RUSSELLVILLE, Ark. – SWOSU Men's Basketball has been picked sixth in the Great American Conference Preseason Coaches' Poll, announced Wednesday by the league.
Southern Nazarene was the resounding favorite by picking up all 11 available first-place votes, followed by Henderson State who earned SNU's vote as top finisher.
Below are the entire results from the poll.
| Team |
Points |
1st Place |
| SNU |
121 |
11 |
| HSU |
99 |
1 |
| OKB |
92 |
|
| SE |
88 |
|
| NWOSU |
73 |
|
| SWOSU |
72 |
|
| ATU |
68 |
|
| HU |
49 |
|
| SAU |
40 |
|
| UAM |
35 |
|
| ECU |
30 |
|
| OUA |
25 |
|
Eight returning Bulldogs from last year's roster will be joined by seven new additions to the team in 2022-23. Of the returning players, six played strong minutes last season including a trio of starters:
Kamden Gipson,
Chris Braggs, Jr., and
DeAngelo Adkins.
Gipson enters his fifth year wearing a SWOSU uniform and sits third on the all-time scoring list in the D2 era of the program. At point guard, he averaged 11.1 points last season and was second on the team in rebounding at 4.1 per game. He also led the team with 113 assists (3.6 apg) and committed 53 turnovers.
Braggs, Jr. was the consistent rock for the team last year, averaging 9.7 points and 2.7 rebounds per game. His physical play on both ends of the court and energy always gave the Dawgs a boost and fans should expect nothing less in his fifth year with the program
Adkins, a nuisance for any opposing team on defense, is in his second season at SWOSU as a junior college transfer. Aside from his defense, he averaged 5.2 points last season and ranked third on the team in three-point percentage at 34% (33-96).
Ben Smith (6.9 ppg), Mason Hart (4.8 ppg), and Mark Berry (4.8 ppg) also return this season.
SWOSU is coming off a historic 2021-22 campaign that saw them win the GAC Tournament and earn a spot in the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 2005.
Head coach
Terry Evans enters year five at the helm in 2022-23.
The season gets underway in Weatherford on November 11-12 when SWOSU hosts the GAC/MIAA Challenge. The Dawgs will play Fort Hays State on Friday (11/11) and Emporia State on Saturday (11/12).
