The two teams that met in last year's SLIAC Men's Basketball tournament championship game are this year's top two preseason picks by league coaches. 

Fontbonne University, who tied Webster University, for the regular season title last year before winning the tournament title is tops in the preseason poll with 73 total points, edging out the Gorloks with 5 first-place votes. Head Coach Lance Thornhill guided the program to its first national tournament since 2009 and returns three starters including a pair of All-Conference players in Elijah Rice and Brent Wagner. Rice averaged 9.8 points per game while Wagner put up 12.7 points per game while hitting 67 three-point field goals. Ethan Chartrand averaged 6.9 points per game as a freshman coming off the bench and should play a larger role this season. The Griffins fill in their departures with a group of nine freshmen. 

Webster finished 2nd in the poll with 69 total points and 4 first-place nods. The Gorloks return four starters including two-time All-Conference forward Karl Moore Jr., The post player is one of the league's best defenders of the paint, earning SLIAC Defensive Player of the Year honors last season and he is already in the top five in league history in blocks. He averaged 10.1 points and 9.9 rebounds per game while leading the league with 86 blocked shots. Jason Coleman returns after finishing second on the team in scoring with 10.5 points per game while Markus Becton is looking to make another jump after putting up 8.4 points and 4.9 rebounds in 12 starts last season. Jemard Sykes II completes the list of returning starters and averaged 8.7 points and 5.1 rebounds per game last year. Head Coach Chris Bunch is excited about newcomers Booker Simmons, Gavin Rivers, and Justin Ugo. 

Eureka College, who tied for 3rd last year, received 64 points and 1 first-place vote. The Red Devils return three starters including the All-Conference pair of Cody Baer and Pee Wee Brown. Last year's SLIAC Player of the Year, Baer is an athletic forward that put up 17.2 points and 11.6 rebounds per game while shooting 54-percent from the field. Brown meanwhile is a lightning quick attacking guard that averaged 16.6 points per game and got to the free-throw line 122 times, where he shot 74-percent. Noah Persich averaged 8.9 points per game and connected on 39-percent of his three-point attempts. Head Coach Chip Wilde is in his 17th year at the helm of the Red Devils. 

Lyon College, who is in its first year with the SLIAC, was picked 4th with 53 total points. Head Coach Rodney Mayes guided the Scots to a 9-16 record last season. They return 10 players and four starters including All-Conference guard Trenton Bell. Bell averaged 17.7 points per game last season, connecting on 53 three-pointers. The program brings in seven transfers and four freshmen in their transition to NCAA Division III. 

Principia College comes in 5th with 51 points. The Panthers graduated six players from last year's team that won a program record 18 games. Head Coach Todd Zimmerman does return three starters however including First Team All-SLIAC forward Jaquan Adams. Adams averaged 17.1 points and 6.8 rebounds per game while being named SLIAC 6th Man of the Year. Guard Shemarri Miles is also back after putting up 9.1 points per game while leading the team with 95 assists and earning All-Defensive Team honors. After missing last season AJ Byrd returns and averaged 16.0 points and 5.6 rebounds per game the last time he was on the court healthy. Charley Hoffman could take more minutes in the front court. Isaiah Parker is one of the new faces to the program that should see plenty of action. Other newcomers include Bobby Alford and Jordan Williams. 

Finishing 6th on the poll is Spalding University with 45 total points. Coached by Kevin Gray, the Golden Eagles return three starters from a young team that fought its way to 8 wins last season. Anthony Dillard was a Second Team All-SLIAC player last year after averaging 15.0 points and 7.7 rebounds per game while shooting 51-percent from the field. Jacoby Johnson and Andre Crawford are also back in starting roles while Charlie Storm and Caden Bradford could push for starting spots after playing the majority of games last season off the bench. Overall the Golden Eagles return 10 players in total and 80-percent of their scoring from last season.

MUW tallied 30 points, coming in 7th on the poll. Joining the league this year the Owls bring back seven players and two starters. Head Coach Dean Burrows led the five-year program to its first ever post-season tournament, finishing 11-15 overall. The Owls did lose three players that accounted for nearly half their scoring but will build around returning starters Brye Hopkins and Andrew Shepherd. Hopkins is a force inside, averaging 12.9 points per game while shooting 71-percent from the field. Shepherd meanwhile averaged 7.8 points per game and led the team with 50 three-pointers made. Other returners that will play roles are Josh Dukes, Dariun Doss, and Tyson Smithey. The program brings in five transfers and three freshmen this season. 

Greenville University was chosen 8th with 27 points. Head Coach Dr. George Barber will have plenty of new faces this season, building his team around All-Conference guard Jarred Johnson. The senior has averaged 15.0 points per game over the last two seasons and is one of the league's top perimeter defenders, recording 127 steals in his three years. 

Blackburn College received 26 total points from league coaches. Head Coach Austin Kirby finally says good bye to Chanz Aldridge but does return three starters and 10 players overall. Izayah Talmadge leads the list of returners after averaging 11.4 points and 5.7 rebounds per game. Also back are a trio of freshmen from last year in Cameron Johnson, who averaged 9.5 points per game, as well as Cayden Paquette and Tyson Johnson. Transfer Darius Duff should be a key contributor to the program. 

Finishing the poll with 12 points is Westminster College. Head Coach Todd Creal returns six players that saw plenty of action last season. The trio of Brennan Jeffries, Ben Eberlin, and Tre Kempker will play large roles in the success of the Blue Jays this season. Kempker averaged 11.1 points per game while Jeffries averaged 6.2 points and 3.0 assists per game and Eberlin averaged 9.7 points per game while shooting 53-percent from the field. A large incoming class of 12 includes one transfer and 11 freshmen. 

SLIAC Men's Basketball Preseason Watch List
Jaquan Adams, Principia College
Cody Baer, Eureka College
Trenton Bell, Lyon College
Pee Wee Brown, Eureka College
Anthony Dillard, Spalding University
Jarred Johnson, Greenville University
Karl Moore Jr., Webster University
Elijah Rice, Fontbonne University
Brent Wagner, Fontbonne University