NEW ORLEANS – Fifth-year senior Mason Harrell was selected to the All-Sun Belt Conference Preseason First Team and the Texas State men's basketball team was picked to finish second in the league's preseason coaches poll, announced by the conference office Monday afternoon.
 
Harrell is a two-time All-Sun Belt honoree with first team accolades in 2021 and second team last season. He is coming off a season in which he averaged 11.7 points, 3.1 assists and 2.0 rebounds per game. The point guard led the Bobcats with 87 assists and an 84.4 free throw percentage where he knocked down 76-of-90 from the line.
 
The Midwest City, Oklahoma native also connected on 31-of-77 (40.3%) three-point attempts and was 111-of-231 (47.6%) overall from the field. He recorded 19 games of double-digit points with three 20-plus contests including a season-high 24 against Rice on Nov. 30, 2021.
 
Last season Harrell became the 23rd player in program history to score 1,000 career points in a Texas State uniform and enters the season 21st in team history with 1,049. He has also dished out 306 assists and is the only Bobcat with 1,000 points and 300 assists.
 
Texas State received one first-place vote and totaled 162 points to come in second in the preseason poll. Louisiana was the top choice in the league with 190 points and 10 first-place selections. Rounding out the top five was South Alabama, James Madison and Georgia State, respectively, as each were picked to finish first once.
 
2022-23 Sun Belt Men's Basketball Preseason Coaches Poll
1. Louisiana – 190 (10)
2. Texas State – 162 (1)
3. South Alabama – 150 (1)
4. James Madison – 149 (1)
5. Georgia State – 127 (1)
6. Marshall – 122
7. App State – 120
8. Coastal Carolina – 100
9. Old Dominion – 93
10. Troy – 76
11. Georgia Southern – 69
12. Arkansas State – 48
13. Southern Miss – 34
14. ULM – 30
 
All-Sun Belt Preseason Teams
First Team
Jordan Brown, Louisiana (F, Jr.)
Mason Harrell, Texas State (G, Sr.)
Taevion Kinsey, Marshall (G. Sr.)
Vado Morse, James Madison (G, R-Sr.)
Kevin Samuel, South Alabama (C, Gr.)
 
Second Team
Donovan Gregory, App State (F, Sr.)
Felipe Haase, Southern Miss (F., Gr.)
Kobe Julian, Louisiana (F, R-So.)
Essam Mostafa, Coastal Carolina (C, R-Jr.)
Greg Parham II, South Alabama (G, Gr.)
 
Third Team
Kamdyn Curfman, Marshall (G, Jr.)
Caleb Fields, Arkansas State (G, Jr.)
Nika Metskhavarishvili, ULM (F, Jr.)
Andrew Taylor, Marshall (G, R-Jr.)
Zay Williams, Troy (F, Sr.)
 
Preseason Player of the Year
Jordan Brown, Louisiana (F, Jr.)
 
In preparation for the regular season, Texas State will host Cameron in an exhibition game on Nov. 2 in Strahan Arena. The regular season official begins for the Bobcats with a trip to take on Washington State on Nov. 10 with tip scheduled for 6:30 p.m. CT.
 
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