ASHEVILLE, N.C. – The 2022 Southern Conference Basketball Media Day presented by Ingles took place Wednesday at Harrah’s Cherokee Center – Asheville. All eight league women’s coaches, all 10 men’s coaches and 22 league student-athletes were on hand to meet with the media and discuss the upcoming season, as were SoCon Commissioner Jim Schaus and college basketball analysts Debbie Antonelli and Seth Greenberg, who were the keynote speakers at the event’s luncheon.
 
The league’s coaches and players rotated through a series of scheduled media and social media opportunities in addition to sitting down with WSPA Sports Director Pete Yanity to record one-on-one interviews that will air Thursday on ESPN+ starting at 10 a.m. ET.
 
The SoCon preseason polls and all-conference teams were revealed Wednesday prior to the luncheon, with Mercer picked by the league’s coaches and media to claim the women’s crown and Furman voted to win the men’s title.
 
Mercer graduate student guard Amoria Neal-Tysor was selected the women’s preseason player of the year, while Chattanooga graduate center Jake Stephens was the men’s preseason player of the year.
 
The student-athletes in attendance also participated in Finnegan’s Challenge with ETSU Interim Director of Athletics Dick Sander, shooting free throws to raise awareness for the one in 33 children born with birth defects. The goal of Finnegan’s Challenge, according to finneganschallenge.org, is “to generate awareness, drive research, and educate families and loved ones about life-changing circumstances related to birth defects and other health conditions that affect children so that they can better cope with the journey ahead.”
 
The 2022 season gets underway Monday, Nov. 7 with seven SoCon women’s teams and nine men’s teams tipping off the campaign.
 
Southern Conference women’s basketball attendees
ETSU coach: Brenda Mock Brown; ETSU player: Courtney Moore
Furman coach: Jackie Carson; Furman player: Grace van Rij
Mercer coach: Susie Gardner; Mercer player: Amoria Neal-Tysor
UNCG coach: Trina Patterson; UNCG player: Nia Howard
Samford coach: Carley Kuhns; Samford player: Andrea Cournoyer
Chattanooga coach: Shawn Poppie; Chattanooga player: Yazz Wazeerud-Din
Western Carolina coach: Kiley Hill; Western Carolina player: Kyla Allison
Wofford coach: Jimmy Garrity; Wofford players: Lilly Hatton, Jackie Carman
 
Southern Conference men’s basketball attendees
The Citadel coach: Ed Conroy; The Citadel player: Stephen Clark
ETSU coach: Desmond Oliver; ETSU players: Jordan King
Furman coach: Bob Richey; Furman players: Mike Bothwell, Jalen Slawson
Mercer coach: Greg Gary; Mercer players: James Glisson III, Kamar Robertson
UNCG coach: Mike Jones; UNCG players: Keyshaun Langley
Samford coach: Bucky McMillan; Samford player: Logan Dye
Chattanooga coach: Dan Earl; Chattanooga player: Jake Stephens
VMI coach: Andrew Wilson
Western Carolina coach: Justin Gray; Western Carolina players: Tyler Harris, Ty Claude
Wofford coach: Jay McAuley; Wofford players: B.J. Mack, Messiah Jones