Ragin’ Cajuns voted Sun Belt preseason men’s basketball favorite

NEW ORLEANS – Louisiana is the preseason favorite to capture the 2022-23 Sun Belt Conference men’s basketball title, as determined by a vote of the league’s 14 head coaches. The Ragin’ Cajuns’ Jordan Brown was chosen as the 2022-23 Sun Belt Conference Men’s Basketball Preseason Player of the Year. The Sun Belt also announced its Preseason All-Conference Teams on Monday.

The Ragin’ Cajuns, who advanced to the Sun Belt Conference tournament championship game last season, received 10 first-place votes. Texas State was picked second, while South Alabama, James Madison and Georgia State rounded out the top-five of the poll. All four received one first-place vote apiece.

Louisiana finished the 2021-22 campaign with a 16-15 overall record, becoming the highest seed (No. 8) to advance to the championship game in the event’s history. In conference play, Louisiana averaged a league-best 71.1 points per game The Ragin’ Cajuns return two all-conference selections from a year ago in Brown and Kobe Julien.

Brown was selected as the Sun Belt’s 2022-23 Preseason Player of the Year. Brown, a 6-foot-11 forward, made an immediate impact on his team and the conference last season after transferring from Arizona, earning Second Team All-Sun Belt accolades. He made 24 starts in 27 total appearances. Brown led his squad and ranked sixth in the Sun Belt with 15.3 points per game. He was tops on his team and third in the SBC with 8.6 rebounds per game. He also ranked third in the league with 1.1 blocks per game.

Brown was one of just 36 players nationally to chart multiple 15-plus point and 15-plus rebound performances. He recorded double-doubles on six occasions. Brown notched seven 20-plus-point games. Brown, a member of the Sun Belt All-Tournament Team, was a NABC District 23 First-Team selection and was a member of the Lou Henson Award Watch List.

The Sun Belt Conference also announced its Preseason All-Sun Belt First, Second and Third teams (listed below) on Monday.

Preseason All-Sun Belt First-Team selections include Brown, Texas State’s Mason Harrell, Marshall’s Taevion Kinsey, James Madison’s Vado Morse and South Alabama’s Kevin Samuel.

Sun Belt Conference play begins on Thursday, December 29. Teams will play 18-game regular-season conference schedules with games being played primarily on Thursdays and Saturdays. The final day of the conference regular season will be Friday, February 24.

The season will culminate with the 2023 Sun Belt Men’s Basketball Championship at the Pensacola Bay Center in Pensacola, Fla., from Tuesday, February 28 to Monday, March 6. All games will air on ESPN+ with the title tilt broadcast nationally on ESPN2.

2022-23 Sun Belt Men’s Basketball Preseason Coaches Poll
1. Louisiana – 190 (10)
2. Texas State – 162 (1)
3. South Alabama – 150 (1)
4. James Madison – 149 (1)
5. Georgia State – 127 (1)
6. Marshall – 122
7. App State – 120
8. Coastal Carolina – 100
9. Old Dominion – 93
10. Troy – 76
11. Georgia Southern – 69
12. Arkansas State – 48
13. Southern Miss – 34
14. ULM – 30

2022-23 Sun Belt Conference Men’s Basketball Preseason Awards

Preseason Player of the Year
Jordan Brown, Louisiana (JR | F | Roseville, Calif.)

Preseason All-Sun Belt First Team
Jordan Brown, Louisiana (JR | F | Roseville, Calif.)
Mason Harrell, Texas State (SR | G | Midwest City, Okla.)
Taevion Kinsey, Marshall (SR | G | Columbus, Ohio)
Vado Morse, James Madison (R-SR | G | Suitland, Md.)
Kevin Samuel, South Alabama (GR | C | Codrington Village, Barbuda)

Preseason All-Sun Belt Second Team
Donovan Gregory, App State (SR | F | Charlotte, N.C.)
Felipe Haase, Southern Miss (GR | F | Osorno, Chile)
Kobe Julien, Louisiana (R-SO | F | Baton Rouge, La.)
Essam Mostafa, Coastal Carolina (R-JR | C | Cairo, Egypt)
Greg Parham II, South Alabama (GR | G | Richmond, Va.)

Preseason All Sun-Belt Third Team
Kamdyn Curfman, Marshall (JR | G | North Bethesda, Md.)
Caleb Fields, Arkansas State (JR | G | Lewisburg, Tenn.)
Nika Metskhvarishvili, ULM (JR | F | Tbilisi, Georgia)
Andrew Taylor, Marshall (R-JR | G | Corbin, Ky.)
Zay Williams, Troy (SR | F | Birmingham, Ala.)

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About the Sun Belt Conference

The Sun Belt Conference is made up of 14 members: App State, Arkansas State, Coastal Carolina, Georgia Southern, Georgia State, James Madison, Louisiana, ULM, Marshall, Old Dominion, South Alabama, Southern Miss, Texas State and Troy.