DALLAS – For the second-straight season, UAB has been voted by the league’s 11 head coaches as the preseason favorite to win the 2022-23 Conference USA men’s basketball regular season championship, the league announced Thursday. Additionally, 10 student-athletes were named as C-USA Preseason All-Conference honorees, headlined by Preseason Player of the Year Jordan “Jelly” Walker of UAB.
 
UAB collected nine first-place votes and finished with a total of 119 points. The Blazers, led by Andy Kennedy, return four starters from last year’s squad that hoisted the trophy at the C-USA Basketball Championship and appeared in the NCAA Tournament. UAB welcomes the return of Walker, who last season became the first Blazer to be named C-USA Player of the Year since 2011. The Long Island, N.Y., native led the league in scoring (21.6) and assists (5.3) during conference action. Walker is joined in the back court and on the all-conference team by sophomore guard Eric Gaines, one of UAB’s five Division I transfers. Gaines averaged nine points, 2.9 assists and 2.1 steals per contest in 34 games for LSU a season ago.
 
WKU and North Texas grabbed the remaining two first-place votes with the Hilltoppers claiming the runner-up spot by just two points over the Mean Green (102-100). Middle Tennessee (87) edged out Florida Atlantic (86) for the fourth spot in the poll. LA Tech (63) was voted No. 6, followed by Rice (51), UTEP (41) and Charlotte (39). FIU (20) and UTSA (18) rounded out the preseason predicted order of finish.
 
Like the Blazers, WKU also features four returning starters, and the Tops earned a league-best three preseason all-conference nods. Junior guard Dayvion McKnight, a first-team all-conference honoree last season, ranked 15th nationally with 5.68 assists per game and ranked sixth in C-USA with 16.1 PPG. Senior big man Jamarion Sharp looks to build upon his 148 blocks from last year, which ranked second in league history and earned him the title of C-USA Defensive Player of the Year. The duo is joined on the preseason all-conference squad by graduate guard Emmanuel Akot, a highly coveted Boise State transfer who averaged 10.6 points and a team-high 2.8 assists per game in 2021-22 for the Broncos.
 
North Texas received an automatic bid to the NIT after the Mean Green finished with a league-best 16-2 mark in C-USA play and fell in the semifinals at the conference tournament. UNT rode its stout defensive play to a program-record 25 wins last year, finishing as the nation’s leader in scoring defense (55.7), a full 2.4 points per game fewer than the No. 2 school. The team is represented on the preseason list by senior guard Tylor Perry, a first-team all-conference student-athlete last season. His clutch shooting resulted in four go-ahead or game-winning three pointers in the 2021-22 regular season.
 
Seven of the league’s 11 teams were represented on the preseason all-conference team including 2021-22 All-Freshman Team honorees Alijah Martin (Florida Atlantic) and Teafale Lenard Jr. (Middle Tennessee). Martin averaged 13.9 points on 45.8 percent shooting to go with 5.3 rebounds per game to lead the Owls, and Lenard shot 56 percent from the field while averaging 6.9 points and 3.3 boards per contest in his rookie season.
 
LA Tech’s Cobe Williams and Rice’s Quincy Olivari completed the preseason honoree list. A pair of two-year starters, Williams averaged 11.4 points, 3.5 rebounds and 3.0 assists per game for the Bulldogs in 2021-22, and Olivari posted 9.9 points and six boards per contest for the Owls.
 
The 2022-23 campaign tips off Monday, Nov. 7, and culminates in the 2023 Conference USA Basketball Championships March 8-11 at the Ford Center at The Star in Frisco, Texas. The men’s final is scheduled for Saturday, March 11, to be broadcast on CBS Sports Network.
 
2022-23 C-USA Men’s Basketball Preseason Poll

Rank	School (first-place votes)	Total
1.	UAB (9)	119
2.	WKU (1)	102
3.	North Texas (1)	100
4.	Middle Tennessee	87
5.	Florida Atlantic	86
6.	LA Tech	63
7.	Rice	51
8.	UTEP	41
9.	Charlotte	39
10.	FIU	20
11.	UTSA	18

 
C-USA MBB Preseason Player of the Year
Jordan Walker, UAB
 
C-USA MBB Preseason All-Conference Honorees

Name	Yr.	Pos.	Hometown
Alijah Martin, Florida Atlantic*	So.	G	Summit, Miss.
Cobe Williams, LA Tech	Jr.	G	Dallas, Texas
Teafale Lenard Jr., Middle Tennessee	So.	G	Snyder, Texas
Tylor Perry, North Texas*	Sr.	G	Fort Coffee, Okla.
Quincy Olivari, Rice	Jr.	G	Atlanta, Ga.
Eric Gaines, UAB	So.	G	Lithonia, Ga.
Jordan Walker, UAB*	Sr.	G	Long Island, N.Y.
Emmanuel Akot, WKU	Gr.	G	Winnipeg, Manitoba
Dayvion McKnight, WKU*	Jr.	G	Shelbyville, Ky.
Jamarion Sharp, WKU	Sr.	C	Hopkinsville, Ky.

 
* - 2021-22 All-Conference USA selection