South Alabama, Jaguars’ Mitchell headline Sun Belt Men’s Basketball Preseason honors

NEW ORLEANS – The votes are in and the 2019-20 preseason honors for Sun Belt Conference men’s basketball have South Alabama picked as the favorite to capture the league title and redshirt senior forward Trhae Mitchell selected as Preseason Player of the Year.

The preseason poll, Player of the Year and All-Sun Belt honors were voted on by the conference’s 12 head coaches.

South Alabama received eight first-place votes and a total of 138 points coming off a season capped by a run to the quarterfinals of the Sun Belt Championship as the No. 8 seed. Momentum from that run combined with a pair of experienced returnees and the addition of highly anticipated newcomers have earned the Jaguars (17-17, 8-10 Sun Belt) some national buzz, picked as the Sun Belt preseason favorite by Blue Ribbon College Basketball Yearbook, Lindy’s and Street & Smith’s.

Teams in the next three spots in the preseason poll also garnered first-place votes – UTA with two (124 points) and Georgia Southern (121 points) and Texas State (110 points) with one each.

Head coach Chris Ogden has UTA (17-16, 12-6) in position to compete for the conference crown for his second season roaming the sideline in Arlington. The Mavericks return all five starters from a team that finished nine spots higher than predicted at the beginning of last season and reached the Sun Belt Tournament championship game.

Georgia Southern (21-12, 12-6) brings back a lot of experience for seventh-year head coach Mark Byington. The Eagles have 68 percent of their scoring and 69 percent of their rebounding back this season.

Texas State (24-10, 12-6) has the only first-team All-Sun Belt selection from a year ago returning in senior guard Nijal Pearson. Pearson and his Bobcats have their hopes of building on their program-best 12 Sun Belt wins and CollegeInsider.com Postseason Tournament appearance.

Louisiana (19-13, 10-8) in fifth with 92 points and defending champion Georgia State (24-10, 13-5) in sixth with 76 points round out the top portion of the poll and look to make noise in the title hunt this season.

Mitchell, an All-Sun Belt third-team pick last season, led South Alabama in rebounds (7.6 per game), assists (122), steals (39) and blocks (71) and ranked second in scoring (13.6 points per game). The only Jaguar to start all 34 games, he accomplished the notable feats of becoming the first player in school history to lead the team in rebounds, assists, steals and blocks in the same season and the second to have 200 rebounds and 100 assists in the same season.

Mitchell headline the Preseason All-Sun Belt first team that features four other All-Sun Belt selections from a year ago in Pearson, Georgia Southern redshirt junior guard Quan Jackson, South Alabama redshirt senior forward Josh Ajayi and UTA senior guard Brian Warren. South Alabama and Georgia Southern each had three earning Preseason All-Sun Belt recognition.

The 2019-20 season for Sun Belt men’s basketball gets underway on Tuesday, Nov. 5, with eight teams in action.

Follow #SunBeltMBB at SunBeltSports.org and on social media via Twitter, Facebook and Instagram.

2019-20 SUN BELT CONFERENCE MEN’S BASKETBALL PRESEASON POLL & HONORS
Preseason Coaches’ Poll
First-place votes in parentheses

1. South Alabama (8) – 138 points
2. UTA (2) – 124
3. Georgia Southern (1) – 121
4. Texas State (1) – 110
5. Louisiana – 92
6. Georgia State – 76
7. Coastal Carolina – 75
8. ULM – 72
9. Appalachian State – 40
10. Arkansas State – 33
11. Little Rock – 32
12. Troy – 22

Preseason All-Sun Belt First Team
Quan Jackson, Georgia Southern (RJr., G, Tallahassee, Fla.)3
Josh Ajayi, South Alabama (RSr., F, El Monte, Calif.)2
Trhae Mitchell, South Alabama (RSr., F, Austell, Ga.)3
Brian Warren, UTA (Sr., G, Indianapolis, Ind.)3
Nijal Pearson, Texas State (Sr., G, Beaumont, Texas)1

Preseason All-Sun Belt Second Team
Justin Forrest, Appalachian State (Jr., G, Decatur, Ga.)
DeVante Jones, Coastal Carolina (So., G, New Orleans, La.)*
Ike Smith, Georgia Southern (RSr., G, Gainesville, Fla.)
Kane Williams, Georgia State (Jr., G, Douglasville, Ga.)
Michael Ertel, ULM (Jr., G, Indianapolis, Ind.)3

Preseason All-Sun Belt Third Team
Isaac Johnson, Appalachian State (Sr., F, Charlotte, N.C.)
Isaiah Crawley, Georgia Southern (Sr., F, Ripley, Tenn.)
Cedric Russell, Louisiana (Jr., G, Alexandria, La.)
JD Williams, ULM (Sr., G, Birmingham, Ala.)
Don Coleman, South Alabama (RSr., G, North Augusta, S.C.)

Preseason Player of the Year
Trhae Mitchell, South Alabama (RSr., F, Austell, Ga.)3

12018-19 First Team All-Sun Belt selection
22018-19 Second Team All-Sun Belt selection
32018-19 Third Team All-Sun Belt selection
*2018-19 Sun Belt Freshman of the Year