RSC Men's Basketball Preseason Coaches' Poll & All-RSC Preseason Team released
RSC Men's Basketball Preseason Coaches' Poll & All-RSC Preseason Team released
ALL-RSC PRESEASON POLL & TEAM (pdf) I RSC MEDIA DAY INFO & VIDEO LINEUP
MIDDLETOWN, Ohio -- The 2018-19 River States Conference Men's Basketball Preseason Coaches' Poll and the All-RSC Preseason Team tip off the RSC Basketball Media Days with their release at RiverStatesConference.com on Tuesday, Oct. 16. Also coming up beginning at 11 am ET are video interviews from head coaches and players around the league on the RSC's Stretch Internet portal. Click the link above for Media Day general info and direct links to the video interviews as they become available.
RSC Basketball Media Days continue on Wednesday, Oct. 17 with the release of the RSC Women's Basketball Preseason Poll & All-RSC Preseason Team as well as video interviews from head coaches and players around RSC women's basketball.
The RSC's three NAIA Division II national tournament teams from last year led the conference's men's basketball preseason poll with IU East (34-3 in 2017-18), WVU Tech (20-12) and IU Southeast (24-9) all getting first-place votes in the poll. The poll was voted on by the 13 RSC men's basketball head coaches.
IU East, which has won back to back RSC Tournament championships, received seven of the 13 first-place votes and is this year's conference favorite with 139 total votes. The Red Wolves made it to the NAIA Division II national semifinals last year to continue a stretch of three years in a row making a deep run at nationals. IU East entered the national tourney as the No. 1-ranked team in the country last year before losing in the semifinals to eventual champion Indiana Wesleyan.
WVU Tech received five first-place votes in the poll and came in second with a total of 134 votes. The Golden Bears reached the national tournament last year and ended the season ranked No. 25 in the nation. WVU Tech advanced to the semifinals of the RSC Tournament, and it returns this year several players from the 20-win team, including some key pieces who were out all year with injuries.
IU Southeast placed third in the poll with 126 votes, and the Grenadiers got the remaining first-place vote from the coaches. IU Southeast is coming off a 24-9 campaign that included a No. 13 final ranking in the Top 25. The Grenadiers were RSC Tournament finalists, and they made the second round of the national tournament.
Just like in the overall poll, IU East edged out WVU Tech as the favorite in the RSC East Division. The Red Wolves received seven first-place votes in the division and 62 total votes to inch out WVU Tech with six first-place votes and 61 total. IU Southeast was the clear favorite in the RSC West Division with 12 of the 13 first-place votes and 78 total.
Asbury (Ky.) University was picked second in the RSC West Division and fourth in the overall RSC poll. The Eagles were 17-12 last year and return RSC Player of the Year Trenton Thompson, who ranked second in the nation in scoring at 26.4 ppg. Asbury received one first-place vote in the division and 109 total votes in the overall poll.
Brescia (Ky.) University was picked fifth overall and third in the RSC West Division. The Bearcats were 9-9 RSC last year to make the playoffs and return two preseason all-conference picks this year. Cincinnati Christian University is picked as the fourth-and-final playoff team out of the RSC West and eighth overall in the conference. IU Kokomo, Alice Lloyd (Ky.) College and Midway (Ky.) University round out the west division.
University of Rio Grande (Ohio) was picked third in the RSC East Division and sixth overall in the conference. The RedStorm was a playoff team last year. Also predicted to make the postseason from the division is Ohio Christian University. The Trailblazers edged out Carlow (Pa.) University by a single vote for fourth place in the preseason poll. Ohio Christian and Carlow, a playoff qualifier last year, tied for 10th in the overall poll. Point Park finished up the RSC East predictions.
Asbury's Thompson led the selections on the 2018-19 All-RSC Preseason Men's Basketball Team. The top 10 players in the conference were named to the team by the RSC head coaches. WVU Tech led the selections with three players chosen followed by Brescia (Ky.) University with two.
The following is the All-RSC Men's Basketball Preseason Coaches' Poll and All-RSC Preseason Men's Basketball Team. To download this information in a PDF, click the link at the top of the page.
2018-19 RIVER STATES CONFERENCE MEN'S BASKETBALL PRESEASON COACHES' POLL (Oct. 16, 2018)
(First-place votes in parenthesis)
| School | Votes |
| 1. IU East (7) | 139 |
| 2. WVU Tech (5) | 134 |
| 3. IU Southeast (1) | 126 |
| 4. Asbury (Ky.) | 109 |
| 5. Brescia (Ky.) | 87 |
| 6. Rio Grande (Ohio) | 76 |
| 7. Alice Lloyd (Ky.) | 72 |
| 8. Cincinnati Christian | 71 |
| 9. IU Kokomo | 65 |
| T-10. Carlow (Pa.) | 46 |
| T-10. Ohio Christian | 46 |
| 12. Midway (Ky.) | 24 |
| 13. Point Park (Pa.) | 19 |
RIVER STATES CONFERENCE EAST DIVISION POLL
(First-place votes in parenthesis)
| School | Votes |
| 1. IU East (7) | 62 |
| 2. WVU Tech (6) | 61 |
| 3. Rio Grande (Ohio) | 43 |
| 4. Ohio Christian | 29 |
| 5. Carlow (Pa.) | 28 |
| 6. Point Park (Pa.) | 14 |
RIVER STATES CONFERENCE WEST DIVISION POLL
(First-place votes in parenthesis)
| School | Votes |
| 1. IU Southeast (12) | 78 |
| 2. Asbury (Ky.) (1) | 61 |
| 3. Brescia (Ky.) | 50 |
| 4. Cincinnati Christian | 39 |
| 5. IU Kokomo | 36 |
| 6. Alice Lloyd (Ky.) | 35 |
| 7. Midway (Ky.) | 13 |
2018-19 ALL-RIVER STATES CONFERENCE PRESEASON MEN'S BASKETBALL TEAM
| Player | Pos. | School |
| Trenton Thompson | F | Asbury (Ky.) |
| Blake Walsman | F | Cincinnati Christian |
| Elisha Boone | G | WVU Tech |
| Dillon Geralds | F | Brescia (Ky.) |
| Aaron Thomas | F | IU East |
| Thomas Collins | G | WVU Tech |
| Jamie Johnson | G | IU Southeast |
| Blake Smith | G | Alice Lloyd (Ky.) |
| Brandon Shingles | G | WVU Tech |
| Kayode Daboiku | F | Brescia (Ky.) |