CCAA PRESEASON COACHES POLL  |  NABC DIVISION II COACHES' POLL

SAN RAMON, Calif. -- The Cal Poly Pomona men's basketball team is predicted to finish second in the California Collegiate Athletic Association (CCAA) Men's Basketball standings in 2018-19, according to a preseason poll of the league's coaches, it was announced by the conference office Wednesday.

Led by 19th-year head coach Greg Kamansky, the Broncos are thought to finish behind defending CCAA tournament champion UC San Diego, which garnered 141 points and nine first-place votes, ahead of the 136 points and four first-place votes cast for CPP.  Chico State came in third with 116 points, followed by Stanislaus State (114), Cal State San Bernardino (84), Cal State L.A. (80), Cal State San Marcos (76) and Cal State Dominguez Hills (68) rounding out the Top 8.  San Francisco State (54), Sonoma State (50), Cal State East Bay (42), Humboldt State (36) and Cal State Monterey Bay (17) finished ninth through 13th in the preseason coaches poll.

On Tuesday, the National Association of Basketball Coaches (NABC) Division II Preseason Top 25 Coaches' Poll was announced listing the Broncos at No. 9 in the nation ahead of the upcoming season.  CCAA-rival UC San Diego also appeared in the preseason Top 25, coming in at No. 24.  Chico State and Stanislaus State were included as receiving votes.

Cal Poly Pomona returns eight letterwinners, three of them starters, from last year's squad that went 23-7 overall, won the CCAA regular season title with an 18-4 mark in conference play, and qualified for the NCAA tournament for the fifth time in six years.  Among the starters returning are All-CCAA First Team and NABC All-West Region performers senior Jordan Ogundiran and junior William Christmas, as well as junior Justin Young.  The reigning CCAA Freshman of the Year, Phoenix Shackelford, will also don the Green and Gold once again this year, joined by senior Chris Sullivan, juniors Nikhil Peters and Riley Schaefer, sophomores Chim Okorafor and Mason Dickerson, and redshirt freshman Finn Eckhardt.

Junior transfer Dwight Ramos comes over from Cal State Fullerton after appearing in 43 games for the Titans over the past two seasons, including 18 in CSUF's Big West title run last season, one of which came in a NCAA Tournament First Round game against Purdue back in March.  Also making the jump from Division I to Division II is freshman Elijah Baker-McCoy, who redshirted for the University of Louisiana of the Sun Belt Conference last season.  A pair of true freshmen round out the 14-man roster for the Broncos -- Demetrius Williams from Amador Valley HS in Pleasanton and Sione Lauese Jr. from Sequoia HS in East Palo Alto.

Kamansky, the reigning CCAA Coach of the Year, and the Broncos will kick start their 2018-19 campaign at the Carl's Jr. Mac Martin Invitational hosted by Chico State next Friday, November 9th at 5:30 pm against Seattle Pacific.  CPP will then wrap up the season-opening tournament against Azusa Pacific a night later (Nov. 10) before hosting its home opener on November 14th at 7:00 pm against the University of Saint Katherine.  The Broncos won't host another home game until Chico State comes to town on December 29th.  Click here for the complete 2018-19 schedule.

2018-19 CCAA MEN'S BASKETBALL PRESEASON COACHES' POLL
Rank, Institution, Points (First-place votes)
1. UC San Diego, 141 (9)
2. CAL POLY POMONA, 136 (4)
3. Chico State, 116
4. Stanislaus State, 114
5. Cal State San Bernardino, 84
6. Cal State LA, 80
7. Cal State San Marcos, 76
8. Cal State Dominguez Hills, 68
9. San Francisco State, 54
10. Sonoma State, 50
11. Cal State East Bay, 42
12. Humboldt State, 36
13. Cal State Monterey Bay, 17


NABC DIVISION II TOP 25 PRESEASON COACHES' POLL
Rank, Institution
1. Bellarmine
2. West Liberty
3. Lincoln Memorial
4. West Texas A&M
5. Northwest Missouri State
6. Saint Anselm
7. Queens (N.C.)
8. Indiana (Pa.)
9. CAL POLY POMONA
10. Southern Nazarene
11. Valdosta State
12. West Florida
13. Ferris State
14. Western Washington
15. East Stroudsburg
16. Virginia State
17. Morehouse
18. St. Cloud State
19. Regis
20. Southwest Minnesota State
21. Dallas Baptist
22. Florida Southern
23. Findlay
24. UC San Diego
25. Missouri Southern

Others receiving votes: Clayton State 40, Fairmont State 38, UNC Pembroke 35, Point Loma 34, Saint Martin's 32, Northern State 27, Nova Southeastern 19, Barry 18, Minnesota State 18, Texas A&M-Commerce 17, Drury 13, Shaw 13, Azusa Pacific 12, Dominican 12, Ashland 11, Lees-McRae 13, Tarleton State 10, Claflin 9, Daemen 8, Fort Lewis 4, Merrimack 4, Chico State 3, King 3, Clark Atlanta 2, Stanislaus State 2, Colorado School of Mines 1, Dixie State 1.