Raiders tabbed atop Horizon League preseason poll; two players honored

On the heels of a second consecutive postseason appearance this spring, the Wright State men's basketball team received 28 of the 36 total first place votes and was selected to finish atop the 2019-20 Horizon League preseason poll, announced by the conference on Tuesday afternoon. Additionally, junior Loudon Love was named first team All-Conference and senior Bill Wampler was selected to the second team.

The Raiders' selection at the top of the preseason standings is the second consecutive season that fellow Horizon League coaches and media members have chosen Wright State as the top team in the league. Prior to last season, the team had never been picked atop the league's annual preseason poll. Wright State received 28 of the 36 total first place votes, with second-place pick Northern Kentucky the only other team to have more than one first-place vote with five.

Wright State won 21 games last year, playing in the postseason for the second consecutive season as the Raiders made their first trip to the NIT. Head coach Scott Nagy claimed his second consecutive Horizon League Coach of the Year honor, while Love was named to the All-Horizon League First Team and Wampler was a second team selection.

Love led the Raiders in scoring most of last season and finished the 2018-19 campaign with a 15.1 points per game average, which ranked seventh in the Horizon League, while his 8.2 rebounds per game average was the third-best in the Horizon last season. A First-Team All-League member last season, Love was second-team and Freshman of the Year selection following the 2017-18 campaign. He posted 12 double-doubles last season and averaged 16.6 points in league-only contests.

Wampler averaged 14.9 points per game overall last season and 14.4 against Horizon League foes. In his first year as a Raider, he collected 23 double-figure scoring games with six games of 20 or more points. He had his career-high 29 points on February 15 against Northern Kentucky and 26 points in his Raider debut against Western Carolina. He connected on 78 threes in 35 games last season, starting the first 14 of the season before finding a niche coming off the bench.

Wright State opens the 2019-20 regular season on November 5 at home inside the Nutter Center against Central State before road matchups at Miami (OH) and Tennessee Tech. The Raiders begin Horizon League play with a pair of home contests on December 28 (Green Bay) and December 30 (Milwaukee) before the calendar turns to the new year.

2019-20 #HLMBB Preseason Poll Results
Pl.           School (1^st-place) – Votes
1.            Wright State (28) – 350
2.            Northern Kentucky (5) – 295
3.            UIC (1) – 280
4.            Oakland (1) – 229
5.            Green Bay – 207
6.            Youngstown State – 186
7.            Milwaukee – 146
8.            Detroit Mercy – 133
9.            IUPUI – 92
10.          Cleveland State (1) – 62

Preseason Player of the Year
Antoine Davis, Detroit Mercy

First Team (alphabetical order by school)
Antoine Davis, Detroit Mercy
Jalen Tate, Northern Kentucky
Xavier Hill-Mais, Oakland
Tarkus Ferguson, UIC
Loudon Love, Wright State

Second Team (alphabetical order by school)
JayQuan McCloud, Green Bay
Tyler Sharpe, Northern Kentucky
Marcus Ottey, UIC
Bill Wampler, Wright State
Darius Quisenberry, Youngstown State

Raiders tabbed atop Horizon League preseason poll; two players honored

Players Mentioned

Loudon Love

Bill Wampler

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