2021-22 RSC Men's Basketball Coaches' Preseason Poll & Team Released
2021-22 RSC Men's Basketball Coaches' Preseason Poll & Team Released
MIDDLETOWN, Ohio -- As new year begins in the RSC, WVU Tech is the defending champion and also the preseason favorite. The Golden Bears are on top of the 2021-22 River States Conference Men's Basketball Coaches' Preseason Poll after results of the league-wide voting were posted today at RiverStatesConference.com as part of RSC Men's Basketball Media Day.
WVU Tech received 173 total votes in the polling of the 14 head coaches in the RSC. The Golden Bears were also way out in front with nine of the possible 13 first-place votes they could receive. WVU Tech won the RSC Championship last year and made it to the second round of the NAIA National Championship.
The release of the preseason coaches' poll is a part of RSC Men's Basketball Media Day. Also unveiled today is the RSC Men's Basketball Preseason All-Conference Team. The preseason team features 10 players and is made up of the top all-conference returners from last season.
Tune in to RSC Men's Basketball Media day all day long on the RSC Facebook page. Go to Facebook.com/RiverStatesConference to see preseason video interviews with all 14 head coaches and student-athletes from every school previewing the 2021-22 season.
WVU Tech has two players on the preseason all-conference team with Tamon Scruggs (F) and Andreas Jonsson (G) as well as several other key players coming back.
Indiana University Kokomo was picked second overall in the preseason coaches' poll and also returns a pair of preseason selections with Trequan Spivey (G) and Desean Hampton (F). The Cougars received 158 total votes and two first-place votes in the overall voting. They are also the clear favorite in the RSC West Division with 12 of a possible 13 votes to win their side of the conference.
University of Rio Grande (Ohio) was picked third overall in the poll as the RSC runner-up last year and a national-tournament qualifier. The RedStorm received 155 votes, one first-place vote and return preseason picks Shiloah Blevins (F), the player of the year in the conference, and also Miki Tadic (G).
Indiana University East received the remaining two first-place votes and was picked fourth overall in the poll. The Red Wolves totaled 151 votes.
For the complete RSC Men's Basketball Coaches' Preseason Poll -- both overall and by division -- as well as the RSC Men's Basketball Preseason All-Conference Team, see below.
The River States Conference has 14 member schools, all of which play basketball. The RSC is represented in five different states -- Kentucky, Indiana, Ohio, West Virginia and Pennsylvania. The basketball conference is split into RSC East & West Divisions with teams playing home and away inside their division and once across the divisions. This past summer, St. Mary-of-the-Woods (Ind.) College and Ohio Valley (W.Va.) University became members of the conference and joined the RSC West and East divisions, respectively.
2021-22 RIVER STATES CONFERENCE MEN'S BASKETBALL COACHES' PRESEASON POLL (Oct. 13, 2021)
(First-Place Votes in Parenthesis)
| School | Votes |
| 1. WVU Tech (9) | 173 |
| 2. IU Kokomo (2) | 158 |
| 3. Rio Grande (Ohio) (1) | 155 |
| 4. IU East (2) | 151 |
| 5. Alice Lloyd (Ky.) | 130 |
| 6. IU Southeast | 129 |
| 7. Point Park (Pa.) | 111 |
| 8. Midway (Ky.) | 97 |
| 9. Oakland City (Ind.) | 90 |
| 10. Ohio Christian | 70 |
| 11. Ohio Valley (W.Va.) | 67 |
| 12. Brescia (Ky.) | 59 |
| 13. Carlow (Pa.) | 35 |
| 14. St. Mary-of-the-Woods (Ind.) | 33 |
RSC MEN'S BASKETBALL COACHES' EAST DIVISION PRESEASON POLL
(First-place votes in parenthesis)
| School | Votes |
| 1. WVU Tech (9) | 86 |
| 2. Rio Grande (Ohio) (2) | 75 |
| 3. IU East (3) | 74 |
| 4. Point Park (Pa.) | 57 |
| 5. Ohio Christian | 37 |
| 6. Ohio Valley (W.Va.) | 35 |
| 7. Carlow (Pa.) | 19 |
RSC MEN'S BASKETALL COACHES' WEST DIVISION PRESEASON POLL
(First-place votes in parenthesis)
| School | Votes |
| 1. IU Kokomo (12) | 90 |
| 2. Alice Lloyd (Ky.) (1) | 73 |
| 3. IU Southeast (1) | 70 |
| 4. Midway (Ky.) | 52 |
| 5. Oakland City (Ind.) | 49 |
| 6. Brescia (Ky.) | 32 |
| 7. St. Mary-of-the-Woods (Ind.) | 19 |
2021-22 RIVER STATES CONFERENCE MEN'S BASKETBALL PRESEASON ALL-CONFERENCE TEAM
| Name | Pos. | Cl. | School |
| Shiloah Blevins | F | Jr. | Rio Grande (Ohio) |
| Tamon Scruggs | F | Sr. | WVU Tech |
| Donnie Miller | G | Jr. | Midway (Ky.) |
| Trequan Spivey | G | Sr. | IU Kokomo |
| Miki Tadic | G | Jr. | Rio Grande (Ohio) |
| Kwon Evans | F | Sr. | Midway (Ky.) |
| Desean Hampton | F | Sr. | IU Kokomo |
| Noah Young | G | Sr. | Alice Lloyd (Ky.) |
| Andreas Jonsson | G | Sr. | WVU Tech |
| Nathaniel Schmittler | C | Sr. | Oakland City (Ind.) |