Men's Hoops Tabbed Number Three In ECC Preseason Coaches Ranking

West Babylon, N.Y. – St. Thomas Aquinas narrowly outpaced Daemen to take first place in the East Coast Conference men's basketball preseason poll released on Thursday afternoon. In addition, Daemen standout Andrew Sischo (Guilderland, N.Y.) was selected as the league's Preseason Player of the Year for the fourth straight season.

St. Thomas Aquinas and Daemen take the top two spots in the poll after battling in some of the conference's and region's most important games a season ago. After splitting a pair of regular season meetings, the rivals met in the final of both the ECC Championship and the NCAA East Region Championship. St. Thomas Aquinas won the ECC battle for their fifth conference title in the past six seasons, while Daemen took the East Region crown and a resulting berth in the NCAA Division II Elite Eight.

Both programs return the majority of their rosters from a season ago but the Spartans edged the Wildcats by a margin of 96-94 to top the poll. St. Thomas Aquinas also received six first place votes to Daemen's four.

St. Thomas Aquinas has 11 players back from last year's squad, including three All-Conference First Team selections in Demetre Roberts, Osbel Caraballo, and Grant Singleton. Roberts and Caraballo both passed the 1,000-point milestone to earn their third straight All-Conference nods, while Singleton had a breakout season that saw him earn an All-America selection after ranking fourth in the ECC with 17.2 points per game.

Daemen's roster is nearly intact with 11 of 12 players back from last year. In addition, the Wildcats see the return of five players who had opted out of last year's abbreviated season, adding further depth. Among the returnees are all five starters, four of whom were double-digit scorers (Sischo, Sean Fasoyiro, Andrew Mason, and Kyle Harris).

Sischo is the ECC Preseason Player of the Year for an unprecedented fourth time as the fifth-year center is back for one more go-around. He is one of numerous players across the country to take advantage of the NCAA ruling that gave all basketball student-athletes who competed during the 2020-21 season an extra season of eligibility. Sischo continued to add to one of the most decorated careers in ECC history last season. A double-double machine, he led the ECC and ranked in the top-four in all of Division II in both points per game (26.9) and rebounds per game (13.0). His outstanding play earned him ECC Player of the Year and All-America honors for the third straight season. He excelled in the postseason as well, as he was named the East Regional Most Outstanding Player after averaging 25.0 points and 8.5 rebounds over two games to lead Daemen to their first-ever NCAA Division II Elite Eight appearance.

Sischo's 2021 campaign also saw him surpass the career milestones of 2,000 points and 1,000 rebounds, becoming just the second player in ECC history to top both marks. In addition, he set the conference's career record for field goals made, surpassing the previous mark of 825. Sischo will likely set more ECC records this season, as he currently sits just 25 points away from passing former St. Thomas Aquinas standout Justin Reyes' current scoring record of 2,247 points. The ECC career records for rebounds and free throws made are also within reach for the Wildcat big man.

After St. Thomas Aquinas and Daemen, next up in the poll is Bridgeport at No. 3. The Purple Knights are one of four ECC members (District of Columbia, Queens, Staten Island) returning to action this season. During the 2019-20 campaign, Bridgeport won the ECC Regular Season Championship and was slated to host the NCAA East Regional as the No. 1 seed before the tournament was canceled due to COVID-19.

Molloy, District of Columbia, and Roberts Wesleyan take the next three spots to start the year as projected playoff teams. Mercy, Queens, D'Youville, and Staten Island round out the remainder of the poll.

D'Youville begins their first full season in the ECC, while Staten Island will play an ECC schedule for the first time as the league's newest members continue their transition into NCAA Division II.

2021-2022 ECC Men's Basketball Preseason Poll

( ) - first place votes
* - record from 2019-2020

Preseason Player of Year: Andrew Sischo, Daemen (6-9, Gr., C, Guilderland, N.Y.)