MANSFIELD, Mass. – The Southern New Hampshire University men's basketball team, the defending NE10 and NCAA East Regional Champion, was chosen to finish second in the NE10 standings this season, as the league coaches voted in the NE10 Preseason Coaches' Poll that was released Thursday.

The Penmen received two first-place votes and 77 total points to finish behind reigning Regular-Season Champion Saint Michael's College, which collected five first-place votes and 84 points. Bentley University placed third with 72 points, just ahead of the University of New Haven, which netted three first-place votes and 71 points. Adelphi University was fifth, as it gathered the final first-place nod and 67 points.

American International College (58) edged Pace University (55) for sixth place, with Southern Connecticut State University (42) doing the same to Saint Anselm College (39) for eighth. Assumption University (30) and Franklin Pierce University (10) finished off the poll.

In his seventh year as head coach, Jack Perri returns eight players from a 2023-24 campaign that saw SNHU finish 24-11, including 13-9 in the league, and capture both the NE10 Championship and NCAA East Regional Championship titles, as the Penmen returned to the Elite Eight for the first time since 2015. Seniors Derrick Grant (Piscataway, N.J.), Kurtis Henderson (Brockton, Mass.) and Jordan Brathwaite (Silver Spring, Md.) are back in the fold as the most experienced members of the group. Grant, an NE10 All-Defensive Team selection a year ago, started all 35 contests, posting 10.4 points, 6.0 rebounds, 1.2 assists and 1.1 blocks per game. Henderson also started all 35 games last year, averaging 11.3 ppg on 41 percent shooting from behind the arc, while adding 3.4 rebounds, 3.3 assists and 1.3 steals per contest. Brathwaite played in all 35 games last season, recording 5.1 points and 4.2 rebounds per contest. A healthy Paul Greene (Freeport, Bahamas) will also be counted on in the frontcourt after producing 4.5 points, 5.7 boards and 1.2 assists in 20 games during his sophomore campaign.

The Penmen open their season with a pair of games at the College of Staten Island. SNHU takes on St. Thomas Aquinas College on Saturday, Nov. 9 (5 p.m.), before battling Staten Island on Sunday (Nov. 11) at 1 p.m. The first home contest for SNHU is Saturday, Nov. 16 (1 p.m.) when it plays host to Bloomfield College at the Stan Spirou Field House.

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2024-25 NE10 Men's Basketball Preseason Coaches' Poll

1. Saint Michael's – 84 (5)
2. Southern New Hampshire – 77 (2)
3. Bentley – 72
4. New Haven – 71 (3)
5. Adelphi – 67 (1)
6. American Int'l – 58
7. Pace – 55
8. Southern Connecticut – 42
9. Saint Anselm – 39
10. Assumption – 30
11. Franklin Pierce – 10

(#) indicates number of first-place votes