Where Wichita State landed in American Athletic Conference preseason basketball poll
A middle-of-the-pack finish in the new-look American Athletic Conference is the outside expectation for the Wichita State men’s basketball team in coach Paul Mills’ first season.
For the second consecutive season, the Shockers were picked to finish eighth in the conference for the 2023-24 season when the preseason prognostications were revealed at the conference’s media day in Dallas on Monday morning.
Newcomer Florida Atlantic, which returns the bulk of its Final Four team from last season, received 11 of the 14 first-place votes and was tabbed the preseason favorite, narrowly edging out Memphis, which received three first-place votes.
The other teams ahead of WSU include Tulane, UAB, East Carolina, North Texas and SMU, respectively, while South Florida, Tulsa, Rice, Temple, Charlotte and UTSA were picked behind the Shockers.
WSU junior center Kenny Pohto was believed to have the best chance at landing on a preseason all-conference team, but no Shockers made the cut for the top 10 players in the conference. Florida Atlantic’s backcourt of Johnell Davis and Alijah Martin shared the preseason Player of the Year award, while UAB guard Eric Gaines, Memphis guard Jahvon Quinerly and Tulane guard Jaylen Forbes joined them as first-team selections. The Memphis pair of Carl Cherenfant and J.J. Taylor shared the preseason Rookie of the Year honor.
The Shockers have historically outplayed their preseason projection in the coaches’ poll, although they have finished in seventh place and sixth place the last two seasons — their worst finishes since joining the American ahead of the 2017-18 season. WSU won the AAC championship during the Covid-altered 2020-21 season.
After the dust settled on the latest conference realignment this past summer, Houston, Cincinnati and UCF — three of the stronger programs in the conference — are gone for the Big 12 and Florida Atlantic, UAB, North Texas, Rice, Charlotte and UTSA have joined from Conference USA.
Mills and Pohto traveled to Dallas for Monday’s media day and were set to speak with the ESPN crew on site at 1:20 p.m. (streamed live on ESPN+).
Fresh off Shocker Madness, the WSU men’s basketball team has two weeks to gear up for a closed-door scrimmage against Iowa at a neutral site in Omaha on Sunday, Oct. 22.
The Shockers make their public debut at Koch Arena for their lone exhibition game against Div. II Rogers State at 1 p.m. Sunday, Oct. 29, followed by the season-opener at 6:30 p.m. Monday, Nov. 6, against Lipscomb in the Roundhouse.
In the women’s AAC coaches poll, Wichita State was picked 11th out of 14 teams in coach Terry Nooner’s first season on the sidelines. The Shockers did not have a player voted on the first or second preseason all-conference team.
American Athletic Conference men’s basketball preseason poll, awards
Preseason coaches poll
1. Florida Atlantic, 167 (11)
2. Memphis, 159 (3)
3. Tulane, 142
4. UAB, 128
5. East Carolina, 105
6. North Texas, 100
7. SMU, 97
8. Wichita State, 90
9. South Florida, 62
10. Tulsa, 59
11. Rice, 56
12. Temple, 49
13. Charlotte, 46
14. UTSA, 14
Preseason all-conference first team
Johnell Davis, Florida Atlantic junior guard
Jaylen Forbes, Tulane junior guard
Eric Gaines, UAB junior guard
Alijah Martin, Florida Atlantic junior guard
Jahvon Quinerly, Memphis senior guard
Preseason all-conference second team
Jordan Brown, Memphis senior forward
Kevin Cross, Tulane junior forward
R.J. Felton, East Carolina junior guard
Max Fielder, Rice senior forward
Zhuric Phelps, SMU junior guard
Preseason Player of the Year
Johnell Davis, Florida Atlantic junior guard
Alijah Martin, Florida Atlantic junior guard
Preseason Rookie of the Year
Carl Cheranfant, Memphis guard
J.J. Taylor, Memphis forward
American Athletic Conference women’s basketball preseason poll, awards
Preseason coaches poll
1. South Florida, 166 (10)
2. East Carolina, 159 (4)
3. Rice, 135
4. SMU, 118
5. Memphis, 115
6. Tulane, 110
7. Tulsa, 104
8. UTSA, 75
9. Temple, 72
10. Charlotte, 62
11. Wichita State, 53
12. North Texas, 47
13. UAB, 30
14. Florida Atlantic, 28
Preseason all-conference first team
Madison Griggs, Memphis senior guard
Amiya Joyner, East Carolina sophomore forward
Danae McNeal, East Carolina senior guard
Temira Poindexter, Tulsa junior forward
Sammie Puisis, South Florida senior guard
Preseason all-conference second team
Malia Fisher, Rice junior forward
Aniya Hubbard, Florida Atlantic sophomore guard
Jordyn Jenkins, UTSA senior forward
Dazia Lawrence, Charlotte junior guard
Aleah Nelson, Temple senior guard
Preseason Player of the Year
Danae McNeal, East Carolina senior guard
