The 2024-25 Men’s Basketball Season is just around the corner, as the Ohio Valley Conference released its preseason poll and players to watch list on Wednesday morning. Voted by conference coaches and communicators, the Western Illinois Leathernecks were slated to finish in second place in the conference’s preseason poll. WIU guards Ryan Myers and Sean Smith were named Players to Watch by the conference.
A senior from Brooklyn, New York, Ryan Myers made an impact in his first year as a Leatherneck in 2023-24. Myers led all Leathernecks in scoring, averaging 13.3 points per game while shooting 40% from beyond the three-point line last season. Myers was tabbed a Second-Team All-OVC selection, as well as a Second-Team District 18 selection by the National Association of Basketball Coaches. His most memorable moment as a Leatherneck came in last year’s quarterfinal matchup against Tennessee State, where the guard hit a game-winning shot to send the Leathernecks to the semifinals.
A newcomer to the 2024-25 squad, Sean Smith was also named a Player to Watch by the OVC. A senior guard from Louisville, Kentucky, Smith has spent his last three seasons playing at three different colleges. As a freshman, Smith started at San Diego Mesa CC, averaging 11.8 points per game while shooting 49.5% from the floor. He then transferred to John A. Logan, where he averaged 8.2 points per game and added 3.0 assists per game. Last year, Smith transferred up to NCAA Division One, playing in 29 games at Alabama State. There, Smith averaged 16 minutes, 5.1 points, 1.5 assists, and 2.2 rebounds per contest, and looks to make his mark in his first year as a Leatherneck.
Little Rock ran away with the preseason poll, as they brought back All-OVC First-Teamer KK Robinson, building off a season where the Trojans took home a share of the Ohio Valley Conference title. The Trojans defeated the Leathernecks in last year’s semifinal but lost to Morehead State in last year’s championship.
Western Illinois brings back three players from last year’s squad, Ryan Myers, Tay Knox, and Rodrick Payne, while the rest of the team are all newcomers. Leatherneck head coach Chad Boudreau brought in a wealth of talent to this year’s squad via the transfer portal, and coaches and communicators around the league noticed, as the Leathernecks received 172 in the conference’s preseason poll.
Despite Little Rock being an early favorite in the conference, the state of the rest of the league is unknown, as many squads bring in entirely new teams. Behind WIU in third place is SIUE, which received 151 votes, and brings back a talented scorer and defender in Ray’Sean Taylor. Following the Cougars are Tennessee State and Morehead State in fourth and fifth place, respectively. Both squads are full of fresh faces, as Morehead State head coach Preston Spradlin departed for James Madison, and Tennessee State brings back none of their top eight scores from last year’s team.
One vote separates sixth and seventh place, as Eastern Illinois was slated to finish sixth with 87 votes, and Southeast Missouri was picked seventh with 86 votes.
Behind those two sides are Southern Indiana, Lindenwood, UT Martin, and Tennessee Tech, all finishing with under 80 votes. The conference should prove to be exciting for the 2024-25 season, with plenty of new faces surely to emerge as stars, and many unknowns surrounding every team in the conference.
In just a few weeks, Western Illinois will tip off its season in San Jose, as they take on San Jose State on November 4th.
2024-25 OVC Men’s Basketball Preseason Poll
Little Rock (20 first-place votes) 200 points
Western Illinois 172
SIUE (2) 151
Tennessee State 134
Morehead State 131
Eastern Illinois 87
Southeast Missouri 86
Southern Indiana 79
Lindenwood 67
UT Martin 52
Tennessee Tech 51
Players to Watch
Eastern Illinois
Nakyel Shelton
Kooper Jacobi
Lindenwood
Markeith Browning
Jeremiah Talton
Little Rock
KK Robinson
Jordan Jefferson
Morehead State
Dieonte Miles
Trent Scott
Southeast Missouri
Teddy Washington
Rob Martin
SIUE
Ray’Sean Taylor
Desmond Polk
Southern Indiana
Stephen Olowiniyi
Jayland Randall
Tennessee State
Ahmir Langlais
Justus Jackson
Tennessee Tech
Daniel Egbuniwe
Rodney Johnson Jr.
UT Martin
Vlad Salaridze
Josue Grullon
Western Illinois
Ryan Myers
Sean Smith
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***Courtesy of Western Illinois University***
