Virginia Wesleyan and Randolph-Macon Tied for Second

SALEM, Va.  --- Guilford College collected 10 first place votes and 119 total points to earn the top slot in the 2009 ODAC Men's Basketball Preseason Poll.  Virginia Wesleyan College and Randolph-Macon College tied for second with 103 total tallies.  The Marlins also received the remaining first place vote.

Eastern Mennonite University is ranked in fourth place with 83 points and Hampden-Sydney accumulated 80 points for a fifth place pick.  Roanoke College is in sixth place with 63 points and Bridgewater College is right behind in seventh place (54) with Washington and Lee University in eighth place (44) and Emory & Henry College (36) not far behind.  Randolph College (24) and Lynchburg College (17) round out the 11-team survey. 

Guilford  (26-6, 14-2 ODAC) returns this season after making a trip to the 2009 NCAA Division III National Championship Series, where it finished third in the country after defeating Franklin & Marshall College in the national consolation game.  Despite graduating two senior starters, Guilford mentor and 2009 ODAC Coach of the Year, Tom Palombo, welcomes back a trio of talented stars.  Returning to the fold is First Team All-Region and All-ODAC senior guard Clay Henson.  Henson averaged 18.8 points per game and earned a spot on the Division III Championship Series All-Tournament Team.  Also returning for the Quakers is senior center Tyler Sanborn.  Sanborn received fourth team All-American recognition from D3hoops.com after compiling an average of 15.4 points, 12.9 rebounds and 2.5 blocks per game.  Sanborn registered 20 double-doubles last season and finished third among national rebounding leaders.  Second Team All-ODAC pick Rhett Bonner is back as a senior guard, and averaged 16.5 points and 3.3 assists per game last season. 

Virginia Wesleyan (17-13, 7-9 ODAC) returns to the hardwood after surprising the ODAC in 2009 by emerging as the lowest seeded team to win the league's tournament championship.  The Marlins look to senior guard Stephen Fields to lead the team to another ODAC title.  Fields has already surpassed the 1,000-point plateau in his career, entering his final season with 1,054 points.  Last season, Fields averaged 13.3 points per game and led the team with 105 assists.  Junior Quantrell Simmons averaged 7.8 points per game and hit career-high totals with 23 points and 10 rebounds against Roanoke.  The Marlins will also be expecting a solid contribution from promising big man, Donald Vaughn.

Randolph-Macon (20-6, 14-2 ODAC) welcomes back former Yellow Jackets standout Nathan Davis to take over the head coaching reins from the departed Mike Rhoades.  The Yellow Jackets have the chore of replacing 2009 ODAC Player of the Year, Justin Short, but welcome back 12 letter-winners and three starters from last year's squad that lost only two conference games.  Second-Team All-ODAC choice and former ODAC Rookie of the Year, Jordan Brown, averaged 10.4 points per game.  Danny Jones and Brandon Braxton, who averaged 9.5 and 8.3 points per game, respectively, are back along the front line for the Jackets.  Also returning for the R-MC is junior Kevin Voelkel and Bill Campion.

Posted below is the entire 2009-10 ODAC Men's Basketball Preseason Poll.  For more information on ODAC men's basketball, visit any of the participating  schools' websites or the ODAC's NEW home on the Internet at www.odaconline.com. 

2009-10 ODAC Men's Basketball Preseason Poll
(#) Denotes first place votes