LOCK HAVEN, Pa. -- The Kutztown University men's basketball team was selected seventh in the Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) Eastern Division Preseason Coaches Poll, as announced by the conference office Thursday morning. 

The Golden Bears are coming off of a season where they finished 11-7 overall and 10-12 in the PSAC East. It was the most conference wins for KU since the 2017-18 season. Bernie Driscoll's squad struggled at times, but ended the season on a six-game winning streak, finishing one game short of the program's first PSAC Tournament berth since 2018-19. 

KU enters the season with a youthful and new look roster. The Golden Bears return five players from last year's team: Jalen Bryant (Edgewood, Md./John Carroll), Kameron Roberts (Townsend, Del./Middletown), Will Meeker (Orefield, Pa./Parkland), Ryan Glassmacher (Stewartsville, N.J./Bethlehem Catholic (Pa.)), and Brendan Boyle (Allentown, Pa./Notre Dame). Driscoll's staff brought in eight freshmen, along with Adelphi transfer Connor Murphy (Chester, N.J./Gill St. Bernards) to round out the roster.

East Stroudsburg topped the East poll with five first place votes, followed by West Chester with three. Shepherd received one first place vote in the No. 4 spot, while last season's PSAC East No. 1 seed Shippensburg came in at No. 5. Last year's PSAC Champions IUP are No. 1 in the West, followed by California and Mercyhurst.

KU opens the season on Friday, Nov. 10 at 5 p.m. at Elizabeth City State in North Carolina as a part of the PSAC/CIAA Challenge. The first home game will also be the PSAC opener in a crossover match up against Edinboro on Friday, Dec. 1. 

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Eastern Division (Number of first-place votes)

1. East Stroudsburg (5)
2. West Chester (3)
3. Millersville
4. Shepherd (1)
5. Shippensburg
6. Lock Haven
7. Kutztown
8. Bloomsburg
9. Mansfield

Western Division (Number of first-place votes)

1. IUP (5)
2. California (4)
3. Mercyhurst
4. Slippery Rock
5. Pitt-Johnstown
6. Seton Hill
7. Gannon
8. Clarion
9. Edinboro