Contact: Chassidy Holloway, Assistant Executive Director, holloway@midwestconference.org
GRINNELL, Iowa — Receiving nine of the ten first-place votes, the Green Knights of
St. Norbert College have been selected by the men’s basketball head coaches of the Midwest Conference (MWC) to repeat as regular season champions this spring.
The Green Knights topped the poll with 81 points in first place and will look at adding number eleven to their current count of MWC men’s basketball championships.
The Scots of
Monmouth College and the Foresters of
Lake Forest College were picked second and third respectively, with Monmouth receiving the last first-place nod and 68 points to top Lake Forest’s 66 points. The Scots last won the league title and the tournament championship during the 2017-18 season. The Foresters upset the Green Knights last season by defeating them in the tournament championship to make their first NCAA Tournament appearance in school history.
Rounding out the top five are the Pioneers of
Grinnell College (55 points) and the Red Hawks of
Ripon College (50 points).
The 2019-20 season will tip-off on Friday, November 8 with Illinois College and Ripon College both taking on non-Conference opponents. Cornell College, Grinnell College, Lake Forest College, and St. Norbert College will also join in on the opening weekend action with contests on Saturday, November 9.
Full preseason poll results can be found below followed by quick facts for all ten MWC teams.
Team (First-Place Votes), Points
2019 MWC Men’s Basketball Preseason Poll
- St. Norbert College (9), 81 points
- Monmouth College (1), 68 points
- Lake Forest College, 66 points
- Grinnell College, 55 points
- Ripon College, 50 points
- Lawrence University, 46 points
- Illinois College, 30 points
- Cornell College, 26 points
- Beloit College, 18 points
- Knox College, 10 points
Beloit College Buccaneers
Head Coach: Josh Hinz (1
st Season)
2018 MWC Finish: 8
th
2019 Projected MWC Finish: 9
th
# Starters Returning: 4
Key Returnees: Tristan Shoup (SR)
All-MWC, Andrew Walters (JR)
Cornell College Rams
Head Coach: Dave Schlabaugh (3
rd Season)
2018 MWC Finish: 9
th
2019 Projected MWC Finish: 8
th
# Starters Returning: 3
Key Returnees: Daniel Burford (SO), Clayton Leipold (SO), Cooper Kabela (JR), Jordan Magnani (SO), Marcus Quirk (SO)
Grinnell College Pioneers
Head Coach: David Arseneault Jr. (2
nd Season)
2018 Finish: 2
nd
2019 Projected MWC Finish: 4
th
# Starters Returning: 2
Key Returnees: Brad Geiman (JR), Hannes Kogelnik (JR), Jackson Qualley (SO), Zachary Stice (JR)
Illinois CollegeBlue Boys
Head Coach: Steve Schweer (2
nd Season)
2018 MWC Finish: 7
th
2019 Projected MWC Finish: 7
th
# Starters Returning: 1
Key Returnees: Riley Mehrens (SR), Trevor Otten (SR), Trae Robinson III (SO)
Knox College Prairie Fire
Head Coach: Ben Davis (1
st Season)
2018 MWC Finish: 10
th
2019 Projected MWC Finish: 10
th
# Starters Returning: 4
Key Returnees: Malcolm Bray (SO), Ikenna Ozor (JR), Jordan Rayner (SO), Deryk Ruple (SR), Justin Windt (SR)
Lake Forest College Foresters
Head Coach: Ken Davis (6
th Season)
2018 MWC Finish: 3
rd
2019 Projected MWC Finish: 3
rd
# Starters Returning: 4
Key Returnees: Aram Arslanian (SR), Tashon Brown (SO), Sean Espinosa (JR)
All-MWC, Sam Husting (SR)
Lawrence University Vikings
Head Coach: Zach Filzen (2
nd Season)
2018 MWC Finish: 6
th
2019 Projected MWC Finish: 6
th
# Starters Returning: 4
Key Returnees: Bryce Denham (JR), Quinn Fisher (JR), Mason Materna (JR), Brad Sendell (JR)
All-MWC
Monmouth College Scots
Head Coach: Todd Skrivseth (9
th Season)
2018 MWC Finish: 4
th
2019 Projected MWC Finish: 2
nd
# Starters Returning: 5
Key Returnees: Justin Batterton (SR), Will Carius (SR)
All-MWC - 2018-19 MWC Player of the Year/Newcomer of the Year, Tyler Houston (SR), D.J. Swift (JR)
Ripon College Red Hawks
Head Coach: Ryan Kane (8
th Season)
2018 MWC Finish: 5
th
2019 Projected MWC Finish: 5
th
# Starters Returning: 3
Key Returnees: Trent Jones (SR), Kyle Rutkowski (SR), Ryan Steffes (SO)
St. Norbert College Green Knights
Head Coach: Gary Grzesk (14
th Season)
2018 MWC Finish: 1
st
2019 Projected MWC Finish: 1
st
# Starters Returning: 5
Key Returnees: Joe Ciriacks (SR)
All-MWC, Connor Curtis (SR)
All-MWC, Wade Geenen (JR), Joe Lemon (JR), Jared Murphy (JR)