INDIANAPOLIS – With seven first-place votes, Findlay was picked to start the year with pole position and the inside track for the 2018-19 Great Midwest Athletic Conference Men’s Basketball Preseason Coaches Poll presented by Under Armour.
The coaches ranked all 13 Great Midwest schools following a fine season that saw three teams advance to the NCAA Championship Midwest Regional (Findlay, Hillsdale, Ohio Dominican). All three of those programs had 20+ win seasons in their first year as a full member of the league.
Findlay collected 137 points in the balloting as four different teams earned at least one first-place vote going into 2018-19. The Oilers were the regular-season conference champs in 2017-18, but couldn’t quite translate that into a Great Midwest tourney title.
But UF still went on to the NCAA Championship bracket as an at-large selection and made the Sweet 16 for the second consecutive year and the first as a member of the Great Midwest.
The preseason runner-up billing went to Hillsdale as the Chargers advanced into last year’s title game. HC was allotted three first-place votes and totaled 125 points from the coaches.
Walsh was tabbed third and the Cavaliers earned a pair of first-place votes with 117 points total with Great Midwest Freshman of the Year Darryl Straughter poised to take the next step in his development.
The Cavaliers had the second-best record in the regular season in 2017-18 at 14-6 but exited early than they would have liked in the conference tourney during the opening round.
Reigning tourney champ Ohio Dominican was selected fourth in this year’s poll with 110 points. The Panthers are returning much of the same talent that had them celebrating in Croy Gymnasium but will have the target on their back this season in their bid to repeat.
ODU’s frontcourt is formidable with junior big Hasan Varence and multiple players stepped in big moments during the program’s memorable postseason run.
Round out the top five was Alderson Broaddus with the Battlers returning the three-headed offensive monster of Malik Bocook, Brandon Willis and Mike Davis. Lake Erie deserves credit for a No. 7 over a No. 2 upset in its first postseason game in the conference tourney and the Storm received the final first-place vote to start the year at No. 6.
Cedarville is on the rise at No. 7 with sophomore forward Conner TenHove leading a Yellow Jackets youth movement. CU received four more votes in the balloting than Malone as the Pioneers made the playoffs for the second straight year.
Enter first-year conference member Tiffin (with new coach Tom Church) and the Dragons are looking to sustain their early-season momentum from the fall making an impressive entrance into the league (undefeated football program, men’s soccer in hunt for conference regular-season title, volleyball postseason bound).
Trevecca and Davis & Elkins are both looking to regain their postseason form while each program has featured some of the most successful players in league history (Byron Sanford, Kevin Bracy-Davis) in recent memory. The Trojans and Senators were ranked No. 10 and No. 11, respectively.
Ohio Valley edged out Kentucky Wesleyan by one point in the voting and the Fighting Scots will start 2018-19 in 12th.
Although the Panthers were in the postseason field last year, Kentucky Wesleyan finds itself in rare territory being ranked 13th to start the new year. The Panthers are one of the most successful programs in the league since joining in 2013 with multiple conference trophies and will start a new coaching era with Drew Cooper at the helm.
Some big-time talent will be noticeably absent from the league this year as Taren Sullivan (NBA G League Stockton Kings) and Martyce Kimbrough (Spain) will leave Findlay with some tough shoes to fill.
Additional 2017-18 first team all-conference picks Chandler Vaudrin (Walsh – transfer to Winthrop), Malone’s Ty Jordan (Spain) and Cedarville’s Patrick Bain, have gone pro, graduated or taken their talents to a new school.
2018-19 Great Midwest Men's Basketball Preseason Coaches Poll presented by Under Armour
| School |
Points |
| 1. Findlay (7 first-place votes) |
136 |
| 2. Hillsdale (3 first-place votes) |
125 |
| 3. Walsh (2 first-place vote) |
117 |
| 4. Ohio Dominican |
110 |
| 5. Alderson Broaddus |
106 |
| 6. Lake Erie (1 first-place vote) |
101 |
| 7. Cedarville |
68 |
| 8. Malone |
64 |
| 9. Tiffin |
53 |
| 10. Trevecca |
31 |
| 11. Davis & Elkins |
30 |
| 12. Ohio Valley |
14 |
| 13. Kentucky Wesleyan |
13 |