AUGUSTA, GA – The Peach Belt Conference has released the 2022-23 men’s basketball preseason coaches’ poll and preseason All-Conference team. The season begins for most teams on Nov. 11 with the exception of Flagler who will play in the Small College Basketball Hall of Fame Classic Nov. 5-6. The season will conclude with the PBC men’s basketball tournament which will bring the top eight teams to the site of the highest seed March 2-5.

Augusta received the maximum possible amount of points and was the unanimous choice to repeat as PBC Champions in 2022-23.  The Jaguars advanced to the National Championship Game last season, their second appearance in the final in program history after winning the PBC regular-season and tournament championships last year.  The Jags return a core of four seniors with Tyshaun Crawford, Tyree Myers, Miguel Arnold and Darren Lucas-White all back.

Columbus State won 20 games last season, reached the PBC Tournament semifinals and earned an at-large bid to the NCAA Tournament.  The Cougars lost their top three scorers from that team but have rebuilt with experience and will have a roster with 11 graduate students and seniors this season.

The coaches poll is below followed by the preseason All-Conference team.  Coaches were not permitted to rank their own teams or vote for their own players.
 

Rank	Team	Points
1.	Augusta (9)	81
2.	Columbus State	64
t3.	Lander	57
t3.	USC Aiken	57
5.	Clayton State	48
6.	North Georgia	43
7.	Flagler	42
t8.	Georgia College & State University	21
t8.	Georgia Southwestern State	21
10.	Young Harris	16

 

---

 

Men’s Basketball Preseason All-Conference Team

Miguel Arnold, Augusta

• A senior guard from San Juan, Puerto Rico
• Named to the NCAA Southeast All-Region team after hitting the game-winning three-pointer at the buzzer in the championship game
• Played in all 37 games for the Jaguars and led the Peach Belt in three-point field goal percentage and three-pointers made per game – also ranked second in NCAA Division II in three-point percentage and 13^th in three-pointers per game
• Scored a career-high 33 against Chico State in the first game of the NCAA Elite Eight last year
• Hit nine three-pointers against Mount Olive, tied for second-most in a single game in the PBC

Frank Champion, North Georgia

• A sophomore forward from Lithonia, Ga.
• A first-team All-Conference selection as a freshman, he was also named D2CCA second-team All-Region
• Led his team and was ranked fifth in the PBC with 16.9 points per game; also ranked third in the league in rebounding and field goal percentage
• Scored 20 or more points eight times last season including a career-high 30 against Lee
• Had eight double-doubles with a season-best 15 rebounds against Georgia College

Tyshaun Crawford, Augsuta

• A senior center from Griffin, Ga.
• A 2022 PBC Player of the Year, he was named a first-team All-Conference selection and D2CCA first-team All-Region
• Named NCAA Southeast Regional Most Outstanding Player as the Jaguars won the regional and advanced all the way to the DII National Championship Game
• Was second in the PBC in scoring with 17.3 ppg; led the conference in rebounding with 8.6 per game, also led the league in field goal percentage and was second in blocks
• Twice named the PBC Player of the Week last year and named the D2CIDA National Player of the Week on Feb. 22

Tehree Horn, USC Aiken

• A junior guard from Toledo, Ohio
• Named second-team All-Conference in 2021-22
• Led the team and was ranked sixth in the PBC with 15.7 points per game; also ranked fourth in field goal percentage
• The PBC Player of the Week on Jan. 24, he had eight games of 20 or more points with a career-high 30 against Clayton State
• Added five double-doubles on the season, averaging 5.3 rebounds per game with 10 or more three times

Jalen Shaw, Clayton State

• A senior forward from Elgin, Ill.
• Named second-team All-Conference in 2021-22
• Averaged 13.6 points and 8.3 rebounds in 28 games for the Lakers last season, leading the team in 10 statistical categories
• Ranked second in the PBC in rebounding and field goal percentage; had 18 rebounds against Georgia College which was the third-highest single-game total in the conference last season
• Had 10 double-digit rebounding games and 10 double-doubles and was named the PBC Player of the Week on Dec. 12