Pioneers Picked Fifth In SAC Men’s Basketball Poll

ROCK HILL, S.C. — The Tusculum Pioneers are picked to finish fifth in the chase for the 2024-2025 South Atlantic Conference men’s basketball title according to the SAC Coaches’ Poll.

Sophomore guard Bryce Jackson was named to the Preseason All-Conference second team while senior center Akeem Odusipe was tabbed to the SAC’s Players to Watch List.

The Pioneers received 84 total points in a vote of the league’s 13 head coaches. Carson-Newman and Lincoln Memorial are the co-favorites to capture the SAC Championship. Both teams received 137 points each including six first place votes apiece.

Catawba, who claimed a share of the 2024 regular season championship and later went on to win the SAC Tournament title, is third with 125 points and one first place nod. Wingate is fourth with 104 points, while Tusculum wraps up the top-five.

Anderson is sixth with 80 points, followed by Coker (78), Lenoir-Rhyne (73), UVA Wise (60), Newberry (48), Limestone (47), Mars Hill (21) and Emory & Henry (19).

Jackson, a 6-3 guard from Murfreesboro, Tennessee, played in all 27 games last season including 15 starts. He finished second on the team in scoring as he averaged 10.8 points per game. He also posted 3.8 rebounds per contest and shot 85.9 percent from the free throw line (3rd in SAC / 50th in NCAA II). His 1.37 steals per game average was 10th in the conference.

Jackson also shined off the court where he was named the 2024 SAC Men’s Basketball Elite 23 Award recipient.

Odusipe, a 6-9 native of Lagos, Nigeria, was Tusculum’s top rebounder last year where he averaged 6.7 boards per outing (7^th in SAC) including 2.46 offensive rebounds per game (3^rd in SAC). He was fifth on the team in scoring averaging 7.5 points per game and finished second with his 26 blocked shots (0.88 bpg – 15^th in SAC). Odusipe’s .562 field goal percentage was best on the roster.

Head coach JT Burton returns seven lettermen and three starters from last year’s 14-13 club which finished fifth in the league and advanced to the SAC postseason for a sixth straight year.

Tusculum will host Tennessee Wesleyan this Monday morning at 11 a.m. in the Jack Kilday Education Game at Pioneer Arena. Following that exhibition contest, the Pioneers will open the regular-season next weekend as they open at the Southeast Region Conference Challenge in Morrow, Georgia. TU will open next Friday against host Clayton State (Nov. 8) followed by next Saturday’s clash with Chowan (Nov. 9).

SAC Men’s Basketball Coaches’ Poll

2024-25 Preseason All-Conference Team
First Team
Nick Brenegan, Carson-Newman
Jack Browder, Carson-Newman
Bradley Dean, UVA Wise
Wes Enis, Lincoln Memorial
Connor Jordan, Lincoln Memorial
John Zhao, Carson-Newman

Second Team
Mahmoud Bangura, Lincoln Memorial
Kadyn Dawkins, Mars Hill
Trey Hubbard, Carson-Newman
Bryce Jackson, Tusculum
Kendall Taylor, Wingate
Austin Webb, Anderson

SAC Players to Watch
Anderson – AJ Wright Jr., Dallas Jones, Cole Middleton
Catawba – Kris Robinson, Montraivis White, O’Mazeon Tinsley, Justin Banks
Coker – Glen Bynum Jr., Ian Blue, AJ Burch
Emory & Henry – Gabe Brown, Jackson Crawford, Jalen Leftwich
Lenoir-Rhyne – Tay Smith, Hantz Louis-Jeune, Ziare Wells, Conrad Luczynski
Limestone – Isayah Owens, Greg McKay, Ayden Hickman
Mars Hill – Kory Davis, Kendall Davis
Newberry – Drake Downs, Malakhi Stremlow
Tusculum – Akeem Odusipe
UVA Wise – Zy’Ever Wingfield, Patrick Shelley
Wingate – Jordan Miller, Jaden Lingo