Related: ESU named PSAC East preseason favorite  l  Preseason quick facts (PDF)

EAST STROUDSBURG - East Stroudsburg University is ranked No. 4 in the NABC Division II preseason poll, earning a spot in the coaches' preseason top 25 for the first time in program history, it was announced Thursday.
 
ESU, which was ranked No. 2 in the final NABC DII poll of the regular season last March, is coming off a historic 30-2 season and the program's second-ever trip to the regional final.

ESU was one of five schools to receive a first-place vote, marking the second time the Warriors have been listed first on at least one ballot. They also garnered a first-place vote on February 4 last season.
 
The Warriors return four starters, including three All-PSAC East preseason selections in senior guards Whis Grant and Matt Tobin and sophomore forward Rasheed Moore.
 
ESU is ranked in the top five in all four national preseason polls. The Warriors are ranked No. 4 by The Sporting News and Basketball Times, and No. 5 by DII Bulletin.

ESU, consensus No. 1 West Liberty and consensus No. 2 Southern Connecticut State are the only three schools ranked in the top five in all four polls.

Last March, the Warriors were ranked in the final NABC poll for the first time in program history. They were listed in the top 10 for 11 straight weeks, from December 31 to March 11.
 
ESU played its final 26 games with a national ranking last year, after playing 25 games while ranked in program history entering the season.

Head coach Jeff Wilson was named the 2014 DII Coach of the Year by the Basketball Times and CollegeInsider.com, and was the NABC Atlantic Region Coach of the Year for the second time in five years.
 
ESU was the fourth team in PSAC history to win 30 games in a season and won its second PSAC championship in three years, and the third in school history.
 
The Warriors advanced to the NCAA DII Tournament for the fourth time in five years and were the Atlantic Region's top seed and regional host. They fell to eventual national runner-up West Liberty, 89-82, in the regional final.
 
Grant, who has been named to preseason All-America teams by The Sporting News and Basketball Times, has led the Warriors in scoring for three straight years. He is a two-time All-American, earning recognition as a sophomore (Daktronics, DII Bulletin honorable mention0 and junior (Basketball Times 3rd team, DII Bulletin honorable mention).

He enters his senior year as the third-leading active scorer in DII (1,487 career points) and has averaged 17.6 points per game both seasons. He was named PSAC East Athlete of the Year as a sophomore in 2013 and has helped the Warriors to a 72-21 record and three straight 20-win seasons.
 
Tobin led the PSAC and was 10th in DII with 6.4 assists per game last season and also led the PSAC in assist-to-turnover ratio (2.5) and steals per game (2.2).
 
Moore (13.6 ppg, 6.3 rpg) was named to the DII Bulletin All-Freshman team and was the PSAC East Freshman of the Year.
 
Junior guard Jamal Nwaniemeka (12.6 ppg), the PSAC Tournament MVP with a career-high 27 points in a 92-80 win over West Chester in the championship game, rounds out the Warriors' four returning starters.
 
ESU opens the 2014-15 season with a tournament at Lincoln on November 14-15, facing the hosts on Friday at 8 p.m. and Bowie State on Saturday at 4 p.m.
 
The home opener is Saturday, November 22 at 3 p.m. against Millersville at Koehler Fieldhouse.
 
 
NABC DII Preseason Poll
1. West Liberty (8) (31-4) - 385 points - #7 in final poll of 2014
2. Southern Connecticut State (30-3) - 364 - 4
3. Metropolitan State (Colo.) (4) (32-2) - 361 - 1
4. East Stroudsburg (Pa.) (1) (30-2) - 344 - 2
5. Montevallo (Ala.) (2) (26-6) - 325 - 18
6. Drury (Mo.) (28-4) - 296 - 8
7. Minnesota State (30-5) - 277 - 9
8. Cal Poly Pomona (1) (22-7) - 264 - 24
9. Florida Southern (26-4) - 242 - 10
10. Bellarmine (Ky.) (23-8) - 218 - NR
11. Western Washington (20-8) - 192 - NR
12. Tarleton State (Texas) (28-3) - 188 - 3
13. Delta State (Miss.) (26-7) - 82 - NR
14. Philadelphia (Pa.) (25-7) - 180 - NR
15. Indiana (Pa.) (24-5) - 170 - 15
16. Findlay (Ohio) (24-5) - 147 - 21
17. Lewis (Ill.) (21-6) - 142 - NR
18. Colo.-Colorado Springs (21-9) - 105 - NR
19. Chico State (Calif.) (25-8) - 89 - 19
20. South Carolina Aiken (33-4) - 84 - 5
21. Saint Anselm (N.H.) (22-8) - 76 - NR
22. Seattle Pacific (Wash.) (26-6) - 60 - 11
23. Lincoln Memorial (Tenn.) (28-3) - 59 - 6
24. Cal Baptist (24-4) - 43 - 17
25. Dixie State (Utah) (21-7) - 41 - NR
 
Others receiving votes: Kentucky Wesleyan 39, Central Missouri 34, GRU Augusta 34, Limestone (S.C.) 25, Barry (Fla.) 23, Fort Hays State (Kan.) 21, St. Mary's (Texas) 21, Christian Brothers (Tenn.) 20, Arkansas-Fort Smith 18, Alaska-Anchorage 17, Midwestern State (Texas) 15, Arkansas Tech 14, Michigan Tech 14, Augustana (S.D.) 11, Grand Valley State (Mich.) 9, Washburn (Kan.) 9, Angelo State (Texas) 7, Harding (Ark.) 6, Newberry (S.C.) 6, Alabama-Huntsville 5, Benedict (S.C.) 3, Point Loma Nazarene (Calif.) 3, Cal State-Stanislaus 2, Texas A&M-Commerce 2, Cal State-San Bernardino 1, Indianapolis (Ind.) 1, Minnesota State-Moorhead 1,