2015-16 ESU Quick Facts (PDF):  Men  l  Women

PSAC releases:  Men  l  Women

EAST STROUDSBURG - East Stroudsburg University has been named the PSAC East men's basketball preseason favorite in a poll of the division's coaches, the conference announced Thursday.

The Warriors, who have won three straight outright PSAC East regular season titles and four of the last six division crowns, enter their 14th season under head coach Jeff Wilson and replace their All-America backcourt of Whis Grant and Matt Tobin.

Junior forward Rasheed Moore, a two-time All-PSAC East second team selection, and senior guard Jamal Nwaniemeka, the 2014 PSAC Tournament MVP, were named to the preseason All-PSAC East team for the Warriors.

ESU's women are picked seventh in the PSAC East. The Warriors have reached the PSAC Tournament in three straight years, advancing to the quarterfinals in 2014, and are entering their first season under head coach Diane Decker.

ESU's men are the preseason favorite for the fourth time in six years and have been picked to finish in the top two in each of the last six seasons. They were also the preseason favorite in 2010-11 (finished tied for third), and 2012-13 and 2014-15, when they won the PSAC East regular season title both seasons.

The Warriors were picked second two years ago (2013-14) before winning their first 20 games, going 25-1 in the regular season and 30-2 overall, winning the PSAC Tournament and advancing to the NCAA Division II Atlantic Region final.

ESU is the first program to win three straight PSAC East men's basketball regular season titles since 1985-87 (Millersville), and the first to win three straight outright PSAC East title since 1976-80 (Cheyney).

The Warriors have advanced to the PSAC Final Four for six straight seasons, tied for the longest stretch in the conference in the last 30 years. California made six straight Final Four's from 1992-97. ESU has won PSAC Tournament titles in 2012 and 2014.

In the men's preseason poll, Kutztown and West Chester are picked tied for second, followed by Lock Haven, Shippensburg, Millersville, Bloomsburg, Mansfield and Cheyney.

In the women's preseason poll, defending PSAC runner-up West Chester is picked first in the PSAC East, followed by Shippensburg, Bloomsburg, Millersville, Lock Haven, Kutztown, ESU, Mansfield and Cheyney.

The top six teams in both of the PSAC's nine-team divisions will advance to the postseason tournament, the conference's fourth year under that format.

All 22 conference games (16 divisional, 6 crossover) will count towards the PSAC standings. Each school will play six of the nine schools in its opposite division.

ESU WOMEN

The Warriors return two starters in junior forward Allison Howard and senior guard Tyeca Reviere, and 11 letterwinners overall for their first season under Decker, who returns to ESU after serving as an assistant coach for two seasons (2006, 2007) and interim head coach in 2008, guiding ESU to the PSAC quarterfinals.

Decker was assistant coach at Bloomsburg the last seven years, helping the Huskies to five straight PSAC East titles (2011-15), four NCAA Tournaments (2012-15) and the 2013 PSAC Tournament championship. BU was 149-54 in the last seven seasons with five straight 20-win seasons.

Howard (9.3 ppg, 4.7 rpg) is ESU's top returning scorer and rebounder after the graduation of forward Jessica Martin, a four-time All-PSAC East selection (first team in 2014, 2015) who ranks eighth in scoring (1,213), fourth in rebounds (848) and first in blocks (274) in program history.

Howard has 514 points (10.3 ppg) and 296 rebounds (5.9 rpg) in 50 games through two seasons. She averaged 11.3 points and 7.1 rebounds as a freshman on ESU's 2014 PSAC quarterfinal team.

Reviere made 14 starts last season, averaging 5.1 points and 1.7 assists in 27 games overall. She scored in double figures in three games in the second half of the season, including a career-high 20 points vs. Lock Haven.

Senior guard Melissa Poderis averaged 3.8 points last winter and has a career assist-to-turnover ratio of 154-138 in the backcourt. Senior center Michelle Boggs (3.4 ppg, 2.6 rpg) has 68 career blocked shots.

Juniors Madison Tamburini (4.3 ppg) and Rachel Falkowski (2.0 ppg) have also been key contributors the last two years.

ESU replaces Martin along with guards Ryann Fiascki (839 career points, 227 assists), Andrea Veres (925 points, 235 assists) and forward Kelsey Murray (303 points, 204 rebounds).

The Warriors were 11-16 last season and 10-12 in the PSAC East, securing the No. 6 seed and their third straight PSAC Tournament appearance. ESU fell 83-60 at Shippensburg in the first round.

Highlighting the PSAC East poll are preseason favorite West Chester, the PSAC runner-up, and No. 3 pick Bloomsburg, which has made five straight Final Four's.

Just four seniors, including Martin, comprised the 12 spots on the All-PSAC East teams last year with all six members of the preseason all-conference team earning postseason recognition.

Dallas Ely and Brittany Sicinski (West Chester) are both two-time first team All-PSAC East selections. Sicinski was named to the second team as a freshman.

Stephanie Knauer, a three-time selection (1st team in 2014), and Morgan Griffith (1st team in 2015) of Shippensburg were also selected. Kyra Hines-Allen (Cheyney) and Adreana Sadowski (Bloomsburg) were both named to the second team last year.

In the PSAC West, defending PSAC and NCAA DII champion California is the preseason favorite. Edinboro, which has won three of the last five PSAC titles (2011-12, 2014), and Gannon are tied for second. IUP is fourth, followed by Slippery Rock, Seton Hill, Pitt-Johnstown, Mercyhurst and Clarion.

Miki Glenn (California) was named to the first team as a sophomore last year. Aignee Freeland (Edinboro) is a two-time second team pick, and Jasmine Harper (UPJ) and Tania Holmes (Clarion) were also on the second team last winter. Natalie Piaggesi (Mercyhurst) and Leslie Stapleton (IUP) are also on the preseason team.

ESU MEN
 
Moore, the first ESU player to be named All-PSAC East as both a freshman and sophomore, and Nwaniemeka lead the Warriors into the 2015-16 season as they look to sustain their success in the PSAC and Atlantic Region.

In the last six years, ESU ranks first in the PSAC East, second in the PSAC and third in the Atlantic Region with 131 wins. The Warriors are 80-30 in PSAC games in that stretch, claiming four divisional titles.

In the last three years, the Warriors are 71-19 overall and 49-11 in PSAC games, going 17-5 (2012-13), 15-1 (2013-14) and 16-6 (2014-15).

ESU graduated the winningest class in program history as three-time All-America guard Whis Grant (1,860 points, 349 assists), 2015 All-America guard Matt Tobin (1,042 points, 546 assists), forward Lamont Tillery (756 points, 412 rebounds) and guard Muhamadou Kaba (287 points, 227 rebounds) helped the Warriors to 91 wins from 2012-15.

Three returning Warriors have scored at least 750 career points in Moore (801), Nwaniemeka (759) and redshirt senior guard Will Brown (751) for a team that has led the PSAC in scoring in three straight seasons.

Moore has 801 points and 387 rebounds through two seasons, both among the most by an ESU player entering his junior year. He averaged 12.6 points and 6.3 rebounds last year and 13.6 points and 6.3 rebounds on the 2014 PSAC championship team, earning PSAC East Freshman of the Year and a spot on the DII Bulletin All-Freshman team.

Nwaniemeka has 759 points, 205 rebounds and 111 assists in two years at ESU after transferring from Division I Rider. He posted 12.7 points and 3.7 rebounds last winter after notching 12.6 points and 3.1 rebounds as a sophomore. He had 27 points in ESU's 92-80 win over West Chester in the PSAC championship game.

Brown returns for a sixth-year medical redshirt with 751 career points, 163 three-pointers (3rd-most at ESU) and a 39.3 three-point percentage. He has been ESU's top bench scorer in 2011 (8.8 ppg), 2014 (9.1 ppg) and 2015 (8.9 ppg).

Junior forward Steve Harris started 13 games last season, posting 6.9 points, 3.7 rebounds and shooting 63.2 percent from the field.

The Warriors have six other returning letterwinners and welcome six players who will see their first career action at ESU, including several reinforcements in the backcourt.

Wilson has guided ESU to a 232-139 record (.625) in 13 seasons and has been part of the ESU program for 26 of the last 32 years as a player, assistant coach and head coach. He set ESU's career record for wins last year and was the NCAA DII Coach of the Year by two national organizations (Basketball Times, CollegeInsider.com) in 2014. He was named the NABC DII Atlantic Region Coach of the Year in 2010 and 2014, and PSAC East Coach of the Year in 2010 and 2013.

ESU ranks second in DII in turnover margin (+5.78) over the last three years, fueling their 71-19 record since the start of the 2012-13 season. The Warriors ranked fifth in DII in both turnover margin (+5.35) and steals (10.8) last year after leading DII in turnover margin (+6.97) and ranking third in steals (10.6) in 2013-14. ESU has led the PSAC in turnover margin in each of the last three seasons.

In the preseason poll, Kutztown and West Chester are pegged as the Warriors' top competition for the PSAC East divisional title. West Chester made three straight Final Four's from 2012-14 and was runner-up to ESU in both 2012 and 2014. Kutztown reached the Final Four last year for the first time since 2010.

Nine of the 12 all-conference selections last year were seniors, including all six members of the first team. Just two second team picks return in Moore and Josh Johnson (Kutztown). Kevin Larkin (Cheyney), a second team pick and the PSAC East Freshman of the Year, transferred following the season.

Nwaniemeka, Thomas Moore (Mansfield), Bootsie Walker (Lock Haven) and Matt Wiseley (West Chester) join Rasheed Moore and Josh Johnson on the preseason All-PSAC East team.

In the PSAC West, Mercyhurst was named the preseason favorite over IUP, the defending NCAA DII runner-up. IUP has won three of the last six PSAC tournament titles (2010-11, 2013) and won a share of five straight PSAC West divisional titles (2010-14) before being dethroned by Gannon last season.

Four PSAC West teams reached the NCAA DII Tournament last year in Mercyhurst, IUP, Gannon and Slippery Rock.

Edinboro is picked third with defending PSAC champion Gannon fourth, Slippery Rock fifth, and California, Clarion, Pitt-Johnstown and Seton Hill rounding out the poll.

AJ Leahy (UPJ) and Henri Wade-Chatman (Edinboro) are returning All-PSAC West first team selections, and Richard Smith (California) was on the second team. Jaymon Mason (Edinboro), Brandon Norfleet (IUP) and Kameron Taylor (Seton Hill) are also on the preseason All-PSAC West team.



 
PRESEASON POLLS

WOMEN - PSAC East
1. West Chester
2. Shippensburg
3. Bloomsburg
4. Millersville
5. Lock Haven
6. Kutztown
7. ESU
8. Mansfield
9. Cheyney
 
WOMEN - PSAC West
1. California
t-2. Edinboro
t-2. Gannon
4. IUP
5. Slippery Rock
6. Seton Hill
7. Pitt-Johnstown
8. Mercyhurst
9. Clarion
 
WOMEN - East Preseason All-PSAC
Dallas Ely, West Chester
Morgan Griffith, Shippensburg
Kyra Hines-Allen, Cheyney
Stephanie Knauer, Shippensburg
Adreana Sadowski, Bloomsburg
Brittany Sicinski, West Chester
 
WOMEN - West Preseason All-PSAC
Aignee Freeland, Edinboro
Miki Glenn, California
Jasmine Harper, Pitt-Johnstown
Tania Holmes, Clarion
Natalie Piaggesi, Mercyhurst
Leslie Stapleton, IUP
 
 
MEN - PSAC East
1. ESU
t-2. Kutztown
t-2. West Chester
4. Lock Haven
5. Shippensburg
6. Millersville
7. Bloomsburg
8. Mansfield
9. Cheyney

MEN - PSAC West
1. Mercyhurst
2. IUP
3. Edinboro
4. Gannon
5. Slippery Rock
6. California
7. Clarion
8. Pitt-Johnstown
9. Seton Hill
 
MEN - East Preseason All-PSAC
Josh Johnson, Kutztown
Rasheed Moore, ESU
Thomas Moore, Mansfield
Jamal Nwaniemeka, ESU
Bootsie Walker, Lock Haven
Matt Wiseley, West Chester
 
MEN - West Preseason All-PSAC
AJ Leahy, Pitt-Johnstown
Jaymon Mason, Edinboro
Brandon Norfleet, IUP
Richard Smith, California
Kameron Taylor, Seton Hill
Henri Wade-Chatman, Edinboro