America East is the first conference to be highlights in this series of conference predictions .A traditional one bid league makes conference seeding every important for the postseason. This will be a two team race with Stony Brook and Vermont with New Hampshire has a Darkhorse in the shadows.
- Stony Brook (12 Seed)
- Vermont
- New Hampshire
- Hartford
- UMBC
- NJIT
- UMASS Lowell
- Albany
- Maine
- Binghamton
- Stony Brook- Back to back 20-win seasons have the Seawolves looking for a powerhouse in the conference. But they have not been able to get over the hump in the conference tournament. This season with no key losses and Elijah Olaniyi entering his senior season with his 18 points a game in 2019-20, except Stony Brook to get to the top of the mountain of March Madness this season.
- Vermont- Losing the two-time conference player of the year Anthony Lamb is a huge loss for the Catamounts. But Tomas Murphy, a Northeastern transfer is a huge get for the program and they will be right in the mix for the bid to March Madness.
- New Hampshire- The projected most improved team in the conference, the Wildcats are the dark horse in the AE just behind the 2 headed monster on top. After an 8-8 campaign in 2020. They lose no one off that time and add Houston Baptist transfer Qon Murphy. After coming in dead last in the AE in 2018. This will be one of the best seasons in UNH history.
- Hartford- Losing March Madness last season hurt Hartford the most in the America East. Upsetting #2 Stony Brook in the conference semifinals. The Hawks had a date with Vermont on the day before Selection Sunday. Being huge underdogs in the final but you never know what could have been. Hartford will take a step back but if their players can get that magic back, they could be a dark horse come March.
- UMBC- The famous upset story that took down UVA as the first 16 seed to take down a 1 seed has not made the tourney since that March. With not having many losses or newcomers, the Retrievers will have a middle of the road season and most likely a short visit to the conference tourney.
- NJIT- Welcome the New Jersey Institute of Technology to the America East. Leaving the A-Sun for the America East makes sense geographically as NJIT is closer to Maine then most of the A-Sun teams. It is always hard to predict programs moving from one bid leagues to another. So putting them in the middle of the pack is the safe play. Go luck to the Highlanders in their new home
- UMASS Lowell- Going into their 7th season as a division 1 program. The Riverhawks are looking for their first winning season. Christian Lutete the team’s leading scorer a year ago and there is not an obvious replacement on the roster. Look like this program being stuck just under .500 another year.
- Albany- In New York’s Capital, the Great Danes have been in a tail sign towards the bottom of the conference after making the tourney as recently as 2015. The program did not lose much from their 7-9 conference record last season but will be a very young team. Albany won’t send to much time in the bottom half of the AE. They are still a season away from success
- Maine- Head Coach Richard Barron looks to get the Black Bears out of the America East basement. 7 straight seasons with single digit conference wins is the definition of a program stuck in reserve. They lost their top 2 players from a 9-win season (5 in conference), except Maine to be at the bottom of the league.
- Binghamton- If you thought Maine was having a bad streak of conference play. The Bearcats haven’t had a winning season in 11 years. Just like Maine, Binghamton lost their most productive player as Sam Sessoms transferred to Penn State. Binghamton will be the worst team in the America East
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