BIRMINGHAM, Ala.- The Southwestern Athletic Conference announced its 2024-25 Men’s Basketball Predicted Order of Finish and Preseason All-SWAC teams and individual award winners during the league’s media day event on Friday morning. The all-conference honors and preseason poll were voted on by the league’s head coaches and sports information directors.
Grambling State was tabbed as the favorite heading into the season. The Tigers were followed by Texas Southern (2nd), Southern (3rd), Jackson State (4th), and Alcorn State (5th) to round out the top five preseason poll selections.
Alabama State (6th), Prairie View A&M (7th), Bethune-Cookman (8th), Alabama A&M (9th), Arkansas-Pine Bluff (10th), Florida A&M (11th) and Mississippi Valley State (12th) were tabbed to finish 6-12 respectively.
GSU led all preseason poll selections, garnering 10 first-place votes, followed by Texas Southern (3), Bethune-Cookman (2), Southern (1), Jackson State (1), Alcorn State (1), Alabama State (1), and Prairie View A&M (1).
Grambling State’s Kintavious Dozier was named Preseason Player of the Year, while Texas Southern’s Kenny Hunter claimed Preseason Defensive Player of the Year recognition.
Dozier had a tremendous 2023-24 campaign, helping guide Grambling State to its first-ever SWAC Tournament title and trip to the NCAA Tournament. He led GSU in scoring with 13.0 points per game. He eclipsed the 20-point mark seven times during the season with a season-high 34 points versus Washington State.
Hunter was a key contributor for the Texas Southern Tigers this past season, averaging 5.6 points per game and 4.5 rebounds per game. Hunter was also a significant contributor on the defensive end of the floor, averaging 1.2 blocks per game.
The complete list of the preseason poll rankings, all-conference selections, and individual award winners is listed below.
2024-25 SWAC Men’s Basketball Preseason Poll
Grambling State- 212 (10)
Texas Southern- 200 (3)
Southern- 160 (1)
Jackson State- 153 (1)
Alcorn State- 144 (1)
Alabama State- 122 (1)
Prairie View A&M- 121 (1)
Bethune-Cookman- 109 (2)
Alabama A&M- 106
Arkansas-Pine Bluff- 70
Florida A&M- 63
Mississippi Valley State- 32
*First place votes listed in parenthesis
Offensive Player of the Year
Kintavious Dozier, Grambling State
Defensive Player of the Year
Kenny Hunter, Texas Southern
All-SWAC First Team
Kintavious Dozier, Grambling State
T.J. Madlock, Alabama State
Tidjiane Dioumassi, Southern
Shannon Grant, Jackson State
Chad Moodie, Alabama A&M
All-SWAC Second Team
Grayson Carter, Texas Southern
C.J. Hines, Alabama State
Kenny Hunter, Texas Southern
Ubong Okon, Alabama State
Lorenzo Downey, Alabama A&M
Courtesy: SWAC