BIRMINGHAM, ALA. – Senior Guard Keithean Brooks has been selected as a Preseason All-Gulf South Conference member as the Statesmen are tied for fifth place in the Preseason Coaches' Poll announced by the Conference Office this morning.
 
The poll, all-conference, and newcomer watchlist were all selected by the coaches of each team.
 
The Statesmen are tied for fifth place with the Blazers from Valdosta State University as both teams earned 72 points. Alabama Huntsville was picked as the preseason favorite with 115 points and six first-place votes. Lee University is in second place with 113 points and four first-place votes, followed by West Alabama with 102 points and two first-place votes.
 
Brooks was the top scorer for the Statesmen and the second top scorer in the conference as he averaged 18.1 points per game in the 2023-24 campaign. The Statesmen return two other guards who averaged double digits in the 2023-24 season. Chris Terrell seen the floor the most out of any Statesmen last season. Terrell averaged 14.9 points per game and averaged 3.8 assists per game. Kolby Horace also returns for the Statesmen for the 2024-25 season. Horace, who played in all 29 games in the 2023-24 season, averaged 10.8 points per game, while being a key player down the stretch for the Statesmen as he averaged 16.8 points per game in the final ten games of the season for Delta State.
 
The Statesmen have three JUCO transfers who made the Gulf South Conference's newcomer watchlist. Jesse Washington comes to Delta State after a tremendous 2023-24 campaign at Arkansas Mid-South Junior College where he averaged 19 points per game, pulled down 6 rebounds per game and averaged 3.5 assists per game earning him NJCAA All-Region honors.
 
Washington and fellow newcomer Dirk Westbrook helped lead Arkansas Mid-South to the NJCAA Regional semifinals. Westbrook averaged 18.3 points per game and pulled down a team high 7.2 rebounds per game Westbrook shot 81.5 % from the free-throw line.
 
Third newcomer for the Statesmen is Dacory Porter. Porter comes to DSU from Holmes Community College, where he helped lead the Bulldogs to a 23-9 record and a NJCAA Region 23 semifinal berth in the 2023-24 season. Porter started in 28 of the 31 games played averaging 9.3 points per game with 3.1 assists per game.
 
The Statesmen kick off their 2024-25 season on the road as they head to LeMoyne-Owen on Friday November 8^th. The Statesmen have 14 games in Walter Sillers Coliseum as the 2024-25 home opener is on Sunday (Nov. 10) as they take host to the Magicians of LeMoyne-Owen. The home GSC opener for the Statesmen is on Thursday (Dec. 12) as they host the Falcons from the University of Montevallo.