Southern Miss basketball's Austin Crowley named conference Preseason Player of the Year
Southern Miss' basketball swept a major Sun Belt Conference preseason award.
USM men's basketball guard Austin Crowley was named the Sun Belt's Preseason Player of the Year. Earlier in the day, Domonique Davis was given the same award on women's side.
Crowley, like Davis, was also selected to the preseason first team.
Southern Miss was tabbed at fourth place in the Sun Belt preseason poll. James Madison is first after also sitting at the top of the women's poll.
Crowley transferred from Ole Miss to USM last season and broke onto the scene as a first team All-Conference selection and the Sun Belt's Newcomer of the Year. His team-leading 16.0 points per game and 63 steals helped bring the Golden Eagles to a Sun Belt regular-season championship in USM's first year in the conference.
"There's a lot of respect for him around the league based on that award," Southern Miss coach Jay Ladner said in a school release. "Austin is such a hard-working player, and I don't know if I've ever been around a player that's worked as hard as he has.
"It's not for his own individual glory, so to speak. He wants to be the best teammate he can be. It's good to see that and I don't know if I know of another player in our league that works as hard as he does."
KENPOM ANALYTICS ON SOUTHERN MISS: Southern Miss basketball picked second in Sun Belt by KenPom preseason rankings
No other Golden Eagles received preseason awards.
Joining Crowley on the preseason first team are James Madison's Terrence Edwards Jr., Appalachian State's Donovan Gregory, Old Dominion's Chaunce Jenkins, Troy's Christyon Eugene and Louisiana's Themus Fulks.
Southern Miss is hosting its first exhibition on Oct. 24 (7 p.m.) against Delta State and a second one against Mississippi State on Oct. 29 (2 p.m.). Proceeds from the Mississippi State exhibition will be donated in relief for tornado victims in the Mississippi Delta.
Sun Belt Conference men's basketball preseason poll
James Madison
Appalachian State
Old Dominion
Southern Miss
Louisana
South Alabama
Marshall
Troy
Arkansas State
Texas State
Georgia State
Coastal Carolina
Georgia Southern
ULM
Sam Sklar is the Southern Miss beat reporter for the Hattiesburg American. Email him at ssklar@hattiesb.gannett.com and follow him on X @sklarsam_.
This article originally appeared on Hattiesburg American: Southern Miss' Austin Crowley is Sun Belt Preseason Player of the Year
