GLIAC reveals 2023-24 men's basketball preseason poll and teams

GLIAC -- The Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletics Conference (GLIAC) revealed the 2023-24 men's basketball preseason poll Tuesday, as voted on by the league coaches.

Ferris State was named the league favorite, receiving 77 points and five first-place votes. A year ago, the Bulldogs posted a 24-9 overall record, including a 13-5 mark in conference play, and advanced to the NCAA Midwest Regional semifinals.

Finishing close behind FSU in the preseason poll is Northern Michigan. Voted to place second, the defending GLIAC Tournament champions earned 75 total points and four first-place votes.

Grand Valley State, which recorded 18 wins under first-year head coach Cornell Mann in 2022-23, ranked third in the poll with 61 points.

The defending GLIAC regular season champion Parkside Rangers (4th, 50 points) received one first-place vote.

Michigan Tech (5th, 45 points) and Saginaw Valley State (6th, 41 points) followed, separated by just four points.

Davenport, which will be headlined by GLIAC Preseason Player of the Year Marcedus Leech Jr., tied Lake Superior State for seventh in the poll with 35 points each.

Wayne State (9th, 20 points) and Purdue Northwest (10th, 11 points) rounded out the 2023-24 preseason rankings.

Regular season action begins in full force on Friday, Nov. 10, with five GLIAC teams hitting the court in nonconference play.

GLIAC -- The Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletics Conference (GLIAC) unveiled the 2023-24 men's basketball preseason player of the year and preseason team Tuesday, as voted on by the league coaches.

Davenport redshirt junior guard Marcedus Leech Jr. was selected as the 2023-24 GLIAC Preseason Player of the Year. Leech Jr. had a breakout campaign a season ago, averaging 20 points per game while shooting 46 percent from the floor and nearly 40 percent from beyond the arc. The Caruthersville, Mo. native was named First Team All-GLIAC and Second Team All-Region (D2CCA).

Joining Leech Jr. on the All-GLIAC First Team is Ferris State graduate guard Ben Davidson, Michigan Tech sophomore guard Dan Gherezgher, Grand Valley State graduate forward Marius Grazulis and Northern Michigan redshirt sophomore forward Dylan Kuehl.

Honored on the All-GLIAC Second Team was Davenport redshirt senior guard Myles Belyeu, Saginaw Valley State senior guard Tre Garrett, Saginaw Valley State junior guard Freddie McIntosh, Parkside redshirt junior forward Colin O'Rourke and Northern Michigan sophomore guard Max Weisbrod.