NEW ORLEANS – The University of South Alabama men's basketball team is the preseason pick to win the Sun Belt Conference and senior Trhae Mitchell is the player of the year, the league announced Friday morning.

Mitchell was joined on the first team by fellow senior Josh Ajayi, and senior Don Coleman was tabbed to the third team. The last Jaguar to be named preseason player of the year was Augustine Rubit in 2013.

"These preseason honors are a statement to the players in our program," USA head coach Richie Riley said. "The players we inherited have embraced our culture of work and have continuously improved over the last 595 days. Within those 595 days, we recruited a group of guys who had the courage to believe in us and a desire to work towards accomplishing something special in Mobile."

South Alabama received 138 points and 8 of 12 first-place votes. UT Arlington was second with 124 points and two first-place votes, and Georgia Southern and Texas State had 121 points and 110 points, respectively, with a first-place vote apiece.

"While it's an incredible honor to be the preseason favorite, the reality is we haven't won a game yet," Riley said. "The reality is that our league has extremely talented teams, players, and coaches who are all hungry to win a championship. Whether we were picked first or last we will maintain our process of having a relentless work ethic with detailed preparation and operating with a permanent chip on our shoulder."

Mitchell was a Third Team All-Sun Belt selection last year after averaging 13.6 points and 7.6 rebounds per contest. He is the only player in school history to lead the team in rebounds, assists, steals and blocks in the same season, and the second to have 200 rebounds and 100 assists in one year as well.

He rejected 71 shots as a junior, which is fifth-best in school history and second among all USA juniors. The Austell, Ga., native was second on the team and third in the conference with nine double-doubles, and placed in the league's top 10 in rebounds, blocks per game (2.1, 2nd), field-goal percentage (.478, 6th), assists per game (3.6, 9th) and assist/turnover ratio (1.5, 9th).

Ajayi was voted Second Team All-Sun Belt and All-Sun Belt Tournament as a junior, averaging 16.4 points and 7.4 rebounds per contest. He led the league in field-goal percentage (.560) and was second in double-doubles (10), ninth in rebounding and 10th in scoring.

The El Monte, Calif., product scored in double-digits a team-high 30 times and posted 20 points or better 11 times. His double-double total was the most by a Jaguar since Rubit in 2013-14.

Coleman, a native of Augusta, Ga., returns to the floor after redshirting in 2018-19 following a transfer from California. As a junior, he led the Bears with a 14.2 scoring average and was second in steals (42) and assists (57). Coleman scored 30 points or more three times, including a career-high 35-point outing against No. 6 Wichita State.

The Jaguars officially open the 2019-20 season Nov. 6 at home against Pikeville. Tip-off is set for 7 p.m.

For more information about South Alabama athletics, check back with www.usajaguars.com, and follow the Jaguars at www.twitter.com/WeAreSouth_JAGS. Season tickets for all Jaguar athletic events can be purchased by calling (251) 461-1USA (1872).

Join the South Circle, the unrestricted giving option of the University of South Alabama Athletics. Contributions to South Circle directly support all 17 sports in addition to various support programming. For more information on how you can join visit: http://jaguarathleticfund.com/give.

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2019-20 SUN BELT CONFERENCE MEN'S BASKETBALL PRESEASON POLL & HONORS
Preseason Coaches' Poll
First-place votes in parentheses
 
1. South Alabama (8) - 138
2. UTA (2) - 124
3. Georgia Southern (1) - 121
4. Texas State (1) - 110
5. Louisiana - 92
6. Georgia State - 76
7. Coastal Carolina - 75
8. ULM - 72
9. Appalachian State - 40
10. Arkansas State - 33
11. Little Rock - 32
12. Troy - 22
 
Preseason All-Sun Belt First Team
Quan Jackson, Georgia Southern (RJr., G, Tallahassee, Fla.)
Josh Ajayi, South Alabama (RSr., F, El Monte, Calif.)
Trhae Mitchell, South Alabama (RSr., F, Austell, Ga.)
Brian Warren, UTA (Sr., G, Indianapolis, Ind.)
Nijal Pearson, Texas State (Sr., G, Beaumont, Texas)
 
Preseason All-Sun Belt Second Team
Justin Forrest, Appalachian State (Jr., G, Decatur, Ga.)
DeVante Jones, Coastal Carolina (So., G, New Orleans, La.)
Ike Smith, Georgia Southern (RSr., G, Gainesville, Fla.)
Kane Williams, Georgia State (Jr., G, Douglasville, Ga.)
Michael Ertel, ULM (Jr., G, Indianapolis, Ind.)
 
Preseason All-Sun Belt Third Team
Isaac Johnson, Appalachian State (Sr., F, Charlotte, N.C.)
Isaiah Crawley, Georgia Southern (Sr., F, Ripley, Tenn.)
Cedric Russell, Louisiana (Jr., G, Alexandria, La.)
JD Williams, ULM (Sr., G, Birmingham, Ala.)
Don Coleman, South Alabama (RSr., G, North Augusta, S.C.)
 
Preseason Player of the Year
Trhae Mitchell, South Alabama (RSr., F, Austell, Ga.)