ASHEVILLE, N.C. – The Furman Paladins are the preseason favorites to win the 2023-24 men’s basketball title in polling of the league’s 10 head coaches and media, while Western Carolina junior guard Vonterius Woolbright is the coaches’ selection as the preseason player of the year.
The coaches, who also picked a 10-member preseason all-conference team, were not allowed to vote for their own teams or student-athletes as part of the balloting. Six different programs were represented on the preseason All-SoCon squad, with Western Carolina leading the way with three selections.
Furman collected eight first-place votes and 80 points in the coaches poll and topped the media poll with 153 points and eight first place votes. Head coach Bob Richey’s team went 28-8 last season, reaching 20 wins for the sixth time in the last seven seasons, and turned in a 15-3 conference mark to finish tied for first in the conference standings. Furman went on to win its first conference tournament title in 43 seasons and followed that with an upset of Virginia in the first round of the NCAA Tournament. The Paladins return a pair of preseason All-SoCon performers in junior JP Pegues and redshirt senior Marcus Foster.
This is the second straight season that Furman has topped both the coaches and media preseason polls.
UNCG checked in second in the coaches poll with 68 points and one first-place vote and finished fourth in the media poll with 126 points and two first-place votes. The Spartans, led by the reigning SoCon Coach of the Year Mike Jones, finished third in the SoCon last year with a 14-4 league mark and went 20-12 overall for their second straight 20-win campaign. UNCG is represented on the preseason all-conference team by graduate student guard Keyshaun Langley and redshirt senior forward Mikeal Brown-Jones. Langley was a first-team all-conference selection following the 2022-23 season.
Western Carolina is third in the coaches poll with 62 points and tied for second in the coaches poll with 134 points and four first-place votes. The Catamounts went 18-16 overall and 10-8 in SoCon play en route to an appearance in the SoCon Tournament semifinals. Western Carolina played in the Discount Tire College Basketball Invitational (CBI) after the conclusion of the conference tournament. A trio of Catamounts made the preseason all-conference squad, headlined by Woolbright. Woolbright averaged 14.5 points, 7.4 rebounds and a league-best 5.1 assists per game a season ago. The other two Western Carolina players on the preseason All-SoCon team are Tre Jackson and Russell Jones, Jr.
Samford tied with Western Carolina in the media poll with 134 points and one first-place vote and finished fourth in the coaches poll. The Bulldogs, who are under the direction of the reigning two-time Anton Foy Coach of the Year Bucky McMillan, finished last season tied for first in the SoCon with a 15-3 conference record and a 21-11 overall ledger. Senior forward Jermaine Marshall represents Samford on the preseason all-conference team.
Chattanooga checks in at No. 5 in both polls, earning 107 points in the media poll and 53 points and the final first-place vote in the coaches poll. The Mocs’ Honor Huff is on the preseason all-conference team. Huff transferred to Chattanooga after playing the 2021-22 season at VMI, where he averaged 10 points per game en route to being named to the conference’s all-freshman team.
Mercer finished sixth in the coaches poll with 38 points. The Bears were seventh in the media poll, finishing with 77 points and a first-place vote. Mercer is represented on the preseason all-conference team by redshirt senior Jalyn McCreary, a third-team All-SoCon pick a season ago.
ETSU is sixth in the media poll with 89 points and a first-place vote. The Bucs came in seventh in the coaches poll with 34 points.
The final three in the polls mirrored each other, with Wofford in eighth, The Citadel in ninth and VMI in 10th. The Terriers are led by Dwight Perry, who is in first full season at the helm. Ed Conroy is in the second year of his return to The Citadel, where he previously coached from 2006-10, and Andrew Wilson is in his second season in Lexington.
The SoCon Basketball Media Day presented by Ingles will take place in Asheville, North Carolina, at Harrah’s Cherokee Center – Asheville on Wednesday, with interviews with head coaches and players conducted by Pete Yanity airing on ESPN+ live beginning at 1:30 p.m. Eastern.
The 2023-24 season gets underway Monday, Nov. 6, with eight SoCon teams in action, while Western Carolina opens its season on Tuesday, Nov. 7, and UNCG opens its season on Friday, Nov. 10.
The 2024 Ingles SoCon Men’s Basketball Championship will be held March 8-11 at Harrah’s Cherokee Center – Asheville in Asheville, North Carolina, with the semifinals airing live on ESPN2 or ESPNU and the final on ESPN.
2023-24 Southern Conference Preseason Coaches Poll
| Team (1st-place votes) |
Total |
| 1. Furman (8) |
80 |
| 2. UNCG (1) |
68 |
| 3. Western Carolina |
62 |
| 4. Samford |
61 |
| 5. Chattanooga (1) |
53 |
| 6. Mercer |
38 |
| 7. ETSU |
34 |
| 8. Wofford |
24 |
| 9. The Citadel |
21 |
| 10. VMI |
9 |
2023-24 Preseason Southern Conference Player of the Year
Vonterius Woolbright, Sr., G, Western Carolina
2023-24 Preseason All-Southern Conference team
Marcus Foster, R-Sr., G, Furman
JP Pegues, Jr., G, Furman
Jalyn McCreary, R-Sr., F, Mercer
Mikeal Brown-Jones, Sr., F, UNCG
Keyshaun Langley, Gr., G, UNCG
Jermaine Marshall, Sr., F, Samford
Honor Huff, So., G, Chattanooga
Tre Jackson, Sr., G, Western Carolina
Russell Jones Jr, Sr., G, Western Carolina
Vonterius Woolbright, Sr., G, Western Carolina
2023-24 Southern Conference Preseason Media Poll
| Team (1st-place votes) |
Total |
| 1. Furman (8) |
153 |
| T2. Western Carolina (4) |
134 |
| T2. Samford (1) |
134 |
| 4. UNCG (2) |
126 |
| 5. Chattanooga |
107 |
| 6. ETSU (1) |
89 |
| 7. Mercer (1) |
77 |
| 8. Wofford |
54 |
| 9. The Citadel |
41 |
| 10. VMI |
20 |