LOCK HAVEN, Pa. - The men's basketball coaches of the Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference have announced the annual preseason poll, selecting Millersville to finish third in the Eastern Division.
Millersville is coming off a 19-win season--its fourth in a row with at least 18 wins. The Marauders finished fourth in the regular season standings last season, going 13-8. West Chester, which won the East in 2024-25, received eight of nine first-place votes for the top spot in the preseason poll. Gannon, the defending PSAC Tournament champs, has a new coach in Easton Bazzoli, but was still picked to win the Western Division.
While parity has reigned in the PSAC East over the last four seasons, Millersville has remained a constant at the top. Millersville is the only team in the East to advance to at least the PSAC Tournament Semifinals three times in the last four years, and its .699 winning percentage is second among all Eastern Division teams. Since 2021-22, five different programs have earned at least a share of the division title, but Millersville holds a winning record over all of those teams, going 8-2 against West Chester, 7-3 against Lock Haven, 7-1 against Shippensburg, and 5-4 against East Stroudsburg.
Despite the results, Millersville has been picked fourth once and third three times in the last four preseason polls. Millersville must replace three starters, including
Drew Stover, the PSAC East Athlete of the Year. But the top four teams in the preseason poll all have to replace their leading scorers. West Chester lost a pair of All-PSAC East performers in Elijah Allen and Josh Walker. East Stroudsburg lost two first-team selections in Lakeem McAliley and Cam Young as well as the freshman of the year, Evan Morton, who transferred to UMBC. Shepherd also graduated leading scorer and first team pick Chase Paar.
Millersville returns
Saraj Ali, a former PSAC East Freshman of the Year and two-time All-PSAC East selection. Ali averaged 14.9 points and 7.0 rebounds per game in 2024-25 and has already accumulated more than 1,000 points and 500 rebounds in his career.
Day Waters is also back at the 'Ville after a season at Slippery Rock. Waters shot 42% from three for a 24-win Millersville team in 2023-24, and he ranked 13th in the PSAC in 3-point shooting last season while averaging 13 points per game. The Marauders also return guards
Aamir Hurst and
Dante Weise. Key additions include
E.J. Matthews-Spratley, who averaged 22.9 points per game and ranked fifth in the nation in threes for Division III Stockton last season.
Cesar Tchilombo, a transfer from Division I Northern Kentucky, is the Marauders' new center.
Amir Cunningham, who was a career double-digit figure scorer at Kutztown, and Malcom Dread, a transfer from Mount St. Mary's, give the Marauders depth in the front court.
Millersville begins its season with the annual Ron Wilson Classic on Nov. 14-15. The non-conference schedule is a challenge as Virginia Union, a perennial CIAA power, is the game No. 1 opponent, and Charleston, which went 18-10 last season and 29-5 in 2023-24, plays the Marauders the second day.
POLL RESULTS
Eastern Division
1. West Chester (8)
2. East Stroudsburg (1)
3. Millersville
4. Shepherd
5. Shippensburg
6. Lock Haven
7. Mansfield
8. Kutztown
9. Bloomsburg
Western Division
1. Gannon (6)
2. IUP (1)
3. California (1)
4. Slippery Rock
5. Seton Hill
6. Edinboro
7. Pitt-Johnstown
8. Clarion
