SSAC Preseason Poll Released
Courtesy of BPC
The Southern States Athletic Conference released their Preseason Basketball Coaches' Poll last week with the Brewton- Parker College women and men finding out their preseason reankings.
Women Brewton-Parker Women’s Basketball will have something to prove this upcoming season as the Lady Barons were selected to finish third in the 2023-24 Southern States Athletic Conference Women’s Basketball Coaches’ Preseason Poll, the conference office announced on Wednesday.
The Lady Barons landed at third with 120 total points and a firstplace vote, falling behind Faulkner (Ala.), who earned 128 points, and stopping ahead of SSAC newcomer Point (Ga.), who earned 101 points. Loyola (La.) earned the top placement with 140 points and nine firstplace votes.
“We are excited for this season,” Head Coach Steve Edwards said. “We had a good run last year, and we feel that we are much improved heading into this season.”
“Our program is returning 85% of the roster from last year, and we have added a few key pieces,” Edwards added. “We’re a mature team and have some good experience. Our leaders are proven, and they are difference makers.”
Last season, the top four in the SSAC poll earned bids to the NAIA National Tournament Opening Rounds as Faulkner, Loyola, and Point competed on the national stage alongside the Lady Barons. BPC produced the program’s fifth overall appearance and the first National Tournament appearance since the 2005-06 season.
As for the rest of the poll, William Carey (Miss.) was selected fifth with 98 points followed by Mobile (Ala.) in sixth with 74 points. Stillman (Ala.) earned seventh (64 points) while Blue Mountain (Miss.) and Life (Ga.) tied for eighth (61 points).
Rounding out the poll is Tennessee Southern in 10th (45 points), Middle Georgia in 11th (26 points), and Thomas (Ga.) in 12th (18 points).
“Our league is super tough and there is a lot of depth across the board,” Edwards mentioned. “It's fun to see what other coaches think of our program and how we are gonna stack up. We were tied for 2nd in last season’s poll and this year we are 3rd.”
“We work really hard to compete in the SSAC and stay at the top,” Edwards said. “We are excited to give our best effort this season to take that next step forward.”
During the 2022-23 campaign, Brewton-Parker finished with a 22-8 overall record and a 13-5 conference slate. BPC battled its way to the SSAC Championship Semifinals, falling to Faulkner in a tight 69-64 matchup before taking on the NAIA Tournament.
The No. 12-seeded Lady Barons faced fifthseeded Texas Wesleyan in the NAIA First Round, falling 104-87 in the Rapides Parish Coliseum in Alexandria, La.
Brewton-Parker opens the season on the road with a cross-state battle against Coastal Georgia on Oct. 28 in Brunswick, Ga.
Men
Brewton-Parker Men’s Basketball has been selected to finish 10th in the 2023-24 Southern States Athletic Conference Men’s Basketball Coaches’ Preseason Poll, the conference office announced on Wednesday. The Barons received 55 points to land above Middle Georgia in 11th (52 points) and below Blue Mountain (Miss.) in ninth (72 points, 1 first-place vote). Sitting atop of the poll is Mobile (Ala.), who earned 159 points and six first-place votes.
“We are excited as a staff to get back to action this year,” Head Coach Leonard Epps said. “Our program has been hard at work to get things going in the right direction.”
“This conference is tough, but we believe we have a great opportunity to compete this season,” Epps added. “We look forward to opening the season soon.”
As for the rest of the poll, Life (Ga.) was selected to finish second with 141 points and two first-place votes followed by Faulkner (Ala.) and Loyola, who tied for third with 138 points as well as a pair of firstplace votes each.
Stillman landed at fifth (100 points) ahead of Tennessee Southern at sixth (95 points) and Thomas (Ga.) at seventh (89 points). Dalton State (Ga.) was picked for eighth (84 points) in the poll with Point (Ga.) and William Carey (Miss.) rounding out the poll in 12th (31 points) and 13th (29 points), respectively.
During the 2022-23 campaign, BPC produced a 9-20 overall record and a 7-13 conference record. The Barons produced an appearance at the SSAC Men’s Basketball Championship First Round in Montgomery, Ala., slipping to Life in an 86-77 defeat at the Cramton Bowl.
Brewton-Parker is set to open the season with a pair of home matchups in Gillis Gymnasium, hosting Paine (Ga.) on Oct. 28 at 3:30 p.m. ET and following up with a battle versus Toccoa Falls (Ga.) on Oct. 31 at 7:30 p.m. ET. SSAC is set to begin with Stillman on Nov. 16 in Mount Vernon.
