Towson Tabbed as CAA Men’s Basketball Favorite; Charleston’s Brzovic Selected as Preseason Player of the Year
Miles McQuiggan
RICHMOND, Va. (Oct. 18, 2024) – The CAA men's basketball coaches selected a Towson team coming off three straight 20-win seasons and bringing back numerous contributors to last year’s success as the league’s preseason favorite.
In addition, Charleston’s
Ante Brzovic was picked by the league’s coaches as Preseason Player of the Year after helping the Cougars to back-to-back CAA titles.
The CAA’s 14 head coaches were polled on a predicted order of finish and preseason All-CAA teams; coaches were not permitted to vote for their own team or players. The selections were announced as part of the CAA’s media day festivities in partnership with The Field of 68 on Friday morning.
Towson returns four starters from last year’s 20-win team, including two –
Tyler Tejada and
Christian May – who received preseason All-CAA honors. Tejada earned a first-team selection from the league’s head coaches after winning Rookie of the Year in 2023-24, while May was named to the second team. The Tigers, who have played in three straight CAA Semifinals, collected 10 of a possible 13 first-place votes.
After capturing its second-straight CAA title in a 27-win season, Charleston was picked second with three first-place selections. Brzovic was key to that effort as an All-CAA honoree for the Cougars while leading the team in points (12.1) and rebounds per game (6.3). Teammate
CJ Fulton earned preseason accolades as a second-team selection after leading the nation in assist-to-turnover ratio last season.
UNCW collected the remaining first-place vote, with the Seahawks coming off a 21-win campaign. The Seahawks knocked off No. 12 Kentucky in Lexington last winter and return two starters from that team.
Hofstra, which will feature numerous new faces this winter, was picked fourth by the league’s coaches. The Pride won 20 games last season and advanced to the CAA Semifinals. Delaware, winners of 19 games, including a victory at Xavier last year, was picked fifth, while Northeastern was projected to finish sixth in the coaches’ vote. The Huskies return preseason second-team selection
Masai Troutman for his junior year in Boston.
William & Mary, led by first-team preseason honoree
Gabe Dorsey, and Monmouth, featuring second-team selection
Jaret Valencia, were narrowly separated for seventh and eighth. Stony Brook was projected to finish ninth, while N.C. A&T, featuring the conference’s returning leading scorer and first-team preseason honoree
Landon Glasper, rounded out the top 10. Drexel, Elon, Campbell, and Hampton completed the 14-team poll, with two of the 10 preseason honorees coming from that group in first-team selection
Kyrese Mullen (Hampton) and second-team honoree
TK Simpkins (Elon).
The 2024-25 season begins Monday, Nov. 4, with 14 CAA teams in action. League play begins with one game on Tuesday, Dec. 3, and a full slate on Thursday, Jan. 2; the 2025 Jersey Mike’s CAA Championship tips off at the Entertainment & Sports Arena in Washington, D.C., on Friday, March 7, with the title game Tuesday, March 11 on CBS Sports Network. The full 27-game CBS Sports Network schedule, announced Thursday, is available HERE.
2024-25 CAA Men’s Basketball Preseason Poll
| Rank |
Team (1st) |
Points |
| 1. |
Towson (10) |
166 |
| 2. |
Charleston (3) |
157 |
| 3. |
UNCW (1) |
143 |
| 4. |
Hofstra |
122 |
| 5. |
Delaware |
102 |
| 6. |
Northeastern |
96 |
| 7. |
William & Mary |
91 |
| 8. |
Monmouth |
87 |
| 9. |
Stony Brook |
80 |
| 10. |
N.C. A&T |
67 |
| 11. |
Drexel |
66 |
| 12. |
Elon |
46 |
| 13. |
Campbell |
27 |
| 14. |
Hampton |
24 |
Preseason Player of the Year: Ante Brzovic, Charleston *
2024-25 All-CAA Preseason First Team
| Name |
School |
Class |
Position |
Hometown |
| Ante Brzovic * |
Charleston |
Sr. |
F |
Zagreb, Croatia |
| Gabe Dorsey |
William & Mary |
Sr. |
G/F |
Westminster, Md. |
| Landon Glasper * |
N.C. A&T |
Jr. |
G |
Fayetteville, Ark. |
| Kyrese Mullen |
Hampton |
Jr. |
F |
Norfolk, Va. |
| Tyler Tejada |
Towson |
So. |
G/F |
Teaneck, N.J. |
2024-25 All-CAA Preseason Second Team
| Name |
School |
Class |
Position |
Hometown |
| CJ Fulton |
Charleston |
Sr. |
G |
Belfast, Northern Ireland |
| Christian May |
Towson |
Jr. |
G/F |
Edinburg, Va. |
| TK Simpkins |
Elon |
Jr. |
G |
Brooklyn, N.Y. |
| Masai Troutman |
Northeastern |
Jr. |
G |
Frederick, Md. |
| Jaret Valencia |
Monmouth |
R-So. |
F |
Quibdó, Colombia |
Honorable Mention: Derrin Boyd, Gr., G, Charleston; Joshua Corbin, Gr., G, UNCW; Jack Collins, Jr., G, Monmouth; Chase Lowe, Sr., G, William & Mary; Bo Montgomery, Gr., G, UNCW; Joe Octave, Gr., G, Stony Brook; Camian Shell, Jr., G, N.C. A&T; Jasin Sinani, Sr., G, Campbell; Dylan Williamson, R-So., G, Towson
* Unanimous selection
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