ATLANTIC CITY, NJ (Oct. 17, 2023) – The 2023-24 Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference (MAAC) Men’s Basketball Preseason Coaches’ Poll and Preseason All-MAAC honors have been revealed, as voted on by the league’s 11 head coaches. Rider University has been selected as the favorites to win the MAAC title in 2023-24, while the Broncs’ redshirt senior, Mervin James was chosen as the Preseason Player of the Year.
Rider earned 117 points and were the recipients of eight first-place votes, to lead the preseason poll. The Broncs are seeking their first ever MAAC Championship in 2023-24, having come close to a league crown twice previously, with a pair of championship title game appearances in 2005 and 2008. Led by 12
th year head coach and two-time MAAC Coach of the Year, Kevin Baggett, Rider was selected as the preseason favorites for the first time since 2018-19, following the program’s last MAAC Regular Season championship at the conclusion of the 2017-18 campaign. Last season, the Broncs led the league and ranked 37
th nationally in rebound margin (+4.6), while ranking second in the conference in fast break points, field goal percentage, free throw percentage, rebounds per game, and turnovers per game.
Defending MAAC Champion, Iona University, finished second in the poll, receiving 108 points and a pair of first-place vote. The Gaels have won a conference-leading 14 MAAC Championships dating back to the inception of the conference, securing seven out of the last 11 MAAC tournament titles dating back to 2013. Iona has also made 10 championship final appearances since 2011, the most by any MAAC school during that time span. In addition to their postseason success, the Gaels have garnered a league-best six regular season titles since 2011-12. In 2022-23, Iona led the MAAC in 13 statistical categories, highlighted by ranking first in scoring offense after racking up 75.9 points per game. Additionally, the Gaels led the league and ranked top-20 in the NCAA in blocks (3
rd), turnover margin (12
th), winning percentage (18
th), and scoring margin (20
th). Iona enters the season under the guidance of first year head coach Tobin Anderson, who led Fairleigh Dickinson of the NEC to the NCAA Second Round last March Madness.
Canisius University followed, collecting the final first-place vote and finishing with 89 total points in the poll. The third-place selection for the Golden Griffins is the team’s highest preseason pick since 2018-19, when that unit was chosen second. Reggie Witherspoon enters his eighth season at the helm of Canisius and has led the program to one MAAC Regular Season title, which came in 2017-18. The Griffs lone MAAC Championship occurred in 1996, with the program’s last championship game appearance coming in 2001. Canisius made and attempted the most three-point shots per game in the MAAC last season, connecting on 8.5 triples, while attempting 24.5 shots from beyond the arc each contest. The team was also second amongst league schools in assists, assists to turnover ratio, and turnover margin.
Siena College and Quinnipiac University rounded out the poll’s top five, garnering 77 points and 71 points, respectively. Over the past four seasons, the Saints have won a MAAC Championship (2020) and a pair of back-to-back Regular Season crowns (2019-20 and 2020-21), while the program has won the second-most overall league championship titles with six all-time. The Bobcats have never won a MAAC title nor has the team ever made a championship title game appearance since joining the league in 2013-14, but the team has made strides, advancing to the semifinal round three times, most recently doing so in 2022. Moreover, Quinnipiac has finished in the league’s top-five four times, which includes a third-place finish last year.
Mervin James was voted as the 2023-24 MAAC Preseason Player of the Year. A 2022-23 MAAC Second Team selection, James was the only unanimous player selected to the Preseason All-MAAC First Team. A native of St. Thomas in the U.S. Virgin Islands, he averaged 12.9 points and 6.8 rebounds last year, which ranked 14
th and fifth on the MAAC leaderboard, respectively. James was also top-five in the league in double-doubles (5), free-throw percentage (82.5%), and in field goal percentage (48.2%). He is the only returning player in the MAAC to have ranked top-15 in scoring and top-five in rebounds a year ago, while also being the top returning double-double earner from 2022-23.
James was joined on the Preseason All-MAAC First Team by his teammate Allen Powell, Osborn Shema of Iona, the MAAC’s top returning scorer in Mount St. Mary’s Dakota Leffew, and Matt Balanc from Quinnipiac, who is the only returning member from last year’s Preseason All-MAAC First Team.
Below is the full poll and preseason honors list:
| 2023-24 Men’s Basketball Preseason Coaches’ Poll |
| 1 |
Rider |
117 (8) |
| 2 |
Iona |
108 (2) |
| 3 |
Canisius |
89 (1) |
| 4 |
Siena |
77 |
| 5 |
Quinnipiac |
71 |
| 6 |
Fairfield |
70 |
| 7 |
Mount St. Mary’s |
59 |
| 8 |
Marist |
48 |
| 9 |
Niagara |
43 |
| 10 |
Saint Peter’s |
30 |
| 11 |
Manhattan |
14 |
| Preseason Player of the Year |
| Mervin James – Rider |
| Preseason All-MAAC First Team |
| Player |
Position |
Year |
Institution |
| Osborn Shema |
Forward |
Gr. |
Iona |
| Dakota Leffew |
Guard |
Sr. |
Mount St. Mary’s |
| Matt Balanc |
Guard |
Gr. |
Quinnipiac |
| Mervin James* |
Forward |
R-Sr. |
Rider |
| Allen Powell |
Guard |
R-Sr. |
Rider |
| Preseason All-MAAC Second Team |
| Player |
Position |
Year |
Institution |
| Tahj Staveskie |
Guard |
So. |
Canisius |
| Caleb Fields |
Guard |
Gr. |
Fairfield |
| Isaiah Brickner |
Guard |
So. |
Marist |
| Paul Otieno |
Forward |
Sr. |
Quinnipiac |
| Michael Eley |
Guard |
So. |
Siena |
| Preseason All-MAAC Third Team |
| Player |
Position |
Year |
Institution |
| Xzavier Long |
Forward |
Jr. |
Canisius |
| Alexis Yetna |
Forward |
Gr. |
Fairfield |
| Joel Brown |
Guard |
Gr. |
Iona |
| Idan Tretout |
Guard |
Gr. |
Iona |
| Corey Washington |
Forward |
So. |
Saint Peter’s |
*Denotes unanimous selection
The 2023-24 campaign culminates with the 2024 Hercules Tires MAAC Men’s and Women’s Basketball Championships from March 12-16 at Atlantic City's Historic Jim Whelan Boardwalk Hall for the fifth consecutive year dating back to 2020. For all information regarding the 2024 Hercules Tires MAAC Men’s and Women’s Basketball Championships, please visit
MAACSports.com/basketball and by following @MAACHoops and #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 43rd year of competition during the 2023-24 academic year. Current conference members include: Canisius University, Fairfield University, Iona University, Manhattan College, Marist College, Mount St. Mary’s University, Niagara University, Quinnipiac University, Rider University, Saint Peter’s University, and Siena College.
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