GREENVILLE, Pa. (pacathletics.org)--Westminster College was selected as the preseason favorite in this year’s Presidents’ Athletic Conference (PAC) Men's Basketball Preseason Coaches' Poll, which was voted on by the league's 10 head coaches.

The PAC announced the results of its preseason coaches' poll and its players to watch list Tuesday afternoon.

Westminster secured eight of the 10 first-place votes and 89 total points to earn the top spot in the preseason poll. Led by 10th-year head coach Kevin Siroki, Westminster claimed the top seed in last spring's PAC Championship Tournament and went on to win the program's second PAC championship (2003-04). The Titans earned a 73-62 victory over No. 4 Grove City College in the league's title game on March 20.

Geneva College and 26th-year head coach Jeff Santarsiero finished second in the poll, totaling 77 points. 

Grove City College and Chatham University each collected a first-place vote. Grove City, led by 24th-year head coach Steve Lamie, totaled 70 points to finish third in the poll. Chatham and fourth-year head coach David Richards earned 66 points to finish fourth. 

Washington & Jefferson College finished fifth in the poll with 54 points. Thiel College was sixth (52) and was followed by Waynesburg University in seventh (44), Saint Vincent College in eighth (37), Franciscan University in ninth (32) and Bethany College in 10th (19). 

The eight-team PAC Championship Tournament will get underway on Tuesday, Feb. 22 with its quarterfinal round. The semifinals are scheduled for Thursday, Feb. 24 while this year's title game is slated for Saturday, Feb. 26.

This year's championship tournament winner will receive the league’s automatic qualifying bid to the NCAA Division III Championship. Team selections for the Division III Championship are scheduled to be announced Monday, Feb. 28, with first and second round matchups scheduled for Friday-Saturday, March 4-5. 
 

2021-22 PAC Men's Basketball Preseason Coaches' Poll
School (first-place votes)	Points	2020-21 Record (PAC)
1. Westminster College (8)	89	11-1 (8-1)
2. Geneva College	77	8-3 (7-2)
3. Grove City College (1)	70	8-4 (6-3)
4. Chatham University (1)	66	5-5 (5-4)
5. Washington & Jefferson College	54	7-3 (7-2)
6. Thiel College	52	4-7 (3-6)
7. Waynesburg University	44	3-7 (3-6)
8. Saint Vincent College	37	3-8 (2-7)
9. Franciscan University	32	3-8 (2-7)
10. Bethany College	19	2-8 (2-7)

2021-22 PAC Men's Basketball Players to Watch

Bethany
Name	Yr.	Pos.	Ht.	Hometown | High School
Asa Klimchock	Jr.	G	6-1	Greensburg, Pa. | Kiski Prep.
Brendan Riggs	Jr.	G	6-2	Saint Petersburg, Fla. | Canterbury
Trent Uphold	Sr.	G	6-2	Uniontown, Pa. | Uniontown
Derek White Jr.	Sr.	G	6-1	Portsmouth, Va. | Nansemond-Suffolk Academy
Travis Zimmerman	So.	F	6-6	Wheeling, W.Va. | Wheeling Park

 

Chatham
Name	Yr.	Pos.	Ht.	Hometown | High School
Marcos Cintron	Jr.	G	6-0	Grove City, Pa. | Grove City
Brandon Lavernia	Jr.	G	6-0	Miami, Fla. | Miami Springs
Ben Pollock	Sr.	F	6-10	Pittsburgh, Pa. | Cheswick Christian Academy
Malik Potter	Sr.	G	6-2	Pittsburgh, Pa. | Winchester Thurston

 

Franciscan
Name	Yr.	Pos.	Ht.	Hometown | High School
Sean Hickey	Gr.	G	6-0	North Olmsted, Ohio | Holy Name
Justin Mack	Sr.	G	6-0	Oxnard, Calif. | Oxnard
Tristan McDannell	So.	G	6-0	Claysburg, Pa. | Bishop Carroll
Josh Zimmerman	So.	F	6-3	Steubenville, Ohio | Steubenville

 

Geneva
Name	Yr.	Pos.	Ht.	Hometown | High School
Amos Luptak	Gr.	G	5-11	Sewickley, Pa. | Quaker Valley
Isaac Massie	Jr.	G	5-10	Cross Lanes W.Va. | Homeschooled
Ryan Rachic	Jr.	G/F	6-5	Prince Frederick, Md. | Calvert
Lyle Tipton	Jr.	G/F	6-3	Glenside Pa. | Philmont Academy
Matt Veynovich	Sr.	G	6-0	Pompano Beach Fla. | Highlands Christian

 

Grove City
Name	Yr.	Pos.	Ht.	Hometown | High School
Ben Rose	Sr.	G	6-2	Helena, Ala. | Helena
Isaac Thrasher	Sr.	G	5-11	Grove City, Pa. | Grove City
Elijah White	Jr.	F	6-7	Zelienople, Pa. | Portersville Christian

   

Saint Vincent
Name	Yr.	Pos.	Ht.	Hometown | High School
Anthony Dillard	So.	F	6-4	Byron, Ga. | Warner Robins
Ethan Dunsey	Fr.	C	6-6	Pittsburgh, Pa | Thomas Jefferson
Nelson Etuk	So.	G	6-4	Blacksburg, Va. | North Cross
Osyon Jones	So.	G	6-3	Orlando, Fla. | Bishop Moore

 

Thiel
Name	Yr.	Pos.	Ht.	Hometown | High School
Rayshod Hooper	Fr.	F	6-6	Baltimore, Md. | Saint Frances Academy
Ahmad Tejumola	Jr.	F	6-8	Waldorf, Md. | Saint Charles

     

W&J
Name	Yr.	Pos.	Ht.	Hometown | High School
Kyran Mitchell	Jr.	G	6-3	Reading Pa. | Berks Catholic

     

Waynesburg
Name	Yr.	Pos.	Ht.	Hometown | High School
Ryan Felberg	Jr.	G	5-10	Twinsburg, Ohio | Twinsburg
Jansen Knotts	So.	F	6-4	Ridgeley, W.Va. | Frankfort
Matt Popeck	Sr.	G	5-10	Washington, Pa. | Washington
Bryson Wilt	So.	G	6-3	Oakland, Md. | Southern Garrett

 

Westminster
Name	Yr.	Pos.	Ht.	Hometown | High School
Josh Hutcherson	Sr.	F	6-5	Uniontown, Ohio | Lake
Tyler James	Sr.	F	6-6	Warren, Ohio | Warren JFK
Reese Leone	So.	G	5-10	Beloit, Ohio | West Branch
Anthony Ritter	Sr.	G	6-3	North Lima, Ohio | South Range
Daniel Ritter	Sr.	G	6-4	North Lima, Ohio | South Range

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