COLONIA, NJ – Tale as old as time.
After facing each other in each of the last four ECC Championship Finals, Daemen and St. Thomas Aquinas have tied for first in the 2025 East Coast Conference Men’s Basketball Preseason Poll, as voted on by the league's nine head coaches and announced on Monday afternoon. Additionally, Staten Island senior forward Messiah Mallory (Watervliet, NY) was selected as the league’s Preseason Player of the Year.
Daemen (25-9, 12-4 ECC) earned three first-place votes and 72 points. The Wildcats, who have finished second in the last four ECC Championship Finals and have won at least 19 games in every full season since joining the ECC in 2013, are led by Mike MacDonald and topped the ECC in seven categories last year, including assist/turnover ratio (1.18), effective field goal percentage (53.0), field goal percentage (46.2), field goal percentage defense (41.6), scoring defense (71.7), three point percentage (38.0), and three point percentage defense (31.1). Daemen takes a hit with the departures of ECC Defensive Player of the Year Joey Atkins (12.0 ppg/7.3 rpg) and All-First Team guard Dylan Fasoyiro (17.3 ppg) but have a group of 11 returners and six newcomers ready to step up and make their marks.
At the forefront are returning All-ECC Third Team picks Justin Glover (11.6 ppg) and Justin Hemphill (10.6 ppg). Glover’s 2.39 assist/turnover ratio and 3.3 assists per game ranked second and sixth, respectively, in the ECC last year while Hemphill’s 7.5 rebounds per game were fifth. Andrew Mason (10.4 ppg) returns to complement the offensive production while Saint Anselm transfer Matt Becker (8.3 ppg/7.5 rpg), who ranked third in the Northeast 10 in total rebounds (234), will look to add value on both sides of the ball.
Still on the search for their first ECC Championship crown, the ‘Cats will look to make their fifth consecutive ECC final and their second consecutive (fifth overall) NCAA Division II Championship in March.
Five-time defending league champion St. Thomas Aquinas ties for the top spot in the poll with four first-place votes and 72 points. Matt Capell leads the Spartans (25-6, 14-2 ECC), who have won eight of the last nine ECC titles and led the ECC in 11 categories last season, including winning percentage (80.6), scoring offense (90.8), scoring margin (11.0), rebounds per game (9.0), steals per game (9.3), and fewest amount of turnovers per game (12.9). STAC will look to fill the hole left by ECC Player of the Year James Patterson, the ECC leader in points (743, fifth nationally) and points per game (24.0, fourth nationally), rebounds (262), double-doubles (13), and steals (57), and All-ECC Second Team selections Kyle Pulliam (442 points, fourth in the ECC) and Rich Smith (ECC leader in all assist categories).
Capell returns seven letterwinners and brings in 10 newcomers for the 2024-25 campaign. Among newcomers of note are Derrick James (9.8 ppg/5.0 apg), a transfer point guard from Gannon; James finished second in NCAA Division II in steals (85, 2.5 per game) and led Gannon to the NCAA Division II Elite 8 and a final record of 32-3. Hartnel Haye (12.5 ppg/8.0 rpg) joins the Spartans from ECC foe District of Columbia after ranking second in the conference in field goal percentage last season, shooting at a clip of 52.9 percent. Returners Luiz Risquez (31 games played) and Shaun Arnold (30 games played) bring a good deal of game experience from last season, while a welcomed return to the line-up is Kyle Jones, back after missing 40 games due to injury.
St. Thomas Aquinas will look to return to its 10th consecutive trip to the NCAA Division II Championship in March.
Under the direction of reigning ECC Coach of the Year T.J. Tibbs, Staten Island is expected to challenge for a top-three finish in the conference tournament this year. Leading the charge will be ECC Preseason Player of the Year Mallory.
Mallory led the ECC in defensive rebounds per game (5.96), ranked second in the ECC in overall rebounds per game (8.5) and blocks per game (2.19, 11th nationally), and finished fifth in field goal percentage, shooting at a clip of 47.5 percent. The CSI senior forward has averaged double figures in each of his first three seasons en route to three All-Conference honors (First Team in 2023 and 2024 and Second Team in 2022). Mallory notched 19 double-digit scoring games last year, including five 20-plus point games, and 10 double-digit rebounding games en route to nine double-doubles.
The Dolphins are coming off of a 19-10 overall season (13-3 ECC) in which they led the conference in assists per game (15.8) and three pointers made per game (9.7). In losing All-ECC First Team hot shooter Bryce Waterman, who led the ECC in three point percentage (43.6), three pointers made per game (3.38, fifth nationally), and three point field goals made (98, eighth nationally), CSI could turn to JJ Chestnut and Chris Clancy to help fill the void; Chestnut averaged double figures (10.5 ppg) in 2022-23 and Clancy (8.7 ppg) shot 42.3 from the floor last year. Point guard Aaron Goldstein enters his sophomore season after turning in a freshman campaign that had him in the running for ECC Rookie of the Year honors after averaging 10.0 points per game and ranking third in the conference in assist/turnover ratio (1.60).
Rounding out the top four with 47 points is Roberts Wesleyan, who returns All-ECC First Team guard Malik Brooks. Brooks stuffed the scoresheet with 17.4 points per game (third in the ECC), 1.67 steals per game (fifth in the ECC), and 4.93 defensive rebounds per game (eighth in the ECC). With the loss of All-ECC Third Team guard Kevin Constant, the Redhawks have added D’Youville transfer Nassir Hammonds (7.6 ppg/6.0 rpg). Roberts Wesleyan led the ECC in fastbreak points (15.00) and turnovers forced per game (18.11) last year.
District of Columbia earned 44 points to sit fifth in the poll. The Firebirds finished 10-16 overall (8-8 ECC) last year and return All-ECC Third Team point guard Tevin Curtis, who averaged 11.8 points per game and a team-leading 37.3 percentage from deep while topping the ECC in steals per game (2.12) and ranking second in assists per game (4.7). Another addition of note is Stanley Harley, a Murray State transfer who averaged 12.9 points per game last season. The Firebirds will look to replace the scoring efforts of All-ECC Second Team Eric Morgan, Jr., who poured in 15.7 points per game in 2023-24.
With 38 points, Queens is expected to claim the sixth and final spot in the postseason field. The Knights went 12-16 (6-10 ECC) last year and led the conference and ranked second nationally in blocks per game (6.1) but lose the All-ECC duo of Sunnie Diamond (Second Team), who ranked fifth in the conference in assists (92), and Malik Bentinck (Third Team), who led the squad in blocks (33) and topped the ECC in rebounds per game (9.0). At the top of the scoring options between Diamond (18.0 ppg) and Bentinck (12.6 ppg) was Shamar Chester (13.8 ppg), who ranked fifth in the ECC in free throw percentage (78.3) and will be expected to lead QC in 2024-25. A noted transfer addition is Damiri Lindo, who averaged 12.0 points per game at the University of Nebraska at Kearney. Queens won the ECC Championship crown twice, in 2002 and 2005.
Molloy, who led the ECC in free throw percentage (77.7) and defensive rebounds per game (28.85, sixth nationally) finishes five points shy of inside the poll’s top six with 33 points. ECC Rookie of the Year and All-ECC Second Team guard Rob Matos is expected to take charge in his sophomore season after finishing second in the conference in scoring (19.5 ppg) and fourth in assists per game (3.9); he also shot 81.8 percent at the line (third in the ECC). The Lions have appeared in the ECC Championship Final three times, most recently winning it all in 2019.
D’Youville sits eighth with 20 points; Trayton Trice returns after leading the Saints in scoring (13.3 ppg) and rebounding (6.2 rpg) last year.
Taj Chiles, who averaged 12.2 points per game and ranked third in the ECC in assists per game (4.5) a season ago, will pace Mercy, who rounds out the preseason poll with 15 points.
ECC Men’s Basketball Preseason Poll
T-1. Daemen - 72 points (3)
(2024 Record – 25-9, 12-4 ECC)
T-1. St. Thomas Aquinas - 72 points (4)
(2024 Record – 25-6, 14-2 ECC)
3. Staten Island - 64 points (2)
(2024 Record – 19-10, 13-3 ECC)
4. Roberts Wesleyan - 47 points
(2024 Record – 13-13, 9-7 ECC)
5. District of Columbia - 44 points
(2024 Record – 10-16, 8-8 ECC)
6. Queens - 38 points
(2024 Record – 12-16, 6-10 ECC)
7. Molloy - 33 points
(2024 Record – 7-20, 5-11 ECC)
8. D’Youville - 20 points
(2024 Record – 7-20, 4-12 ECC)
9. Mercy - 15 points
(2024 Record – 2-24, 1-15 ECC)
( ) - first-place votes
ECC Men’s Basketball Preseason Player of the Year
Messiah Mallory, Staten Island (Sr., F, Watervliet, NY)