Iona Selected as Men’s Basketball Preseason Favorite; Siena’s Jalen Pickett Named Preseason Player of the Year
EDISON, N.J. (Oct. 22, 2019) – The Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference (MAAC) has announced its men’s basketball preseason honors, as voted on by the league’s 11 head coaches.
The Iona Gaels are favored to win the league after winning their fourth consecutive MAAC Championship last season, becoming the first men’s basketball team in conference history to accomplish that feat. Head Coach Tim Cluess returns for his 10th season with the Gaels in 2019-20 and looks to lead the program to its sixth MAAC Championship during his tenure.
Rider University followed behind in second place. The Broncs return five starters from last year’s squad in Stevie Jordan, Tyere Marshall, Frederick Scott, Dimencio Vaughn and Kimar Williams.
Quinnipiac University was voted into third place and Monmouth University in fourth. Manhattan College rounded out the top-five.
Siena College was slotted in sixth, Canisius College in seventh, Marist College in eighth and Saint Peter’s University in ninth. Niagara University and Fairfield University finished in 10th and 11th, respectively.
Siena’s Jalen Pickett headlines the preseason honors after an impressive freshman campaign that earned him a unanimous MAAC Rookie of the Year selection and a spot on the All-MAAC First Team. The Preseason Player of the Year averaged 15.8 points, 4.6 rebounds and a league-leading 6.7 assists for the Saints last season. The last Siena men's player to be named MAAC Preseason Player of the Year was Ryan Rossiter in 2010-11. Rossiter went on to win MAAC Player of the Year.
Pickett was named to the Preseason All-MAAC First Team alongside Iona’s E.J. Crawford and Tajuan Agee, Quinnipiac’s Rich Kelly and Rider’s Stevie Jordan. Crawford, a 2018-19 All-MAAC First Team selection, was a unanimous pick for the preseason honor. Agee, Kelly and Jordan all earned Second Team selections last season.
Monmouth’s Deion Hammond and Ray Salnave, Rider’s Frederick Scott and Dimencio Vaughn, Iona’s Asante Gist and Canisius College’s Malik Johnson make up the Preseason All-MAAC Second Team. The Preseason All-MAAC Third Team features Manhattan’s Pauly Paulicap and Warren Williams, Fairfield University’s Jesus Cruz and Landon Taliaferro, Quinnipiac’s Jacob Rigoni and Rider’s Tyere Marshall.
Below is the full poll and preseason honors list:
| Preseason Player of the Year |
| Jalen Pickett – Siena |
| Preseason All-MAAC First Team |
| Player |
Position |
Year |
Institution |
| Tajuan Agee |
Forward |
Sr. |
Iona |
| E.J. Crawford* |
Guard/Forward |
Sr. |
Iona |
| Stevie Jordan |
Guard |
Sr. |
Rider |
| Rich Kelly |
Guard |
Jr. |
Quinnipiac |
| Jalen Pickett |
Guard |
So. |
Siena |
* = Unanimous selection
| Preseason All-MAAC Second Team |
| Player |
Position |
Year |
Institution |
| Asante Gist |
Guard |
Jr. |
Iona |
| Deion Hammond |
Guard |
Jr. |
Monmouth |
| Malik Johnson |
Guard |
Sr. |
Canisius |
| Ray Salnave |
Guard |
R. Jr. |
Monmouth |
| Frederick Scott |
Forward |
R. Jr |
Rider |
| Dimencio Vaughn |
Guard/Forward |
R. Jr |
Rider |
| Preseason All-MAAC Third Team |
| Player |
Position |
Year |
Institution |
| Jesus Cruz |
Guard |
Jr. |
Fairfield |
| Tyere Marshall |
Center |
Sr. |
Rider |
| Pauly Paulicap |
Forward |
Sr. |
Manhattan |
| Jacob Rigoni |
Forward |
Jr. |
Quinnipiac |
| Landon Taliaferro |
Guard |
Sr. |
Fairfield |
| Warren Williams |
Forward |
So. |
Manhattan |
| Preseason Coaches’ Poll |
| Iona (10) |
119 |
| Rider (1) |
109 |
| Quinnipiac |
86 |
| Monmouth |
81 |
| Manhattan |
79 |
| Siena |
78 |
| Canisius |
52 |
| Marist |
44 |
| Saint Peter’s |
34 |
| Niagara |
26 |
| Fairfield |
18 |
About the 2020 MAAC Men’s and Women’s Basketball Championships:
The MAAC Men’s and Women’s Basketball Championships return to New Jersey on March 10-14, 2020 at Jim Whelan Boardwalk Hall in Atlantic City. To stay up to date on MAAC basketball, visit
http://maacsports.com/basketball and follow
@MAACHoops on Twitter.
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 39
th year of competition during the 2019-20 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.