LEBANON, Ill. – The Great Lakes Valley Conference (GLVC) has announced their 2024-25 Preseason Coaches' Poll for men's basketball on Tuesday afternoon, with McKendree University being placed ninth with 91 voting points. Truman State University is picked to finish first in the conference.
Last year, McKendree was picked fifth and ended up finishing eighth in one of the tougher GLVC seasons in recent history. The team is coming off a 15-13 campaign last season while going 9-11 in conference play and eventually falling to the one-seeded University of Indianapolis in the quarterfinals of the GLVC Championship Tournament. 8-3
Head Coaches George Suggs is entering his fourth season as the head coach of the program, and seventh overall in Lebanon. He brings back eight players from the 2023-24 season including a trio of now-turned seniors in guard Joey Niesman (Oswego, Ill.), guard Kevin Stein (Chester, N.Y.), and forward Hayden Meakes (Adelaide, Australia). George and company dug deep into the transfer portal as well as the high school and junior college ranks to round out a well-formed 17-man roster with a mesh of lower- and upper-classmen.
The Bulldogs of Truman State have snagged first place with 172 points along with six first-place votes. They come into the season after going 15-14 last year and 12-8 in conference play while eventually losing to William Jewell College by two points in the GLVC quarterfinals. The reigning GLVC Coach of the Year, Jeff Horner, is back for his seventh season and will retain Second Team All-GLVC selections junior guard Xavier Hall (Shawnee Mission, Kan.) and senior guard Trey Shearer (Montezuma, Iowa) as well as Freshman of the Year, sophomore guard Kobi Williams (St. Louis, Mo.)
The University of Illinois Springfield was placed second in the preseason poll after an 18-13 record last season while going 11-9 in the GLVC before having their year ending against Lewis University in the conference quarterfinals. Their headman, Matt Brock, is in his sixth year at the helm for the Prairie Stars. He brings back First Team All-GLVC senior guard Jordan Rice (Rock Island, Ill.) as well as a Second Team All-GLVC in senior forward Jack Weber (El Paso, Ill.).
The reigning champion of the GLVC, William Jewell, is slotted at third in the poll coming after a strong season that saw the team go 21-11 overall and 12-8 in league play. The Cardinals received an eighth seed in the NCAA Tournament but lost to conference-foe University of Indianapolis in the first round. Head coach Chris McCabe is also entering his sixth season at the helm as well as bringing back a First Team All-GLVC selection in graduate guard Jordan Jermain (Raymore, Mo.).
Rounding out the top four in this year's preseason poll is the Lewis Flyers, who are looking to have a strong season with last year heading to the GLVC Championship Tournament finals before getting knocked out by champion William Jewell. Their longtime head coach, Scott Trost is going into his 19th campaign after an 18-13 overall record last year while having a 12-8 mark in the GLVC. They barely squeaked into the top four with a 153-152 point advantage over Upper Iowa University.
2024-25 GLVC Preseason Coaches' Poll
1. Truman State University 172 (6 first-place votes)
2. University of Illinois Springfield 162 (2)
3. William Jewell College 161 (4)
4. Lewis University 153
5. Upper Iowa University 152 (2)
6. University of Indianapolis 140 (1)
7. University of Missouri-St. Louis 132
8. Drury University 107
9. McKendree University 91
10. Missouri S&T 88
11. Lincoln University (Mo.) 58
12. Maryville University 49
13. Rockhurst University 45
14. Quincy University 44
15. Southwest Baptist University 21
The preseason poll is determined by the league's head coaches, who, per GLVC Bylaws, are not permitted to vote for their own team.
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