Houston, TX -  Jackson State University men's basketball standouts Chase Adams, Romelle Mansell, and Ken Evens Jr. received Southwestern Athletic Conference (SWAC) first and second-team preseason honors, while the Tigers were selected to finish fourth as announced by the league office today.

The men's basketball predicted order of finish and the preseason All-SWAC teams were announced during the media day events today in Houston, Texas.

Adams, a senior from Chicago, Ill., averaged 8.0 points, 3.7 assists, and 2.5 rebounds per game and he shot over 80 percent from the charity stripe last season. He scored a JSU career-high 21 points in a road contest against Bethune-Cookman last season on his way to earning first-team SWAC preseason honors.

Joining Adams with first-team honors were Zion Harmon of Bethune-Cookman, Jeremiah Kendall of Alcorn State, PJ Henry of Texas Southern and Kylen Milton of Arkansas-Pine Bluff.

Mansell and Even Jr. were both selected for the All-SWAC Preseason Second Team. 

Mansell, a native of Los Angeles, Calif., averaged 8.9 points per game for the Tigers a year ago. He also had 5.4 rebounds and shot over 55 percent from the floor. Mansell scored his JSU career-high 24 points at Florida A&M and grabbed 14 rebounds against Abilene Christian. 

Evans Jr., a Jackson, Miss. native, led the Tigers last season with 11.3 ppg, as he started 31 of Jackson State's 32 games a season ago. He scored in double figures in 19 games last season, with two of those games scoring over 20 points. He opened the 2022-23 season by scoring double figures in the first six games. 

The Tigers, under the direction of second-year head coach Mo Williams, received 213 votes along with three first-place votes and were selected to finish fourth. Jackson State finished the 2022-23 season with a 14-19 overall record and a 12-6 record in league play, which was good enough for a third-place finish. 

Texas Southen was selected as the favorite heading into the 2023-24 season for the second straight year. Following TSU were Grambling State (2nd), Alcorn State (3rd), Jackson State (4th), Southern (5th), Prairie View A&M (6th), Alabama A&M (7th), Alabama State (8th), Bethune-Cookman (9th), Arkansas-Pine Bluff (10th), Florida A&M (11th), and Mississippi Valley State (12th).  

Jackson State will open the regular season on Monday, November 6, when it travels to Memphis, Tenn., to take on the Memphis Tigers. 

2023-24 SWAC Men's Basketball Predicted Order of Finish
1. Texas Southern 240 (10) 
2. Grambling State 233 (4)
3. Alcorn State 214 (2)
4. Jackson State 213 (3)
5. Southern 153 (1)
6. Prairie View A&M 151 (1)
7. Alabama A&M 140 (1)
8. Alabama State 121
9. Bethune-Cookman 107
10. Arkansas-Pine Bluff 105 (1) 
11. Florida A&M 97
12. Mississippi Valley State 30 
First-place votes are listed in parentheses. 
 
Preseason Offensive Player of the Year
PJ Henry, Texas Southern ??

Preseason Defensive Player of the Year
Jourdan Smith, Grambling State

Preseason All-SWAC First Team
Zion Harmon, Bethune-Cookman 
Jeremiah Kendall, Alcorn State
PJ Henry, Texas Southern 
Chase Adams, Jackson State 
Kylen Milton, Arkansas-Pine Bluff ? ?

Preseason All-SWAC Second Team
Romelle Mansel, Jackson State
Ken Evans Jr., Jackson State
Joe French, Arkansas-Pine Bluff
Antonio Madlock, Alabama State
Jourdan Smith, Grambling State 

SEASON TICKETS
Season tickets are now on sale to the public for the 2023-24 men's and women's basketball seasons. Tickets can be purchased online at www.gojsutigers.com/tickets, by phone at 601-979-0845, or in person at the Williams Athletics and Assembly Center Box Office on the JSU campus Monday-Friday, 9 a.m. – 4 p.m.

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