The American Athletic Conference released its preseason poll and awards on Wednesday, and coaches picked Wichita State to finish seventh out of 11 teams.

The Shockers are coming off a 23-8 season that ended prematurely due to COVID-19. This offseason, six scholarship players transferred away from the program resulting in a retooling of the roster. Despite that, WSU returns six key players from last year’s squad.

Dexter Dennis and Tyson Etienne both return as major contributors from a season ago, combining for 18.6 points per game. This year’s roster features seven upperclassmen including seniors Trey Wade and Alterique Gilbert.

Houston was selected as the preseason favorite in the conferenced receiving 99 votes. Memphis is close behind the Cougars as the second-place team and received two of the 11 first-place votes. SMU, Cincinnati, South Florida and Tulsa rounded out the top-six, all finished higher than WSU.

For the second consecutive season, No WSU player earned all-conference honors. Houston’s sophomore guard Caleb Mills was also selected as the Preseason Player of the Year.

Full Preseason Poll

1.Houston (9) 99

2.Memphis (2) 90

3.SMU 80

4.Cincinnati 77

5. South Florida 61

6. Tulsa 50

7. Wichita State 44

8. Central Florida 37

9. East Carolina 34

10. Temple 18

11. Tulane 15

AAC Preseason  Player of the Year: Caleb Mills, G, Houston

AAC Preseason Rookie of the Year: Moussa Cisse, C, Memphis

First Team All-AAC

Keith Williams, G, Cincinnati

Jayden Gardner, F, East Carolina

Caleb Mills, G, Houston

Kendric Davis, G, SMU

Brandon Rachal, F, Tulsa

Second Team All-AAC

Chris Vogt, C, Cincinnati

D.J. Jeffries, F, Memphis

Landers Nolley II, G, Memphis

Alexis Yetna, F, South Florida

Tyson Jolly, G, SMU