MELBOURNE, Fla. - The Sunshine State Conference announced the 2019-2020 Preseason Poll on Wednesday, Oct. 30, which Saint Leo University saw itself picked to finish fifth in the conference. The Lions received one first place vote, while the final 10 votes went to favorite Nova Southeastern and second place Florida Southern. 

The Green and Gold, who dropped an exhibition game to the University of South Florida 76-62 Tuesday night, finished in sixth place a year ago and advanced to the SSC tournament where the Lions fell on the road to the Moccassins 80-78. Saint Leo looks to improve on 2018-19's 13-16, 10-10 SSC record under head coach Lance Randall, who returned to the sideline after a four-year stint at Lindenwood. 

Randall will enter his fifth season at the helm of the Lions and brings Ryan Hamm, Cale Girten, and Ron Foxx to the bench as assistant coaches, all three of which have knowledge of the Sunshine State Conference. Girten and Foxx were teammates for Randall while Hamm, who previously served as an assistant on Randall's staff in 2014-15, returns to the Green and Gold also after four years in Lindenwood. 

Saint Leo returned nine players to the 2019-2020 roster, adding six for a roster size of 14. The Lions return Yalen Reed, Isaiah Hill, Gintaras Bartaskas, Rusty Moorer, Kyran McClure, Wesley Williams, Tyler Carter, Ty Forman, and Malik Fuller. The Green and Gold added transfers Wade Coomer, Chase Villers, and Pat Strzala with freshman Jared Coomer, Erik Lahm and Luke Haasl. 

The SSC Preseason Poll showed NSU as the favorite with 98 total points, eight first place, while Florida Southern was in second at 85, and two first place. Barry and Lynn were tied for third at 69 points with the Lions in fifth with 60 total points, and one first place. The rest of the poll was as follows: Palm Beach Atlantic (sixth, 45 points), Rollins (seventh, 43 points), Tampa (eighth, 42 points), Eckerd (ninth, 41 points), Florida Tech (10th, 29 points), and Embry-Riddle (11th, 24 points). 

The Lions will open the 2019-20 season at the GSC-SSC Challenge on Nov. 9-10 when the Green and Gold tips off against Alabama-Huntsville at 6 p.m. in Montevallo, Ala. 

For the latest news, updates, and information on the Saint Leo men's basketball, be sure to visit SaintLeoLions.com. Fans can also stay up-to-date on the latest Lions news by following Saint Leo Athletics on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and YouTube.

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Don't miss out on the 2019-20 Basketball Pride Pass, now on sale. The Saint Leo Basketball Pride Pass gives each fan admission to all home men's and women's basketball events. For more information visit here.