CLEVELAND, Ohio – The Cleveland State University men's basketball team was picked seventh in the Horizon League's preseason poll released Wednesday afternoon by the League office.

CSU sophomore Tyree Appleby was selected to the Preseason All-First Team in the announcement, becoming the first Viking to earn that honor since the 2014-15 campaign.

Defending League tournament champion Wright State was picked as the preseason favorite, garnering 25 first-place votes, while defending regular-season champion Northern Kentucky came in second and collected 10 first-place votes. UIC, Oakland, Green Bay and IUPUI were picked in spots three through six, respectively. Milwaukee, Youngstown State and Detroit Mercy rounded out the poll.

Cleveland State advanced to the Horizon League championship game in 2017-18 in head coach Dennis Felton's first season at the helm. The Vikings showed improvement as the season progressed, an aspect which was especially evident in their performance in close games. After going 2-5 in its first seven one-possession games, Cleveland State won its final six games of the season that were decided by one possession or went to overtime, including two in the Horizon League Tournament. The Vikings set a single-season school record with 294 three-pointers last season and tied the single-game school record of 14 three-pointers on four occasions.

Appleby played in 34 of 35 games in his true freshman campaign and averaged 11.8 points, 2.4 rebounds, 4.0 assists and 1.3 steals per game. He was named to the League's All-Freshman Team and was a four-time Freshman of the Week. Appleby raised his game in the Horizon League Tournament, averaging 15.3 points, 4.3 rebounds and 5.0 assists per game over the team's four-game run. He provided 24 points, seven rebounds and four assists in the Vikings' win over top-seeded Northern Kentucky in the HL Tournament.

Sophomore Stefan Kenic also returns for Cleveland State after starting 31 games in his rookie season and averaging 9.5 points and 3.3 rebounds per game. Junior Kasheem Thomas, who played in all 35 games last season and was second on the team in assist-to-turnover ratio (1.6) and senior Dontel Highsmith, who averaged 4.9 points and 2.2 rebounds across 26 games last year, also return with significant playing experience in a Viking uniform.

Cleveland State will unofficially open the 2018-19 season by hosting Ohio Valley in an exhibition Tuesday, Oct. 30. The Vikings will play their regular-season home opener Saturday, Nov. 10, against Kent State as part of fourth annual Northeast Ohio Coaches vs. Cancer doubleheader. 

2018-19 Horizon League Preseason Poll
Pl          School (First-Place Votes) – Points
1.          Wright State (25) – 377
2.          Northern Kentucky (10) – 356
3.          UIC (4) – 310
4.          Oakland – 239
5.          Green Bay – 238
6.          IUPUI – 188
7.          Cleveland State – 175
8.          Milwaukee (1) – 140
9.          Youngstown State – 104
10.        Detroit Mercy – 73 

2018-19 Preseason Player of the Year
Drew McDonald, Northern Kentucky 

2018-19 Preseason All-League First Team (alphabetical order by school)
Tyree Appleby, Cleveland State
Sandy Cohen III, Green Bay
Drew McDonald, Northern Kentucky
Marcus Ottey, UIC
Loudon Love, Wright State 

2018-19 Preseason All-League Second Team (alphabetical order by school)
Kameron Hankerson, Green Bay
Jalen Tate, Northern Kentucky
Tarkus Ferguson, UIC
Mark Hughes, Wright State
Naz Bohannon, Youngstown State