Rider picked to finish 7th in MAAC
The last two times Rider finished second in the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference, it did so after being picked near the middle of the pack.
If that trend holds true, Kevin Baggett and the Broncs won’t mind that they were slotted into the No. 7 spot in the league’s annual preseason poll.
Defending regular-season champion Monmmouth grabbed the top spot followed by Iona and St. Peter’s.
Rider, coming off a 13-20 season in which it went 8-12 in the conference, returns only four player who contributed significant minutes to that team. Senior forward Kahlil Thomas is preaseason second team all-league member.
Thomas compiled a team-high 12 double-doubles, averaing 11.7 points and eight rebounds per game, while leading the MAAC in field goal percentage (56.5).
Reigning Player of the Year Justin Robinson of Monmouth is the early pick to repeat and he’s joined on the first team by Iona’s Jordan Washington, Marist’s Khallid Hart, and the Siena duo fo Brett Bisping and Javion Ogunyemi.
On the women’s side, the Broncs were selected 10th in the 11-team league, although senior guard Robin Perkins is a second team pick.
Rider went 8-22 and 5-15 in the league a year ago.
Perkins led the team in scoring, averagin 15.2 points.
Quinnipiac once again is the favorite, followed by Iona and Siena. The Gaels’ Marina Lizarazu is the Player of the Year.