BOWLING GREEN, Ky. — WKU was picked to finish sixth in the Conference USA Preseason Coaches Poll, announced Wednesday by the league.
C-USA also announced the Preseason All-Conference Team Wednesday, which had no Hilltoppers on the 10-member squad and only one underclassman overall. UAB was picked to finish first in the poll and earned 11 first-place votes, followed by Old Dominion with three first-place nods.
Last season, the Hilltoppers finished their inaugural season in C-USA with a 20-12 overall record and a 12-6 mark in league play, which was good for a tie for fourth place in the final standings.
WKU returns five players and welcomes 10 newcomers to the roster this season, which begins with a preseason exhibition game against Lindsey Wilson (Ky.) College on Nov. 2. Hilltopper Hysteria, the annual kickoff to basketball season on The Hill, is Saturday, Oct. 17 from 6:00-8:00 PM (CT) at E.A. Diddle Arena.
2015-16 Conference USA Preseason Coaches Poll (first-place votes in parenthesis)
1. UAB (11)
2. Old Dominion (3)
3. Middle Tennessee
4. UTEP
5. LA Tech
6. WKU
7. Rice
8. North Texas
9. Marshall
10. FIU
11. Charlotte
12. Florida Atlantic
13. UTSA
14. Southern Miss
2015-16 Preseason All-Conference USA Team
Adrian Diaz, FIU (Senior, F)
Alex Hamilton, LA Tech (Senior, G)
Erik McCree, LA Tech (Junior, F)
Ryan Taylor, Marshall (Junior, F)
Reggie Upshaw Jr., Middle Tennessee (Junior, F)
Trey Freeman, Old Dominion (Senior, G)
Marcus Jackson, Rice (Junior, G)
Robert Brown, UAB (Senior, G)
William Lee, UAB (Sophomore, F)
Earvin Morris, UTEP (Senior, G)
2015-16 Ticket Information: Season tickets for the upcoming 2015-16 season are on sale now through the WKU Ticket Office for as low as $5.00 per game, and season ticket renewals have been mailed. For more information, call the ticket office at 1-800-5-BIG RED or 745-5222 locally.
Hilltopper Basketball on the Map: With a third-straight 20-win season in 2014-15, WKU and head coach Ray Harper entered into exclusive company.
- WKU and LA Tech are the only schools in Conference USA to win 20 or more games in each of the last three seasons
- The Hilltoppers are one of just 46 schools in the nation to currently have a streak of three-straight 20-win seasons
- Ray Harper joins 21 other head coaches since 2000-01 to record three 20-win campaigns in his first three full seasons as a Division I head coach
