INDIANAPOLIS, In.  --  The S&T Men's Basketball team is projected to finish tenth in the Great Lakes Valley Conference this season, one spot lower than the finished last season.
 
The Miners received 88 votes in the newest poll, falling just 19 points behind Drury who is the last team projected to make the conference tournament.
 
The Miners are returning two of last season's primary starting five, with both Lovell Williams (Rogers, MN/Maple Grove) and Andrew Young (Ballwin, MO/Marquette) set to get significant playing time again this season. Returners Alex Benassi (Lee's Summit, MO/Lee's Summit) and Cameron Stovall (St. Louis, MO/Vashon) are expected to play a key role for the team this season as well. Other returners include Tyler Heidbrink (Owensville, MO/Owensville), Kyle Renkoski (Pierce City, MO/Pierce City), Michael Onunkwor (Jefferson City, MO/Jefferson City), and Jack Zarr (St. Louis, MO/Oakville).
 
Not only is S&T returning several big-time performers from last season, but they are also welcoming two key transfers in Ryan Sroka (Lake in the Hills, IL/Huntley) and Blaise Beauchamp (Minnetonka, MN/Hopkins). Sroka is a graduate transfer from Illinois Wesleyan and was a team captain for the Titans, shooting 45.6% from the field and averaging 9.7 points per game last season. Beauchamp is a D1 transfer from Evansville, where he shot 35.8% from the three and averaged 8 points per game in his last season with the Aces.

The Miners are also welcoming six freshman to the roster this season in Tucker Morris (Broken Arrow, OK/Summit Christian Academy), Dwayne Foley (St. Louis, MO/Ladue), Aidan Burns (Thayer, MO/Thayer), Garrett Hines (Nixa, MO/Nixa), Adam Rickman (Washington, MO/St. Francis Borgia), and Zac Brown (Collinsville, OK/Collinsville). Brown, the 6-9 forward out of Collinsville, Oklahoma, has been turning heads in practice and could make an impact early in the season.
 
1.           Truman State  -  172 (6)
2.           Illinois Springfield  -  162 (2)
3.           William Jewell  -  161 (4)
4.           Lewis  -  153
5.           Upper Iowa  -  152 (2)
6.           Indianapolis  -  140 (1)
7.           Missouri-St. Louis  -  132
8.           Drury  -  107
9.           McKendree  -  91
10.         Missouri S&T  -  88
11.         Lincoln  -  58
12.         Maryville  -  49
13.         Rockhurst  -  45
14.         Quincy  -  44
15.         Southwest Baptist  -  21
 
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