KANSAS CITY, Mo. – Defending national champion Bellarmine, who returns two All-America performers from a team that captured its first NCAA Division II title last March, comes into the upcoming 2011-12 season as the nation’s top-ranked team in the NABC/Division II men’s basketball pre-season coaches poll.
The Knights, who posted a 33-2 record and knocked off BYU-Hawaii in a thrilling championship game a year ago, were a unanimous pick for the No. 1 spot in the poll as they return All-America guards Jeremy Kendle and Braydon Hobbs. Bellarmine was followed in the pre-season rankings by two other teams that played in the Elite Eight a year ago, Alabama-Huntsville and BYU-Hawaii, which returns the Elite Eight’s Most Outstanding Player in Jet Chang.
Two defending conference champions, Missouri Southern and Lincoln Memorial, took the next two spots in the pre-season poll, followed by last year’s final No. 1-ranked team, West Liberty. The Hilltoppers will have to replace a talented starting lineup, but still figures to be a force with their fast-paced style of play.
Findlay is ranked seventh in the pre-season poll, followed by Tarleton State, Bowie State and Metropolitan State. Central Oklahoma, who is playing as an NCAA Division II independent this season, begins the second 10 at No. 11, meaning that the first 11 spots in the poll are occupied by teams from 10 different conferences and the independent ranks. Southern Indiana broke that run as the second team from the Great Lakes Valley Conference in the poll as the Screaming Eagles are ranked No. 12, with the next three spots being held by Benedict, Humboldt State and Kentucky Wesleyan.
Augustana is ranked No. 16 in the pre-season poll, followed by Alaska-Anchorage, Colorado School of Mines, Indiana (Pa.) and Saint Rose.
The last five spots are held by Georgia Southwestern, Seattle Pacific, Massachusetts-Lowell, Arkansas Tech and Queens (N.C.). The 2011-12 season gets underway this weekend with the Disney/Division II Classic in Anaheim, Calif., featuring UC San Diego, Chestnut Hill, Dominican (Calif.) and Western Washington.
Below the top 25 poll is the NCAA Division II Top 25 Preseason All-America Team
NABC/Division II Coaches Poll (Nov. 1, 2011 – Pre-Season Poll)
All records from the 2010-11 season. The first regular season poll will be released Tuesday, Nov. 29.
Rank |
Team |
Record |
Points |
Previous |
1. |
Bellarmine (8 first place votes) |
33-2 |
200 |
2 |
2. |
Alabama-Huntsville |
29-5 |
187 |
7 |
3. |
BYU-Hawaii |
22-9 |
179 |
NR |
4. |
Missouri Southern |
26-5 |
166 |
9 |
5. |
Lincoln Memorial |
27-3 |
153 |
10 |
6. |
West Liberty |
33-1 |
142 |
1 |
7. |
Findlay |
24-4 |
130 |
NR |
8. |
Tarleton State |
24-6 |
124 |
17 |
9. |
Bowie State |
23-6 |
121 |
19 |
10. |
Metropolitan State |
22-8 |
118 |
NR |
11. |
Central Oklahoma |
30-4 |
112 |
4 |
12. |
Southern Indiana |
24-6 |
105 |
12 |
13. |
Benedict |
21-8 |
100 |
24 |
14. |
Humboldt State |
26-4 |
73 |
6 |
15. |
Kentucky Wesleyan |
19-10 |
72 |
NR |
16. |
Augustana |
18-9 |
69 |
NR |
17. |
Alaska-Anchorage |
24-10 |
68 |
NR |
18. |
Colorado School of Mines |
25-6 |
61 |
20 |
19. |
Indiana (Pa.) |
26-6 |
57 |
21 |
20. |
Saint Rose |
22-9 |
50 |
NR |
21. |
Georgia Southwestern |
20-9 |
48 |
NR |
22. |
Seattle Pacific |
20-10 |
40 |
NR |
23. |
Massachusetts-Lowell |
20-10 |
28 |
NR |
24. |
Arkansas Tech |
25-6 |
22 |
14 |
25. |
Queens (N.C.) |
21-8 |
20 |
NR |
Others receiving votes: Winona State (Minn.) 18, LIU-C.W.
Post (N.Y.) 17, Limestone (S.C.) 15, Hillsdale (Mich.)
11, Central Missouri 10, Montevallo (Ala.) 10, Rollins
(Fla.) 10, Christian Brothers (Tenn.) 8, Bentley (Mass.) 7, Cal
Poly Pomona 7, Grand Valley State (Mich.) 7, West
Texas A&M 7, Clayton State (Ga.), Florida Southern 5, Northern
Kentucky 5, Drury (Mo.) 4, Harding (Ark.) 4, Fort Hays State (Kan.)
3, Bloomfield (N.J.) 2.
NCAA DIVISION II TOP 25 PRESEASON ALL-AMERICA TEAM |
||
Name |
School |
Class |
Jason Adams |
Missouri Southern State |
SR |
Stefan Bonneau |
C.W. Post (N.Y.) |
SR |
Phillip Brown |
Georgia Southwestern |
SR |
Zane Campbell |
Alabama-Huntsville |
JR |
Jet Chang |
BYU-Hawaii |
SR |
Jarrell Douglass |
Limestone (S.C.) |
SR |
Reggie Evans |
Metropolitan State (Colo.) |
SR |
Marcus Goode |
Benedict (S.C.) |
JR |
Patrick Grubbs |
Pitt.-Johnstown (Pa.) |
SR |
Rob Gutierrez |
Saint Rose (N.Y.) |
SR |
Ali Haidar |
Michigan Tech |
JR |
Cedric Harris |
West Liberty (W. Va.) |
SO |
Braydon Hobbs |
Bellarmine (Ky.) |
SR |
Randy Hunter |
Humboldt State (Calif.) |
SR |
Travis Hyman |
Bowie State (N.C.) |
SR |
Desmond Johnson |
Lincoln Memorial (Tenn.) |
SR |
Jeremy Kendle |
Bellarmine (Ky.) |
JR |
Josh Magette |
Alabama-Huntsville |
SR |
Cameron McCaffrey |
Augustana (S.D.) |
JR |
Trevin Parks |
Johnson C. Smith (N.C.) |
JR |
Taylor Rohde |
Alaska-Anchorage |
SR |
Cody Schilling |
Augustana (S.D.) |
SR |
Derek Staton |
Mount Olive (N.C.) |
SR |
Odell Turner |
Wingate (N.C.) |
JR |
Anthony Young |
Kentucky Wesleyan |
SR |