BELTON, Texas — The University of Mary Hardin-Baylor men’s basketball team has been picked to successfully defend its West Division title in the American Southwest Conference’s annual Preseason Coaches and Media Poll.
The Cru received 14 first-place votes and 127 total points as the pick to repeat as West Division champs. Hardin-Simmons picked up six first-place votes and 117 total points to come in second.
Concordia Texas took two first-place votes and 101 total points for third, McMurry grabbed a first-place vote and 75 total points for fourth place, Sul Ross State had 63 total points and the other first-place vote to come in at #5 and Howard Payne rounds out the poll with a sixth-place total of 32 points. Defending ASC champion UT Dallas picked up 18 first-place votes and 137 total points as the pick to win the ASC East Division.
UMHB placed three players on the ASC Men’s Basketball Preseason Watch List. Byrale Carter is a senior guard from Shoemaker High School. He averaged 10.4 points and added 66 assists and 45 steals last season.
Aedan Welch is a senior wing from Liberty Hill High School. Welch averaged 2.9 points and 2.4 rebounds per contest, but missed most of the season with an injury. Sam Moore is a junior guard from Nixon-Smiley High School. Moore averaged a team-high 17.4 points and grabbed 5.4 rebounds per game last year.
The Cru expects to return 11 letter winners and two starters this season. The Cru men finished 21-6 overall and went 11-5 in ASC play last season while advancing to the Semifinals of the ASC Championship Tournament.
UMHB will open the 2019-20 season with a non-conference home game against Schreiner University on November 11th.
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