Monday’s AAC Media Day began with the announcement of preseason rankings and individual honors for the conference’s men’s and women’s programs. With the arrival of Florida Atlantic, UAB, North Texas, Rice, UTSA, and Charlotte from Conference USA, the landscape of the American Athletic looks much different heading into the 2023-24 campaign. Houston, UCF, and Cincinnati, meanwhile, all left to join the Big 12 in the summer.
The AAC Preseason Poll
Voters project Memphis’ men’s basketball team to finish second in the AAC this season. Florida Atlantic, who beat Memphis in the 2023 NCAA Tournament and made it to the Final Four, is projected to finish first in the conference. FAU received 11 first-place votes (167 total points), while the Tigers received three first-place votes (159 points). With this projection, it marks the fourth consecutive season that voters have picked Memphis to finish second overall in the conference.
The arrival of Florida Atlantic to the AAC should jumpstart a newfound rivalry between the two programs. While the Owls return a majority of their players from last season’s Final Four team, Memphis has 13 new faces on its roster.
Individual Honors
Two Memphis players earned preseason conference selections for the AAC. Voters named Alabama transfer guard Jahvon Quinerly to the conference’s preseason first-team, while Louisiana transfer forward Jordan Brown earned second-team honors. Brown, who averaged 19.3 points and 8.6 rebounds per game last season, was the 2022-23 Lou Henson Award winner. This award goes to the nation’s top mid-major player.
Voters awarded a pair of Tiger freshman high honors. Guard Carl Cherenfant and forward JJ Taylor were selected as AAC Preseason Co-Rookies of the Year.
Memphis begins AAC play on Jan. 4 on the road against Tulsa. Before that, however, they tip off the regular season against Jackson State on Nov. 6 at the FedEx Forum.
In the conference’s women’s preseason poll, voters picked Memphis to finish fifth (115 total points). South Florida, ECU, Rice, and SMU were ahead of the Tigers. Additionally, senior guard Madison Griggs (First-Team All-AAC) was the only player named to a preseason all-conference team.
