INDIANAPOLIS, Ind. - The defending Horizon League regular season and tournament champions were picked fourth in the 2024-25 #HLMBB Preseason Poll, as DQ Cole earned Preseason All-League Second Team honors, the league announced today.
 
Oakland was selected fourth out of 11 teams with 345 points and garnered five first-place votes, the third most amongst the league. Tied for first in the poll is Milwaukee and Purdue Fort Wayne, as the Panthers edged the Mastodons with one more first-place vote with 15. Just ahead of the Golden Grizzlies is Northern Kentucky who received four first-place votes and sits third, as Wright State matched Northern Kentucky's first-place votes but is behind Oakland in fifth. Youngstown State, Cleveland State and Green Bay follow, while Robert Morris, IU Indy and Detroit Mercy round out the bottom three.
 
The Golden Grizzlies are coming off a season to remember, as it took down Milwaukee, 83-76, in the Horizon League Tournament Championship game to claim its first-ever Horizon League title. Oakland wrapped up the regular season 20-11 and won the league outright, with a conference record of 15-5, for its first outright title since joining the league and first regular season title since its shared title with Valparaiso in 2016-17. Oakland also took down No. 3-seed Kentucky, 80-76, in the Round of 64 in the NCAA Tournament to secure its first-ever Round of 64 win.
 
All-League Second Team honoree DQ Cole returns for his senior season as the Pontiac, Mich., native had a standout season last year. Cole hit the go-ahead three-pointer against Kentucky with :28 seconds left to put Oakland up by four and seal the game in the historic win. Cole played in 27 games last year and started in 20, as he shot at a .461 clip from the floor and hit 34 threes on the year. The senior returns after averaging 9.4 points per game with 4.6 rebounds per game, as he dished out 71 assists in total.
 
The Golden Grizzlies are back in action for the first time since March as it plays the University of Michigan Sunday (Oct. 20) in the Forgotten Harvest charity exhibition game. Oakland opens the regular season Nov. 4 against Defiance, as the Golden Grizzlies title defense begins at home Dec. 5 against Wright State in its first league game of the season.
 
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2024-25 Under Armour  #HLMBB Preseason Poll
Pl.       Team – Pts. (First-place votes)
T1.        Milwaukee (15) – 421
T1.        Purdue Fort Wayne (14) – 421
3.          Northern Kentucky (4) – 389
4.          Oakland (5) – 345
5.          Wright State (4) – 315
6.          Youngstown State (1) – 272
7.          Cleveland State – 252
8.          Green Bay – 171
9.          RMU – 148
10.       IU Indianapolis (1) – 91
11.       Detroit Mercy – 79
 
#HLMBB Preseason Player of the Year
Brandon Noel, Wright State
 
Preseason All-League First Team (Alphabetical Order by School)
Trey Robinson, Northern Kentucky
Sam Vinson, Northern Kentucky
Rasheed Bello, Purdue Fort Wayne
Jalen Jackson, Purdue Fort Wayne
Brandon Noel, Wright State
 
Preseason All-League Second Team (Alphabetical Order by School)
AJ McKee, Milwaukee
Erik Pratt, Milwaukee
DQ Cole, Oakland
Quinton Morton-Robertson, Purdue Fort Wayne
Alex Huibregtse, Wright State