GREENVILLE, Pa. (pacathletics.org)--Washington & Jefferson 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 11 head coaches.

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

W&J secured 10 of the 11 first-place votes and 110 total points to earn the top spot in the preseason poll. Led by eighth-year head coach Ethan Stewart-Smith, W&J claimed the top seed in last year's PAC Championship Tournament and went on to secure the program's 10th PAC title with a 68-63 victory over No. 2 Chatham University at Salvitti Family Gymnasium. It was the program's first since 1994-95. W&J made its third all-time appearance in the NCAA Division III Championship last season. 

Geneva College and 27th-year head coach Jeff Santarsiero finished second in the poll, totaling 94 points. 

Chatham and fifth-year head coach David Richards collected the final first-place vote and 88 points to finish third in this year's poll. 

Thiel College and Westminster College tied for fourth with 76 points. Waynesburg University was sixth (60), Grove City College was seventh (53), Allegheny College was eighth (48), Saint Vincent College was ninth (47), Franciscan University was 10th (42) and Bethany College was 11th (21). 

Headlining this year's players to watch list are Geneva senior guard/forward Lyle Tipton (Glenside, Pa. | Phil-Mont Christian Academy) and W&J sophomore guard Michael Bigley (Pittsburgh, Pa. | Seton LaSalle). Last season Tipton was voted the PAC Player of the Year while Bigley was honored as the PAC Newcomer of the Year. 

Four of the five players that earned First Team All-PAC recognition in 2021-22 are slated to be back in 2022-23. 

Tipton led the PAC scoring and ranked fifth in NCAA Division III with a 25.0 points per game average. His 626 points last season were the seventh-most in Division III. Tipton ranked third in the league with a 9.4 rebounds per game average, fourth with a 51.4 percent (217-422) field goal percentage, fifth with a 78.6 percent (154-196) free throw percentage and seventh in blocked shots per game (1.1). He also averaged 34.8 minutes played per game, the fourth-highest average in the PAC. 

Tipton's free throws made (154) ranked fifth in Division III while his free throws attempted (196) ranked sixth. 

Last season Tipton finished with seven games scoring 30 or more points and 21 games scoring 20 or more points. He registered a career-high 39 points in a 95-89 season-opening victory at Kenyon College last November. Tipton also posted 11 double-doubles last season. He totaled 23 points and a career-high 18 rebounds in a 111-103 loss to W&J on Feb. 22 last season.  

Tipton ranks 24th among Division III active leaders with a 17.7 points per game scoring average. 

Bigley averaged 10.4 points and 3.7 rebounds per game in his debut season with W&J. He tallied 61 assists and 33 steals in 26 starts (27 appearances). Bigley scored a season-high 26 points against Geneva on Feb. 12.

The eight-team PAC Championship Tournament will get underway on Tuesday, February 21 with its quarterfinal round. The semifinals are scheduled for Thursday, Feb. 23 while this year's title game is slated for Saturday, Feb. 25.

This year's championship tournament winner will receive the league’s automatic qualifying bid to the Division III Championship. Team selections for the Division III Championship are scheduled to be announced Monday, Feb. 27, with first and second round matchups scheduled for Friday-Saturday, March 3-4. 
 

2022-23 PAC Men's Basketball Preseason Coaches' Poll
School (first-place votes)	Points	2020-21 Record (conference)
1. Washington & Jefferson College (10)	110	24-5 (16-2 PAC)
2. Geneva College	94	14-11 (12-5 PAC)
3. Chatham University (1)	88	21-5 (14-4 PAC)
T-4. Thiel College	76	8-16 (7-10 PAC)
T-4. Westminster College	76	17-9 (13-5 PAC)
6. Waynesburg University	60	14-14 (9-9 PAC)
7. Grove City College	53	10-16 (5-12 PAC)
8. Allegheny College	48	8-14 (6-9 NCAC)
9. Saint Vincent College	47	3-22 (2-16 PAC)
10. Franciscan University	42	10-16 (7-11 PAC)
11. Bethany College	21	2-19 (2-13 PAC)

2022-23 PAC Men's Basketball Players to Watch

Allegheny
Name	Yr.	Pos.	Ht.	Hometown | High School
Caden Hinckley	Sr.	F	6-8	Boise, Idaho | Mount Lebanon (Pa.)

 

Bethany
Name	Yr.	Pos.	Ht.	Hometown | High School
Derek White Jr.	Sr.	G	6-1	Portsmouth, Va. | Nansemond-Suffolk Academy

 

Chatham
Name	Yr.	Pos.	Ht.	Hometown | High School
Simon Boyer	Jr.	G	6-2	Hampton, Va. | Hampton Roads Academy
Marcos Cintron	Sr.	G	6-0	Grove City, Pa. | Grove City
Blaine Gartley	So.	G	5-10	Pittsburgh, Pa. | Mount Lebanon
Brandon Lavernia	Sr.	G	6-0	Miami, Fla. | Miami Springs

 

Franciscan
Name	Yr.	Pos.	Ht.	Hometown | High School
Colton Hage	Sr.	G	6-3	Reseda, Calif. | Crespi
Travis Lien	Sr.	F	6-6	Kirkwood, Mo. | Kirkwood
Tristan McDannell	Jr.	G	6-0	Claysburg, Pa. | Bishop Carroll
Josh Zimmerman	Jr.	F	6-3	Steubenville, Ohio | Steubenville

 

Geneva
Name	Yr.	Pos.	Ht.	Hometown | High School
Jonathan Bertovich	Fr.	G	5-9	East Palestine, Ohio | Heartland Christian
Mark Rachic	So.	G	6-1	Prince Frederick, Md. | Calvert
Ryan Rachic	Sr.	G/F	6-5	Prince Frederick, Md. | Calvert
Lyle Tipton	Sr.	G/F	6-3	Glenside Pa. | Philmont Academy
Trevor Tipton	So.	G/F	6-4	Glenside, Pa. | Philmont Academy

 

Grove City
Name	Yr.	Pos.	Ht.	Hometown | High School
Josh Bryan	Sr.	F	6-6	Salem, Va. | Salem
Josh McCray	Sr.	G	6-1	Jessup, Md. | Ashville College (U.K.)

   

Saint Vincent
Name	Yr.	Pos.	Ht.	Hometown | High School
Shamar Bennett	Gr.	F	6-7	Lauderhill, Fla. | Nova
Jaden Gales	Fr.	F	6-7	Pittsburgh, Pa. | Bishop Canevin
Osyon Jones	Jr.	G	6-3	Orlando, Fla. | Bishop Moore
Andrew Reed	Jr.	G	5-11	Missouri City, Texas | Ridge Point

 

Thiel
Name	Yr.	Pos.	Ht.	Hometown | High School
Marlon Ellerbee	So.	G	6-1	Temple Hills, Md. | Oxon Hill
Ahmad Tejumola	Gr.	F	6-8	Waldorf, Md. | Saint Charles

     

W&J
Name	Yr.	Pos.	Ht.	Hometown | High School
Michael Bigley	So.	G	5-11	Pittsburgh, Pa. | Seton LaSalle
Nick Gearhart	Jr.	G	6-3	Huntingdon, Pa. | Huntingdon
J.R. Mazza	Jr.	G	6-2	Bridgeport, W.Va. | University
Kyran Mitchell	Sr.	G	6-3	Reading, Pa. | Berks Catholic

     

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

 

Westminster
Name	Yr.	Pos.	Ht.	Hometown | High School
Drew Clark	Jr.	G	6-4	New Middletown, Ohio | Springfield Local
Reese Leone	Jr.	G	5-10	Beloit, Ohio | West Branch
Austin O'Hara	Sr.	G	6-2	Girard, Ohio | Girard
Jordan Zupko	Sr.	G	6-1	Mineral Ridge, Ohio | Mineral Ridge