Men's Basketball Selected Sixth in Preseason Poll, Kicks Off Season This Weekend

PRESEASON POLL

The Anna Maria College men's basketball team has been selected to finish sixth in the Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) Preseason Coaches' Poll, as announced by the league on Thursday morning.

The AMCATS, who are set to open the 2014-15 season this weekend at the Connecticut College Coaches vs. Cancer Tip-Off Tournament, will battle the University of Southern Maine on Saturday at 8:00 p.m.

OUTLOOK

Anna Maria returns 11 players from last season's team, which posted a 9-17 overall record and a 7-11 record in GNAC play. Two years removed from an appearance in the GNAC championship game and a deep run in the ECAC Tournament, the AMCATS are poised for another highly competitive season in 2014-15.

The AMCATS have scheduled some tough non-conference opponents this season, including Amherst College, which is traditionally a top-10 program in Division III. The team will also play take on local teams, Clark and Becker, early in the season before kicking off GNAC play in early December against the defending GNAC Champions, Albertus Magnus.

Head Coach Shawn Conrad, in his ninth season at the helm of the program, adds eight newcomers to the mix this season, and all 19 student-athletes will compete for playing time. Anna Maria graduated just one starter last spring in Joseph Barillo '14, who contributed 12.1 points and 2.0 assists per game.

RETURNERS

The AMCATS return four of the five starters from last season's team, including senior guard Hugh Daye (Worcester, Mass.), who was the only player to start in all 26 contests. Daye averaged 30.8 minutes per game and dished out 4.4 assists per game while also contributing 9.1 points per game.

Also returning to the lineup is graduate student Quantez Franklin (South Yarmouth, Mass.), who started in 25 games last season and led the team in scoring with 12.6 points per game. He was also the team's defensive leader with 6.7 rebounds per game.

Junior Kyle McKissick (Charlton, Mass.) started in 24 games in his sophomore season and added 7.0 points and 4-2 rebounds per game, while senior Michael Gorman (Methuen, Mass.) started 23 times and added 3.0 assists per game.

Also returning to the AMCAT lineup this season is junior Tyler Delorey (Worcester, Mass.) and sophomore Trevon Farley (Lawrence, Mass.). Both Delorey and Farley played in all 26 games last season, while chipping in 7.5 and 6.1 points per game, respectively. Senior Corey Pryor (Northbridge, Mass.) also returns after appearing in 22 games last season.

NEWCOMERS

Conrad has added a lot of local talent to his team this season, as he welcomes Youssef Fodaile (Worcester, Mass.) from Doherty High School, Jesse Maresca () from Wachusett High School, Tanner Jakola (Leominster, Mass.) from Leominster High School, and Liam Pickett (Oxford, Mass.) from Oxford High School.

In addition to the Central-Massachusetts natives, the team also welcomes Jake Foglia (Troy, N.Y.) from Christian Brothers High School, Derek Amaral (New Bedford, Mass.) from New Bedford High School, Kenneth Graham (West Haven, Conn.) from West Haven High School, and John Birch (Woodbridge, Va.) from Woodbridge Senior High School.