Rider Selected as Men’s Basketball Preseason Favorite; Canisius’ Reese Named Preseason Player of the Year
EDISON, NJ - The Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference (MAAC) has announced Rider University as the Preseason Favorite and Canisius' Isaiah Reese was named Preseason Player of the Year.
Rider University (121 points) is the unanimous choice by the league's 11 head coaches. Rider (20-10, 15-3 MAAC) shared the Regular Season Title last year with Canisius College. The Broncs played in the NIT last season. Canisius' (21-12, 15-3 MAAC) Isaiah Reese is the Preseason Player of the Year.
Canisius (105) followed Rider in the preseason poll. The Golden Griffins made an appearance in the CBI last season. Iona College (94) and Quinnipiac University (94) share the third spot in the poll. Iona is the three-time defending MAAC Champions. Quinnipiac made the semifinals of last season's MAAC Championship.
Monmouth University (66) comes in fifth. Marist College (59) and Fairfield University (50) slotted in sixth and seventh respectively.
In eighth was Manhattan College (46), and Niagara University (45) was picked ninth. Saint Peter's University (28) and Siena College (18) round out the 11-team poll.
Reese was a All-MAAC First Team selection a season ago after averaging 16.9 points, 5.8 rebounds, and 4.7 assists per game while helping the Golden Griffins to a share of the Regular Season Title. The Miami, FL native had the first triple-double in Canisius history last season against Youngstown State with 23 points, 11 rebounds, and 11 assists. The junior led the MAAC in steals per game 2.2, which was 15th nationally.
Canisius's Reese was one of two unanimous selections to the Preseason All-MAAC First Team. Last year, Reese became the first Griff sophomore to earn First Team honors since 1994.
Iona's Rickey McGill makes the Preseason All-MAAC First Team as a senior. The New York native was an All-MAAC Second Team selection last season after helping the Gaels to their third-straight MAAC Championship. McGill scored 13.4 points, pulled down four rebounds and dished out 5.6 assists per game.
Quinnipiac University's Cameron Young earns a spot on Preseason All-MAAC First Team. Young picked up All-MAAC Second Team honors a season ago and made the 2018 All-Championship Team as last season's MAAC Championship. The California native broke Quinnipiac's single-season Division I scoring record with 622 points--18.8 per contest. Young also led the team in rebounding at 6.8 a game and raised his scoring average to 20.9 per game in league play.
Rider's Stevie Jordan and Dimencio Vaughn also make the Preseason All-MAAC First Team. Jordan was an All-MAAC Second Team selection a season ago after leading the MAAC in assists (5.9) for a second consecutive season. The Pennsylvania native added 12.6 points and 1.6 steals per game. Jordan is already 10th on Rider's career assist list with two seasons to play. Vaughn is the other unanimous selection on the Preseason All-MAAC First Team. Vaughn was also a First Team selection at the end of last season after leading the Broncs in scoring--16.1--and helping the Broncs to a share of the regular season title. The New York native also earned NABC All-District 1 Second Team acclaim. Vaughn ranked in the top 10 of the MAAC in scoring, rebounding, field goal percentage, free throw percentage, steals, and offensive rebounding.
The Preseason All-MAAC Second Team consists of; Takal Molson of Canisius, Iona’s Roland Griffin, Pauly Paulicap from Manhattan, Marist’s Brian Parker, and Frederick Scott of Rider.
EJ Crawford of Iona, Monmouth’s Deion Hammond, Marvin Prochet from Niagara, Rich Kelly of Quinnipiac, and Rider’s Jordan Allen make the Preseason All-MAAC Third Team.
The 2019 MAAC Basketball Championship returns to the Times Union Center in Albany, NY for the fifth-straight season. This season marks the 20th time that Albany has hosted the season-ending Championship. This season's Men's Championship game is Monday, March 11 at 9 p.m. and airs live on ESPN or ESPN2.
For all information on the 2019 MAAC Basketball Championships, visit
maacsports.com/basketball. Be sure to follow the conversation on all social media platforms by following
@MAACHoops and using
#MAACHoops.
| Men’s Basketball Preseason Coaches’ Poll |
| Place |
School |
Points |
| 1. |
Rider (11) |
121 |
| 2. |
Canisius |
105 |
| T3. |
Iona |
94 |
| T3. |
Quinnipiac |
94 |
| 5. |
Monmouth |
66 |
| 6. |
Marist |
59 |
| 7. |
Fairfield |
50 |
| 8. |
Manhattan |
46 |
| 9. |
Niagara |
45 |
| 10. |
Saint Peter’s |
28 |
| 11. |
Siena |
18 |
| Preseason All-MAAC First Team |
| Name |
Position |
Institution |
| Isaiah Reese* |
Guard |
Canisius |
| Rickey McGill |
Guard |
Iona |
| Cameron Young |
Guard |
Quinnipiac |
| Stevie Jordan |
Guard |
Rider |
| Dimencio Vaughn* |
Guard/Forward |
Rider |
| Preseason All-MAAC Second Team |
| Name |
Position |
Institution |
| Takal Molson |
Guard |
Canisius |
| Roland Griffin |
Forward |
Iona |
| Pauly Paulicap |
Forward |
Manhattan |
| Brian Parker |
Guard |
Marist |
| Frederick Scott |
Forward |
Rider |
| Preseason All-MAAC Third Team |
| Name |
Position |
Institution |
| E.J. Crawford |
Guard/Forward |
Iona |
| Deion Hammond |
Guard |
Monmouth |
| Marvin Prochet |
Forward |
Niagara |
| Rich Kelly |
Guard |
Quinnipiac |
| Jordan Allen |
Guard |
Rider |
| Preseason Player of the Year |
| Isaiah Reese |
Guard |
Canisius |
About the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference:
With 11 institutions strongly bound by the sound principles of quality and integrity in academics and excellence in athletics, the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference (MAAC) is in its 38th year of competition during the 2018-19 academic year. Current Conference members include: Canisius College, Fairfield University, Iona College, Manhattan College, Marist College, Monmouth University, Niagara University, Quinnipiac University, Rider University, Saint Peter's University, and Siena College.