NORFOLK, Va. – The two-time defending MEAC champion Norfolk State men's basketball team is the prohibitive favorite to win again in 2022-23, as the Spartans were voted first in the conference's preseason poll that was released on Thursday.

NSU received 15 of 16 first-place votes in the poll of league coaches and sports information directors. Three Spartans also picked up preseason All-MEAC honors, led by Preseason Player of the Year Joe Bryant Jr. Bryant, the reigning MEAC Player of the Year, and forward Kris Bankston were voted to the All-MEAC first team, and forward Dana Tate Jr. was voted to the preseason All-MEAC third team.

Bryant was named the 2022 MEAC Player of the Year and MEAC Tournament MVP. He was also named to the Lou Henson Mid-Major All-America Team and the BOXTOROW HBCU Player of the Year. Bryant started all 31 games for the Spartans, averaging 16.7 points, 5.1 rebounds, 3.2 assists and 1.4 steals per game while shooting 43.2 percent from the field and 34.8 percent from beyond the arc. He also broke his own single-season school record by making 91.5 percent of his free throws, sixth-best in the country.

Bankston started all 31 games for the Spartans, averaging 11.0 points, 6.8 rebounds and 1.2 blocks per game in his first year with NSU in 2021-22. He was voted to the All-MEAC second team after the year. Bankston finished the season second in the MEAC in rebounding average and third in blocks per game, leading the Spartans in both categories. He shot 71.1 percent from the floor, the best mark in school history.

Tate played in 27 games for the Spartans, making 20 starts last season. He averaged 9.6 points, 5.6 rebounds and 1.1 assists per game while shooting 45.6 percent from the field and 42.5 percent from beyond the arc. He reached double-digit scoring in 12 games, with two performances of 20 points or more. Tate ranked in the top 20 in the MEAC in scoring, rebounding and 3-pointers.

NSU went 24-7 last year and finished 12-2 in winning both the MEAC regular-season and tournament titles. The Spartans return 12 players from last year's squad.

North Carolina Central was picked to finish second in the preseason poll and received one first-place vote. Howard was picked third, followed by Morgan State, Coppin State and Maryland Eastern Shore. Delaware State and South Carolina State tied for seventh place.

2022-23 MEAC Men's Basketball
Preseason All-MEAC Teams
Voted on by the league's head coaches and sports information directors
 
Preseason Player of the Year: Joe Bryant, Jr., Norfolk State

Name	Pos.	Class	Ht.	School	Hometown
Nendah Tarke	G	Jr.	6-4	Coppin State	Gaithersburg, Md.
Elijah Hawkins	G	So.	5-11	Howard	Washington, D.C.
Kris Bankston	F	Gr.	6-9	Norfolk State	Little Rock, Ark.
Joe Bryant, Jr.	G	Sr.	6-1	Norfolk State	Norfolk, Va.
Justin Wright	G	Jr.	6-1	North Carolina Central	Greenville, N.C.

Name	Pos.	Class	Ht.	School	Hometown
Steve Settle III	F	r-Jr.	6-10	Howard	Glenarden, Md.
Da'Shawn Phillip	G	Sr.	6-5	Maryland Eastern Shore	Baltimore, Md.
Malik Miller	G	Sr.	6-4	Morgan State	Washington, D.C.
Eric Boone	F	r-Sr.	6-2	North Carolina Central	Lexington, Ky.
Kris Monroe	F	Sr.	6-8	North Carolina Central	Raleigh, N.C.

Name	Pos.	Class	Ht.	School	Hometown
Corey Perkins	G	So.	6-2	Delaware State	Wilmington, Del.
Nathaniel Pollard, Jr.	F	Gr.	6-5	Maryland Eastern Shore	Richmond, Va.
Dana Tate	F	r-Sr.	6-7	Norfolk State	Boston, Mass.
Brendan Medley-Bacon	C	Sr.	7-1	North Carolina Central	Baltimore, Md.
Rahsaan Edwards	G	Jr.	5-11	South Carolina State	Charles Town, W.Va.

School (First-Place Votes)	Points
1. Norfolk State (15)	127
2. North Carolina Central (1)	102
3. Howard	93
4. Morgan State	81
5. Coppin State	67
6. Maryland Eastern Shore	46
t-7. Delaware State	30
t-7. South Carolina State	30