The Upper Marlboro product knocked down the buzzer-beating triple to snap Fayetteville State’s winning streak.

It’s not just basketball

For those wishing to engage in the weeklong party that is the CIAA tournament, there are more than 20 events to attend.

These include forums and educational opportunities such as a health and mental wellness forum, along with a career expo, Thursday and a financial literacy breakfast Tuesday morning. However, the party will also rave on with plenty of classic Baltimore block parties and events. The CIAA Fan Fest runs from 10 a.m.-8 p.m. Friday and Saturday, and the CIAA Battle of the Bands will provide midday entertainment during the tournament semifinals.

Power Plant Live will host the weekend’s major parties, starting with a Friday night block party (9 p.m.-2 a.m.), running into Saturday’s CIAA Day Party (2-7 p.m.). The Grand Finale Block Party is Saturday night.

R&B sensation Lloyd, Lady London and Jeezy will be featured performers, while DJ Quicksilva will be performing at a variety of events Wednesday through Sunday.

This year is an audition for the city

Baltimore’s contract to host the tournament ends after next year, and it will face competition from former host Charlotte, North Carolina, as it tries to retain the event.

“This tournament has traveled, from Raleigh to Richmond to Baltimore,” Domond said. “There has been no other tournament that matches the energy. Wherever it goes, everyone shows up. It is so proud and rich in tradition. To be able to participate in, it is something special.”

Six of the conferences 12 teams are in North Carolina, while another is in South Carolina. Two others are in southern Virginia. The newest member, Bluefield State, is in southern West Virginia, about a six-hour drive from Baltimore but less than three to Charlotte.

“I believe a lot of people do like to have the tournament down south because that’s where a lot of the teams are,” Fayetteville State’s Brown said. “But Baltimore is a great city. But, for us, we’ve been having a great time up there. We love the arena. We’ve been treated very well. I have no issues. I love the time up there.”

The CIAA announced that over 43,000 fans took in the tournament over the course of 24 games last season, a 13% year-over-year increase — but still nearly 100,000 fewer than in Charlotte’s final year. The total economic impact was $32.5 million, with Baltimore working to activate 118 minority-owned businesses throughout the week.