Men’s basketball team picked third in MIAA preseason poll

FREELAND, Mich. – The Olivet College men's basketball team has been picked third in the 2018-19 Michigan Intercollegiate Athletic Association (MIAA) preseason poll. The poll is voted on by the eight MIAA coaches, and the coaches are not allowed to vote for their own team.

The voting for the top three spots was close. Trine (Ind.) University was chosen as the preseason favorite with three first-place votes and 44 points. Hope College also received three first-place votes and had 43 points. The Comets picked-up the remaining two first-place votes and garnered 41 points.

Under the leadership of head coach Steve Ernst, Olivet shared the 2017-18 MIAA regular season title with Hope. Both squads posted 10-4 MIAA records. The Comets hosted the 2018 MIAA Tournament, with the Flying Dutchmen beating Olivet in the championship game.

In 2018-19, Olivet returns five players from last year's varsity team. Highlighting this group is senior Tracy Edmond, a 2018 All-MIAA First Team selection. He was second on the team in scoring, averaging 21.4 points per game, and broke the Comets' single-season record with 192 assists.

Other returning varsity players are seniors Chase Brocker, Diangelo Carlton and John McAdoo, and sophomore Delbert Redfield. Of this quartet, McAdoo started the most games in 2017-18 with 21. Brocker played in all 26 games and averaged 6.0 points per game. The rest of this year's roster features eight transfers, two freshman and one player from last year's Olivet junior varsity squad.

The Comets' first MIAA contest is Thursday, Jan. 3, 2019, at Albion College. Prior to that, Olivet has a tough 11-game non-conference schedule. Highlighting this part of the schedule are games against Ferris State University, the defending NCAA Division II champion, and Nebraska Wesleyan University, the defending NCAA Division III champion. The only home non-conference game is Saturday, Dec. 15, against Thomas More (Ky.) College.