The UVA Wise men's basketball team was picked 13th in the SAC Men's Preseason Poll rankings per SAC Commissioner Christian Stryker's announcement on Monday, Nov. 1.
 
With eight letter-winners returning, the Cavaliers hope to improve on their 5-13 record from the shortened 2020-2021 season due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
 
Junior standout Kaeleb Carter from Woodbridge, Pa. averaged 12.4 points per game in the shortened 2020-2021 season for the Cavs, starting in all 18 contests. Carter averaged 26.1 minutes per game that same year, and notably scored a career-high 25 points against Catawba on Feb. 3, 2021.
 
Another starter, Bradley Dean of Gate City, Va. averaged 7.6 points per game in the 2020-2021 season, with a career-high 18 points against Wingate on Feb. 2, 2021. Dean averaged 6.5 assists per game and 2.3 rebounds per game.
 
The men's roster introduces a total of ten new faces to the program.
 
Coming in first in the Preseason Poll is Queens University of Charlotte, who snagged a total of seven first-place votes. Carson-Newman came in a close second with five votes, and Tusculum, Lincoln Memorial, and Newberry rounded out the top five spots.
 
A complete list of the preseason poll, and the preseason all-conference selections may be found below.
 
 
2021-22 SAC Men's Basketball Preseason Poll

Rank	School (First-Place votes)	Points
1	Queens (7)	150
2	Carson-Newman (5)	145
3	Tusculum	131
4	Lincoln Memorial (1)	128
5	Newberry	108
6	Wingate	93
7	Catawba	88
8	Anderson	85
9	Lenoir-Rhyne	80
10	Coker	50
11	Limestone	43
12	Mars Hill	42
13	UVA Wise	27

 
2021-22 SAC Men's Basketball Preseason All-Conference
 
First Team
Trenton Gibson, Tusculum
Quandaveon McCollum, Newberry
Jarren Cottingham, Wingate
TJ Brown, Newberry
Kenny Dye, Queens
Jamari Smith, Queens
 
Second Team
Gavin Rains, Queens
James West IV, Tusculum
EJ Bush, Carson-Newman
Ren Dyer, Carson-Newman
Jordan Guest, Lincoln Memorial