On Oct. 11, the American Athletic Conference (AAC) announced its preseason coach polls. This is Florida Atlantic University’s second season in the AAC. Every year, the AAC coaches vote on preseason rankings for each team in the upcoming season.

In these ranking(s), FAU men’s basketball placed fifth out of 13, with 97 points. They dropped four spots from last season, where they were named the conference favorites and placed at No. 1 out of 14, with 11 No. 1 votes. 

The preseason favorite this year is the University of Alabama at Birmingham. UAB is the defending AAC champion, receiving nine first-place points and 141 points in total.

The AAC named Guard KyKy Tandy one of the players on the AAC Preseason Second Team All-Conference. Tandy is a transfer from Jacksonville State University who averaged 17.8 points per game. He came to FAU with 909 career points. 

The women’s basketball team placed 13 out of 13 teams this preseason, with 19 points. Last season, the women’s team was voted last in the AAC with 28 points. They ended last season at 12 out of 14 teams. 

The University of South Florida received a first-place ranking again this season, with a total of 166 points and 10 first-place points. 

Rayne Welser is a contributing writer for the University Press. For more information regarding this or other stories, email her at [email protected] or DM her on Instagram @_morgan.ray.