Coming off its fourth consecutive trip to the NAIA Tournament, the expectations for the Mid-America Christian men's basketball team are still sky high as the Evangels were picked to finish third in the Sooner Athletic Conference Preseason Poll announced on Wednesday.
Voted upon by the league's 12 head coaches, the Evangels received 96 points, finishing three points ahead of Langston in fourth while Texas Wesleyan and Southwestern Assemblies of God received 87 and 85 points respectively to place fifth and sixth in the ranking.
Wayland Baptist was selected to win the SAC with 105 points and received three first-place votes, edging out Science & Arts who tabbed 103 points and also received three first-place nods.
MACU is coming off its sixth 20-win season in the last eight years, a stretch that included the COVID-19 shortened 2020-21 campaign, going 20-13 overall and qualified for the program's fourth straight NAIA National Championship Tournament.
The Evangels picked up some massive victories over the course of the 2021-22 season, earning three NAIA Top 10 wins, including a 78-72 win at No. 6 LSU-Shreveport, a 92-84 overtime win over No. 8 Bethel (Kan.) and a 92-74 victory at No. 9 Southwestern Assemblies of God (Texas).
While the Evangels are replacing their top five scorers from a season ago, MACU will be led by senior guard Jasiah Lewis, who scored 230 points (9.3 ppg) on 42.3 percent shooting. The Brooklyn, N.Y. native brings a strong floor game, finishing third on the team in assists with 51 and yanked down 96 rebounds (3.3 rpg) to go with 29 steals in 2021-22.
Mid-America Christian also returns two members from last year's All-SAC Freshman Team in Quentin Woodson and Tarrence Gaines. Woodson, an Oklahoma City native, was the team's best shooter at 58.8 percent while averaging 5.7 ppg and grabbed 105 boards (3.4 rpg) along with 15 steals and eight blocks.
Gaines provided a spark for the Evangels off the bench during the second half of the season, averaging 2.9 ppg on 44.8 percent shooting, including 33.3 percent from the three-point arc to go with 65 rebounds, 11 steals and seven blocks.
Despite the Evangels losing a bulk of its scoring options from a season ago, MACU features a highly-touted recruiting class, headlined by NCAA Division II UC-Colorado Springs transfer DaRaun Clark.
The 6-6 redshirt sophomore guard is a dynamic player both offensively and defensively. During the 2020-21 season, Clark was one of the top scorers in the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference, averaging 16.2 points per game. Over three seasons with at UCCS, including an injury-shortened 2019-20 season, Clark scored 577 points (12.8 ppg) on 40.6 percent from the field, 36.8 percent from the three-point arc and 80.6 percent shooting from the charity stripe. The San Antonio native also tallied 54 steals over 45 games and 36 starts.
One of two NCAA Division I transfers to be added to the squad, senior guard Trevonte Doolittle comes to MACU after competing for Arkansas-Pine Bluff, where he averaged 3.7 points per game for the Golden Lions.
The Evangels also added a pair of solid NCAA Division II transfers from Mid-America Intercollegiate Athletic Association (MIAA) powerhouse Central Oklahoma in junior forward Seth Hurd and sophomore guard Conner Calavan as well as another strong NCAA D-I transfer from Oral Roberts in junior guard Jonathan Alexandre.
The Evangels also picked up a phenomenal player from the high school level in true freshman guard Jalen Goar. Competing for Hobbs High School, Goar was one of the most decorated players to compete in the state of New Mexico, earning multiple All-State honors and is an elite outside threat, breaking the Eagles' all-time three-point shooting record.
Mid-America Christian will officially open the 2022-23 season on the big stage as the Evangels will compete against Kansas Christian inside the Paycom Center, home of the Oklahoma City Thunder on Oct. 27. Tip-off is slated for 12:45 p.m.
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