WASHINGTON, D.C. – Defending champion UNCW collected 37 of 40 first-place votes to successfully defend its title and versatile junior guard Chris Flemmings was tabbed Preseason Player-of-the-Year at the Colonial Athletic Association's annual Men's and Women's Basketball Media Day festivities early Tuesday in the nation's capital.
 
The Seahawks, 25-8 overall and 14-4 in the CAA one year ago, were predicted to win the title for only the third time in the poll's 16 years of existence. Tuesday's vote was a dramatic change compared to the first two years of the Kevin Keatts Era. The Seahawks were picked ninth in 2014-15 and sixth in 2015-16.
 
UNCW owns the best winning percentage in the 10-team league over the last two seasons, amassing a 43-22 record for a 66.1 percent clip. The Seahawks finished with an RPI of 52 and reeled off 11 consecutive wins at one point down the stretch last year.
 
Following the Seahawks in the men's poll was Towson, William & Mary, Charleston, James Madison, Hofstra, Northeastern, Elon, Drexel and Delaware.
 
Flemmings was one of three Seahawks highlighted individually. Senior guard Denzel Ingram was selected Second-Team All-CAA and sophomore guard C.J. Bryce, an All-Rookie pick last year, garnered Honorable Mention honors.
 
The silky-smooth Flemmings averaged 16.2 points and 5.8 rebounds in his first season with the Seahawks after transferring from Barton and was one of the league's biggest surprises in 2015-16. He went on to earn First-Team All-CAA accolades and CAA Tournament Outstanding Player honors as UNCW won its fifth conference title.
 
Ingram, meanwhile, was a Third-Team All-CAA pick after collecting 12.7 points and 2.3 rebounds in his first year with the club after transferring from Charlotte. He also dished out 107 assists as Kevin Keatts, the CAA's two-time Coach-of-the-Year, masterfully juggled the lineup throughout the season.
 
Bryce made the CAA's All-Rookie unit after being named Rookie-of-the-Week four times. He wound up averaging 10.1 points and 4.2 rebounds with 31 steals during the course of the campaign.
 
2016-17 CAA MEN'S BASKETBALL PREDICTED ORDER OF FINISH
 
  1. UNCW (37 first-place votes) 361
  2. Towson (2 first-place votes) 278
  3. William & Mary (1 first-place vote) 275
  4. College of Charleston 267
  5. James Madison 227
  6. Hofstra 207
  7. Northeastern 136
  8. Elon 134
  9. Drexel 63
10. Delaware 52
 
2016-17 CAA MEN'S BASKETBALL PRESEASON ALL-CONFERENCE TEAMS
 

First Team	Cl.	Pos.	Ht.	Wt.	Hometown/High School
William Adala Moto, Towson	Sr.	F	6-7	245	Yaounde, Cameroon/Episcopal
Jarrell Brantley, Charleston	So.	F	6-7	245	Columbia, S.C./Notre Dame Prep
Chris Flemmings, UNCW	Sr.	G	6-5	180	Cary, N.C./Green Hope
Rokas Gustys, Hofstra	Jr.	F/C	6-9	260	Kaunas, Lithuania/Oak Hill Academy
Omar Prewitt, William & Mary	Sr.	G/F	6-7	195	Mount Sterling, Ky./Montgomery Co.

 

Second Team	Cl.	Pos.	Ht.	Wt.	Hometown/High School
Shakir Brown, James Madison	Sr.	G/F	6-6	225	Baltimore, Md./Patterson
Daniel Dixon, William & Mary	Sr.	G	6-6	210	Great Falls, Va./Langley
Denzel Ingram, UNCW	Sr.	G	6-0	175	Chapel Hill, N.C./Chapel Hill
Cameron Johnson, Charleston	Jr.	G	6-4	196	Athens, Ga./Clarke Central
Mike Morsell, Towson	Jr.	G	6-5	215	Fort Washington, Md./St. John's

 
CAA Preseason Player of the Year: Chris Flemmings, UNCW
 
Honorable Mention: Brian Bernardi, Sr., G, Hofstra; CJ Bryce, So., G, UNCW; Chivarsky Corbett, So., G/F, Delaware;Yohanny Dalembert, Sr., F, James Madison; Jeremy Miller, So., F, Northeastern; Tyler Seibring, So., F, Elon; Rodney Williams, Sr., F, Drexel