INDIANAPOLIS—Great Midwest coaches voted Ashland University as the 2023-24 Men’s Basketball preseason favorite. Walsh and Cedarville were voted in the second and third spot in the preseason coaches poll presented by Under Armour.
The Eagles will look to repeat as conference champions this year under head coach John Ellenwood. The Eagles return Great Midwest Player of the Year in Brandon Haraway as well as Freshman of the Year Simon Wheeler. Haraway ranked fifth in the conference in scoring last season with 16.6 PPG and shot 46.7 percent from the field. He was named the Great Midwest Tournament MVP earned several Midwest Region honors. Simon Wheeler is another top returner for Ashland. In his first collegiate season, Wheeler posted a stat line of 11.2 points, 6.0 assists, 3.7 rebounds, and 1.5 steals per game. He led the conference in assists with 175 on the year.
Slotted at No. 2 are the Walsh Cavaliers, led by first-team all-conference honoree Garrison Keeslar. Keesler led Walsh to a regular season title and is the top-returner for Walsh and averaged 14 points per game last season. He was second in the conference in assists (132) seventh in rebounding (148), and earned a spot on the all-defensive team with a league-high 49 steals.
The Cedarville Yellow Jackets will look to make a run this season with senior Jayvon Maughmer leading the pack. Maughmer ranked third in the conference in scoring last season and was a first-team all-conference selection, averaging a team-high 17.8 points per game.
Findlay and Lake Erie were voted in the four and five spot followed by Hillsdale and Tiffin, respectively.
The Oilers return their top-scorer in Nathan Bruns, who averaged 15.1 points last season.
Kentucky Wesleyan, Thomas More, Ohio Dominican, Trevecca Nazarene, Malone, and Northwood round out the Great Midwest Coaches Preseason Poll.
2023-24 GREAT MIDWEST MEN'S BASKETBALL PRESEASON COACHES POLL PRESENTED BY UNDER ARMOUR
| School |
Points |
| 1. ASHLAND (11) |
156 |
| 2. WALSH (2) |
142 |
| 3. CEDARVILLE |
135 |
| 4.FINDLAY |
112 |
| 5. LAKE ERIE |
107 |
| 6. HILLSDALE |
102 |
| 7. TIFFIN |
98 |
| 8. KENTUCKY WESLEYAN |
74 |
| 9. THOMAS MORE |
70 |
| 10. OHIO DOMINICAN |
57 |
| 11. TREVECCA NAZARENE |
48 |
| 12. MALONE |
47 |
| 13. NORTHWOOD |
35 |