SEWANEE, Tenn. - The University of the South men's basketball team opens its 99th season of action on the hardwood on Wednesday night at Maryville College (Tenn.).
LET'S GO BACK: Sewanee wrapped up the 2022 season with a 6-16 record, playing a roster of mainly freshmen and sophomores.
TIGERS MAKE TOP-FOUR IN SAA PRESEASON POLL: Coming off a 6-16 record that saw three freshmen average 28 minutes or more on the floor last year, the Tigers have aged a year and the league coaches are taking notice.
The 2019 SAA Tournament Champions are predicted to finish fourth at the end of the regular season.
Sewanee did not lose any significant players from last year's squad, as the Tigers added four to the roster in 2022-23.
Berry, the reigning tournament champions, were picked to win the league again. Birmingham-Southern, who finished fourth in the league last year, is predicted to take second place.
Below is the full poll:
| 1. |
Berry |
63 points |
| 2. |
Birmingham-Southern |
49 |
| 3. |
Rhodes |
38 |
| 4. |
Oglethorpe |
34 |
|
Sewanee |
34 |
| 6. |
Centre |
32 |
| 7. |
Hendrix |
24 |
| 8. |
Millsaps |
18 |
MARYVILLE PREVIEW: Maryville returns with a lot to play for in 2022-23. The Scots, in 2021-22, posted a 20-win season for the first time since 2019, which was Randy Lambert's final season at the helm of his hall of fame coaching career. Posting a 20-4 record, the Scots saw an early exit from the USA South, as LaGrange eliminated Maryville in the quarterfinals on the Scots' home floor, 65-62.
Now in the newly-formed Collegiate Conference of the South (CCS), the Scots are the front runners in the league's inaugural preseason coaches poll.
Nationally, Maryville is receiving votes in the preseason top-25 administered by D3hoops.com.
Myles Rasnick, the 2022 USA South Defensive Player of the Year and First Team Member, returns for the Scots.
Raul Placeres, a 2006 graduate of Maryville, was on Lambert's staff as Associate Head Coach for eight seasons before taking over the helm in 2020. He holds a 39-23 record as head coach.
SERIES HISTORY: Maryville and Sewanee will meet for the 55th time in program history on Wednesday night, with the Scots holding the advantage, 31-23, winning the last four meetings.
Sewanee is seeking its first win over Maryville since 2013, when the Tigers downed the Scots, 54-52, inside Juhan Gymnasium.
SEASON OPENERS: Since the 1922-23 season, Sewanee is 45-51 in games starting the season. Sewanee is looking for its first season-opening win since 2019-20, where the Tigers downed the Royals of Johnson (Tenn.) at home, 97-85.
Sewanee will look to capture a road win to start the season. The Tigers last had a road victory away from Juhan Gymansium in 2012-13 at Webster (Mo.), 78-68.
The Scots are playing the Tigers for the first time to start a season.
COLIN TAKES OFF IN EXHIBITION: In Sewanee's exhibition at Lee on Nov. 5, Colin Kahl posted a game-high 26 points on 10-of-19 shooting. Nine of his 10 shots came in the paint, as Sewanee posted 28 points inside the paint.
Sewanee's last win at Maryville came during the 1986-87, when head coach at the time Randy Lambert was in his seventh year of his 39-year Hall of Fame Career at Maryville. The Tigers, on Dec. 13, 1986, took down the Scots, 74-65.
NO STOPPING RUSS: There was no question that Russ Marr was named the SAA Newcomer of the Year after a stellar freshman career. The North Sand Mountain product led all freshmen in scoring, averaging 14.7 points per games.
In 22 games, the Bryant, Ala. native notched double-digit points in 18, including his first nine collegiate games. In Sewanee's blowout win versus Oglethorpe on Feb. 11, the All-SAA selection dropped 32 points and was the first Sewanee player to score 30 in a game since Adrian Thomas scored 41 against Johnson (Tenn.) in 2019.
COLIN ON THE FIVE: Back for his senior year, Colin Kahl is looking to improve on his 2021-22 campaign where he was a Second Team All-SAA selection.
The Roswell, Ga. native finished tied for fourth in scoring in the league (17.4) and 10th in rebounding (5.8).
Kahl scored double digits in 21 of the 22 games he played. Entering 2022-23, Kahl's career-high in points came twice with 27 vs. Covenant last Nov. 20 and Centre on Dec. 4.
SEWANEE 2026: The men's basketball program welcomes three freshmen to the team in 2022-23: Quinn Damm, Grant Rowe and Rashaun Williams.
MERRELL RETURNS TO THE DOMAIN: With the announcement of former assistant Brody Curry C'17 to lead the women's basketball program, Brian Emerson has added Will Merrell C'15 to the coaching staff for 2022-23.
No stranger to Sewanee, Merrell served as the strength and conditioning coach for the men's lacrosse team that saw the team win the 2022 Southern Athletic Association (SAA) Tournament Championship and pick up its first-ever NCAA Tournament win.
Prior to his return to the Domain, he served as an assistant coach for Queens University of Charlotte (N.C.) for the 2018 season. The program went 32-4 on the season, including setting a new school record in wins and advanced to the NCAA Division II Men's Basketball Final Four. His responsibilities include scouting, the recruitment of prospective student-athletes and all team travel operations.
Prior to his start in collegiate coaching, he was a coach for the ProSkills Select AAU, Queen's Grant High School and the Cannon School.
During his career at Sewanee, he played on the men's basketball and track and field teams, and he was a member of the Order of the Gown.
Merrell graduated Cum Laude from the University of the South in 2015 with a degree in Political Science with a concentration in International Security and a History minor.
MCCARTHY BACK ON THE HARDWOOD: After retiring from his post as Assistant Director of Athletics last December, Dickie McCarthy is back on the court as an assistant on the men's basketball program this year.
McCarthy served as Assistant AD for seven years, but from 2004-14, he was the head women's basketball coach at the University of the South. The all-time winningest coach in women's basketball history with 106, he was the Coach of the Year by the Southern Collegiate Athletic Conference (SCAC).
He was also the head coach at Springwood School in Lanett, Ala, where he won 183 games as the girls coach and captured the 1993 Alabama Independent School Association (AISA) State Championship.
McCarthy played on the 1975 team at Sewanee that finished 20-7 and received a bid to the inaugural NCAA Division III Tournament.
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