Saints Rank 9th in Pre-season Poll

After five successful years at the helm for the Seward
County Saints, there aren’t many firsts that pop up on Head Coach Bryan
Zollinger radar as far as accomplishments anymore. However, Thursday,
as the NJCAA released its Preseason Top 25 Poll, Zollinger did notch a
first. Despite three Jayhawk West Championships and two Region VI
titles, the Saints had never been ranked in the preseason poll under
Zollinger, until Thursday when Seward checked in at #9 in the opening
rankings.
Seward draws the nod at #9 after finishing third at the
NJCAA National Tournament a season ago during a 31-7 season that also
saw them win the Jayhawk West and Region VI Championship en route to
their push in Hutchinson. The Saints return just three players from
last year’s squad, but two starters in point guard Kaheem Ransom and big
man Edson Avila, as well as Briston White who played a key role off the
bench for Seward. They also add three sophomore transfers that include
Division I players in Jabari Peters and Leslee Smith. The Saints roster
currently sits at 17, but will be trimmed to at least 14 before their
opener on November 2nd against Fort Carson in the Greenhouse.
It is the first time since 2005 that the Saints have
opened a season in the top 25, a stretch which has seen Jayhawk West
rivals such as Hutchinson open the year ranked six different times in
the top 25 despite failing to win a Region Championship in that span.
Defending National Champions South Plains opens the year as #1 and
rightfully so after an undefeated 36-0 campaign in 2011-2012. The team
that ended the Saints dream run before finishing runners-up, Northwest
Florida State was picked 2nd and were followed by Howard, Chipola, and
Indian Hills at #3, #4, and #5. Two other Region VI teams were
recognized in the poll, including Hutchinson who comes in at #13 after a
25 win season and Coffeyville who is ranked #19 following a 28-4 year
last season.