SAN ANTONIO – No. 18 Trinity University Men's Basketball will begin the 2022-23 season Monday with an exhibition trip to NCAA I University of Texas-San Antonio, followed by the regular-season opener against SUNY-Fredonia on the campus of University of Rochester Friday, November 11.
The Tigers (23-6; 13-3 SCAC in 2021-22) enter the new campaign on the heels of the program's first appearance in the NCAA III Men's Basketball Championship tournament since 2014 and first NCAA III postseason victory since 2012 in the team's largest postseason margin of victory, over Whitworth University (WA), 77-52.
Trinity returns its entire starting lineup from the 2021-22 campaign led by senior Enzo Sechi (Houston, Texas / Taylor), the program's first All-Region first-team selection by D3hoops.com and the first All-District first-team selection by National Association of Basketball Coaches (NABC) since 2012.
The returning group also features a pair of All-Southern Collegiate Athletic Conference second-team honorees and San Antonio-natives in senior AJ Clark (San Antonio, Texas / Johnson) and junior Tanner Brown (San Antonio, Texas / Brandeis).
Clark finished 2021-22 with the ninth 100-assist season in program history, third all-time with 126 dimes for the campaign. Brown was second to Sechi for the Tigers at 13.3 points per game last year to go with team-highs in three-pointers made (43) and free-throw percentage (.830).
Other notable returners include senior guards Kaleb Jenkins (New Orleans, La. / Metairie Park) and Ben Hanley (Flower Mound, Texas / Flower Mound) and sixth-man sophomore guard Jacob Harvey (Huffman, Texas / Hargrave). Jenkins earned 2021 SCAC Player of the Year honors in his first season with the Tigers, while Hanley is a two-time All-SCAC honorable mention and Harvey was named to the 2022 SCAC All-Freshmen and 2022 SCAC Championship All-Tournament teams.
NCAA III Rankings - D3hoops.com Recognizes Tigers' Return to National Attention
For the first time since 2004, Trinity Men's Basketball earned a spot in the D3hoops.com Preseason Poll at 18th, third-highest in Region 10 behind the reigning champions of the American Southwest Conference (No. 2 University of Mary Hardin-Baylor) and Southern California Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (No. 12 Pomona-Pitzer Colleges).
Three opponents on the 2022-23 schedule received votes for the D3hoops.com preseason rankings: University of St. Thomas, Hardin-Simmons University and LeTourneau University. If both Trinity and Rochester advance in the season's opening-weekend 2022 Chuck Resler Tournament, a fourth team in the preseason poll will be on the schedule with the 11th-ranked host Yellowjackets.
SCAC Preseason Coaches' Poll (Nov. 3)
In the preseason balloting of head coaches around the SCAC, Trinity was ranked atop the league's projected standings for the 2022-23 campaign, the conference office announced Thursday. The Tigers collected seven first-place votes and a total of 63 points toward the poll. Last year's tournament champion, University of St. Thomas, earned the other two first-place nods and 57 points. Schreiner University and Centenary College landed third and fourth, respectively.
Scheduled Exhibition Contests – UTSA, TAMU-Corpus Christi
A pair of NCAA I programs will play host to Trinity in November as a visit to the Roadrunners will open the season Monday, November 7. The Tigers will then visit Texas A&M University-Corpus Christi after they return from New York on Monday, November 14.
Last season, Trinity battled UTSA to a 97-66 final though the first unit stood toe-to-toe with the Roadrunners as it logged a 15-14 lead through the first seven minutes of the contest. The Tigers originally had NCAA I University of the Incarnate Word on the schedule for their second exhibition contest in late December of 2021 before the game was ultimately cancelled.
Notable Home Dates – Holiday Tournaments, 2023 SCAC Championship
The Tigers will host both of its annual holiday tournaments again before the end of the 2022 calendar year. For the Thanksgiving edition, Trinity will battle McMurry University (Nov. 25) and Hardin-Simmons (Nov. 26). The Christmas Classic will feature Geneva College (PA) and University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point December 21-22.
Trinity will play host to the 2023 SCAC Men's Basketball Championship February 24-26 in San Antonio. The home rematch of the 2022 SCAC Championship with St. Thomas will be just-past the New Year on January 21, 2023.
