As part of the Western Athletic Conference basketball preview day, the preseason polls and All-WAC teams were released Wednesday morning, with junior William Powell (Huntsville, Ala.) earning preseason Second Team All-WAC honors from both the conference coaches and the media covering the league.
Powell is the leading returner for the Redhawks in both scoring and rebounding after averaging 7.8 points and 6.4 rebounds per game. Deshaun Sunderhaus (Conyers, Ga.), returning from a season-ending knee injury, also received recognition from the media with Second Team Preseason All-WAC honors.
“William is a rock for us both offensively and defensively. He has the knack for coming up with plays, such as taking the charge or grabbing the loose ball, that help our team,” said Seattle U head coach Cameron Dollar. “Deshaun has been medically cleared to do everything in practice. He has been an active participant in practices, and I think he is eager to get back on the court.”
In the coaches poll, Seattle U collected 22 points from the seven other coaches, as Dollar was not allowed to include the Redhawks in his own ranking, to finish in fifth place in the poll. New Mexico State received all seven possible first-place votes to be tabbed the preseason favorite, followed by Grand Canyon with 39 points, CSU Bakersfield with 36 points, including the other first-place vote, and Missouri-Kansas City with 35 points. After the Redhawks, Utah Valley finished in sixth with 20 points, UT Rio Grande Valley collected 13 points for seventh place, and Chicago State earned 10 points for eighth place.
New Mexico State was also selected as the preseason favorite in the media poll, picking up 13 of 14 first-place votes and 110 points overall. Grand Canyon earned 88 points to finish just ahead of Missouri-Kansas City with 87 points, while CSU Bakersfield once again received one first-place vote as it finished fourth with 76 points. Seattle U collected 55 points for fifth place, followed again by Utah Valley with 37 points, UT Rio Grande Valley with 34 points, and Chicago State with 17 points.
“I am excited about what we return, led by our two returning starters William (Powell) and Jack (Crook), who played major minutes for us last season,” Dollar said during Wednesday morning’s media session at the Orleans Arena. “Our practices have gone well, they have been very spirited and competitive, and our guys are ready to get going.”
The Seattle University men’s basketball team, coming off a semifinal appearance in the 2015 College Basketball Invitational, opens the 2015-16 season Friday, Nov. 13, against Arkansas-Pine Bluff starting at 7:30 p.m. at KeyArena. The Redhawks will play 15 games at KeyArena this season, including contests against Eastern Washington, UC Santa Barbara, and UC Davis. Season tickets are available by contacting the Seattle U Athletics Ticket Office at 206-398-GOSU (4678), while single-game tickets are on sale through the ticket page on GoSeattleU.com.