Fort Lewis College Athletics

FLC men's basketball earns first-place vote, comes in at No. 5 in RMAC Coaches' Preseason Poll

10/27/2021 11:34:00 AM

By: David Wilson, Assistant AD-Communications

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. — The Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference (RMAC) released the men's basketball Preseason Coaches' Poll on Wednesday, with Fort Lewis College earning one first-place vote and fifth overall out of 15 teams.

Colorado Mesa University, the defending regular season and tournament champions, earned 192 points and 12 of the 15 first-place votes. The Mavericks currently rank No. 4 in the country in the National Association of Basketball Coaches (NABC) Preseason Poll.

Colorado School of Mines came in at No. 2 in the RMAC Coaches poll with 183 points and one first-place vote. The Orediggers are also ranked on the national scene, entering the 2021-22 season at No. 5 in the NABC Preseason poll.

Black Hills State claimed the No. 3 spot with 163 points and one first-place vote, while the University of Colorado at Colorado Springs (UCCS) just edged out Fort Lewis for fourth place in the poll with 134 points.

Fort Lewis received 132 voter points and is coming off an abbreviated and hectic 2020-21 season due to the Covid-19 pandemic, finishing with a 7-9 overall record and 6-8 mark in the RMAC, but qualified for the RMAC Tournament as a No. 6 seed given its strength of schedule.

The Skyhawks return a deep and experienced team, led by two-time First Team All-RMAC forward Riley Farris and junior forward Brenden Boatwright, who garnered Second Team All-RMAC honors after a breakout 2020-21 campaign.

In total, FLC welcomes back four starters and 10 players who saw meaningful rotation minutes last year with senior guards Will Wittman, Corey Seng and Logan Hokanson; juniors Dunnell Stafford, Brendan La Rose and Joey Naccarato, as well as sophomores Junior Garbrah and Akuel Kot.

The Skyhawks have also added NCAA Division I transfer JacQuess Hobbs, who made 35 starts and averaged 4.5 points in 90 career games for Eastern Kentucky University from 2017-21.

Institution (First-Place Votes)	Points
1. Colorado Mesa (12)	192
2. Colorado School of Mines (1)	183
3. Black Hills State (1)	163
4. University of Colorado Colorado Springs	134
5. Fort Lewis (1)	132
6. New Mexico Highlands	116
7. Metropolitan State University of Denver	115
8. Regis	106
9. South Dakota Mines	88
10. Westminster	83
11. Adams State	78
12. Chadron State	62
13. Western Colorado	58
14. Colorado Christian	36
15. Colorado State University Pueblo	29

Print Friendly Version