Crowley Garners Preseason Sun Belt Player of the Year Honors, Golden Eagles Picked Fourth

NEW ORLEANS -- Southern Miss men's basketball senior guard Austin Crowley has been named Sun Belt Preseason Player of the Year, as voted on by the league's 14 head coaches. The Golden Eagles were picked fourth in the Preseason Coaches Poll.

"Austin was selected as preseason Player of the Year for the league, which was selected by the league's coaches," said head coach Jay Ladner. "There's a lot of respect for him around the league based on that award. Austin is such a hard-working player, and I don't know if I've ever been around a player that's worked as hard as he has. It's not for his own individual glory, so to speak. He wants to be the best teammate he can be. It's good to see that and I don't know if I know of another player in our league that works as hard as he does."

Crowley, the reigning Sun Belt Newcomer of the Year, was also tabbed a Preseason All-Sun Belt First Team selection. The West Point, Miss. and Ole Miss transfer is coming off a breakout campaign where he guided the men's basketball team to a Sun Belt Regular Season Championship. Crowley averaged 16.0 points per game as he was a First Team All-Sun Belt player. He was also named NABC All-District 23, a Lou Henson All-American and was a finalist for the Howell Trophy.

Last season, Crowley nabbed a team-best 63 steals which ranked third in the Sun Belt and 43rd nationally. The high-volume guard scored at least 10 points in 26 games and exploded for a career-high 32 points against App State on Dec. 31. He went on a run of at-straight games with at least 12 points from Dec. 10 to Feb. 2.

"Being picked fourth, you know, I guess that's a step up from being picked 14th last year," Ladner said. "It's still not first, so we got some work to do. Again, we're going to be more concerned about where we are at the end of the season in terms of the standings. That does show you that that people think that we're going to have some drop off, so hopefully that'll be motivation for our guys."

One year after being selected 14th in the league standings, Southern Miss was picked fourth in the league. James Madison was picked to finish first with seven votes, while App State and Old Dominion were picked second and third, respectively. The Golden Eagles took down both the Dukes and Mountaineers at Reed Green Coliseum last season as part of a 15-0 home record. Southern Miss was the only team in the top-six not to receive a first-place vote.

Ladner and Crowley will attend Sun Belt Media Day at the Sun Belt Conference Offices on Tuesday, October 17. The pair will be on the Main Stage at 1 p.m. and then in the Sun Belt TV Studio at 1:25 p.m. Both appearances will be streamed live on ESPN+.

2023-24 Men's Basketball Preseason Awards

Preseason Player of the Year
Austin Crowley, Southern Miss

Preseason All-Sun Belt First Team
Austin Crowley, Southern Miss
Terrence Edwards, Jr., James Madison [R-JR | G | Atlanta, Ga.]
Donovan Gregory, App State [GR | F | Charlotte, N.C.]
Chaunce Jenkins, Old Dominion [JR | G | Newport News, Va.]
Christyon Eugene, Troy [SR | G | Spring, Texas]
Themus Fulks, Louisiana

Preseason All-Sun Belt Second Team
Tyrell Jones, South Alabama [SR | G | Chicago, Ill.]
Kamdyn Curfman, Marshall
Tyreke Locure, ULM [SR | G | New Orleans, La.]
Dwon Odom, Georgia State [JR | G | Alpharetta, Ga.]
Obinna Anochili-Killen, Marshall

Preseason All-Sun Belt Third Team
Terrance Ford Jr., Arkansas State [SO | G | Chicago, Ill.]
Brenden Tucker, Georgia State [SR | G | Lawrenceville, Ga]
CJ Huntley, App State [SR | F | Huntersville, N.C.]
Freddy Hicks, Arkansas State [JR | G | Searcy, Ark.]
Aamer Muhammad, Troy [SR | G | Rio Rancho, New Mexico]

Ties were not broken

2023-24 Men's Basketball Preseason Coaches Poll
1. James Madison (7) - 176
2. App State (2) – 159
3. Old Dominion (1) - 154
4. Southern Miss - 148
5. Louisiana (2) - 136
6. South Alabama (2) - 129
7. Marshall - 119
8. Troy - 91
9. Arkansas State - 84
10. Texas State - 72
11. Georgia State - 69
12. Coastal Carolina - 59
13. Georgia Southern - 42
14. ULM - 32

University of Southern Mississippi Athletics

Crowley Garners Preseason Sun Belt Player of the Year Honors, Golden Eagles Picked Fourth

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