The Lone Star Conference released its annual men's basketball preseason poll with the St. Edward's Hilltoppers voted to finish fifth in the conference according to coaches, sports information directors, and selected media representatives.
West Texas A&M is the heavy favorite to reclaim the Lone Star Conference title, according to the 2022-23 LSC men's basketball preseason poll announced on Monday.
The league's preseason polls reflect the opinions of LSC head coaches, sports information directors and various media representatives throughout the region.
WT earned 36 of 39 first-place votes, totaling 619 points and are tipped to win their first regular-season title since 2020. The Buffs are coming off a 29-7 overall record in 2021-22, which saw the Buffs claim their fifth consecutive LSC tournament championship on their way to a fifth straight NCAA postseason appearance.
DBU was picked second in the poll, receiving 560 points after a 17-12 season last year. The Patriots are chasing a sixth straight South Central Regional appearance, a streak that dates back to 2018.
Defending LSC champion Lubbock Christian is slated third in the preseason poll with 489 points and two first-place votes. The Chaps won their second consecutive regular-season title a season ago, posting a 27-4 record overall and a 12-2 mark in the league.
Midwestern State collected 460 points to rank fourth in the preseason voting. The Mustangs finished 16-15 overall in 2021-22 and won eight of their final 10 conference games to book a third straight LSC tournament appearance.
St. Edward's closed out the top five in the poll picking up 428 total points. The Hilltoppers concluded last season with a 17-12 overall record on their way to a run in their third conference tournament.
Texas A&M-Kingsville obtained 399 total points to clinch sixth in the preseason poll. The Javelinas were 18-11 last season, earning the final seed in the conference tournament and Cinderella status as they made a run all the way to the championship game.
St. Mary's (380 points), Angelo State (364 points), UT Tyler (314 points) and UT Permian Basin (310 points, one first-place vote) rounded out the top 10 in the poll.
WT senior guard Julius Brown was named the LSC Preseason Player of the Year after amassing 24 of 39 votes.
Brown headed up the league's top offensive attack in 2021-22, averaging a team-high 16.1 points per game, which ranked eighth in the LSC. The Westerville, Ohio native also handed out a team-high 3.4 assists per game and swiped 1.9 steals per contest on his way to a place on the Division II Conference Commissioners Association All-America Team.
Additionally, 14 players were selected for the first LSC men's basketball preseason players to watch list. The student-athletes were nominated by their member institution for recognition.
The 2022-23 LSC basketball schedule will feature 16 men's teams in two divisions. Each team will play a double round-robin schedule within their division. Additionally, teams will play eight crossover competitions against teams from the opposite division for a total of 22 conference games.
The LSC Basketball Championships will feature an eight-team field in 2023 with seeding based on the 22 conference games. The divisional winners will receive the top two seeds in the tournament. The championships are set to take place March 2-3-4-5, 2023, at the Comerica Center in Frisco, Texas.
| 2022-23 LSC Men's Basketball Preseason Poll |
| Rank |
School |
1st |
Total |
| 1 |
West Texas A&M |
36 |
619 |
| 2 |
DBU |
|
560 |
| 3 |
Lubbock Christian |
2 |
489 |
| 4 |
Midwestern State |
|
460 |
| 5 |
St. Edward's |
|
428 |
| 6 |
Texas A&M-Kingsville |
|
399 |
| 7 |
St. Mary's |
|
380 |
| 8 |
Angelo State |
|
364 |
| 9 |
UT Tyler |
|
314 |
| 10 |
UT Permian Basin |
1 |
310 |
| 11 |
UAFS |
|
293 |
| 12 |
Texas A&M International |
|
246 |
| 13 |
Western New Mexico |
|
145 |
| 14 |
Oklahoma Christian |
|
134 |
| 15 |
Eastern New Mexico |
|
95 |
| 16 |
Cameron |
|
68 |
| 2022-23 LSC Men's Basketball Preseason Players to Watch |
| Name |
School |
Class |
Position |
Major |
Hometown/High School |
| Steve Webb |
Angelo State |
SR |
G |
MBA |
St. Louis, Mo./Westminster Christian Acad. |
| Colt Savage |
Cameron |
SR |
G/F |
Business Marketing |
Sand Springs, Okla./Sand Springs |
| Cameron Kahn |
DBU |
JR |
G |
Sports Management |
Sulphur Springs, Texas/Sulphur Springs HS |
| Eze Dike |
Eastern New Mexico |
SR |
G |
Masters of Communications |
Montreal, Quebec/Kimball-Union Acad. |
| Rowan Mackenzie |
Lubbock Christian |
JR |
G |
Social Work |
Perth, Australia/Aquinas College |
| Antonio Gordon |
Oklahoma Christian |
JR |
F |
Interdisciplinary Studies |
Lawton, Okla./Eisenhower HS |
| UCHE DIBIAMAKA |
St. Edward's |
SR |
G |
Business |
Adelaide, South Australia/Second Baptist |
| Ryan Leonard |
St. Mary's |
SR |
G |
Sociology |
Kerry, Ireland/Tralee HS |
| Jermaine Drewey |
Texas A&M International |
SR |
G |
Multidisciplinary Studies |
Houston, Texas/North Forest HS |
| Evan Anderson |
UAFS |
JR |
G |
Business Administration |
Carrollton, Texas/Hebron HS |
| DaJuan Jones |
UT Permian Basin |
SR |
G |
Business |
Killeen, Texas/Ellison HS |
| Milan Szabo |
UT Tyler |
SR |
G |
Information Technology |
Levice, Slovakia/Gymnázium J. Wolkera |
| Julius Brown |
West Texas A&M |
SR |
G |
Business |
Westerville, Ohio/Westerville North HS |
| Tony Avalos |
Western New Mexico |
SR |
G |
Business |
Las Cruces, N.M./Oñate HS |
