Cochise Men's Basketball ranked #20 in NJCAA Preseason poll
DOUGLAS, Ariz. -- The NJCAA Div. I Preseason rankings were released on October 17th and Cochise Men's Basketball has been placed in the top 20 nationwide. The Apaches return only three athletes from last year's roster, however, high expectations are set as yet another strong freshmen class arrived to campus in early August.
Cochise returns Stephen "Tank" Byard and Oscar Cluff who recently committed to play NCAA Div. I basketball next year, as well as Tyrese Watson who also played a key role in the success of last year's ACCAC 4-peat team. A "re-loading" of the roster includes freshmen names such as Tracy Godfrey, Diego Sharp, and Daniel Lans, as well as Arizona locals Nathaniel Knight and MJ Clegg out of Coolidge. Coach Carrillo has also welcomed Sierra Vista natives Wyatt Gordon and Frederick Hyatt, who are coming off of strong senior seasons at local Buena High School.
The #20 Apaches host preseason scrimmages on October 21st, 22nd, November 4th, and 5th, then head to Odessa, Texas for their first tournament of the 2022-2023 season on November 18th. The first regular season home game is set for Tuesday, November 22nd when the Apaches host Scottsdale Community College at 5:30pm.
Full NJCAA Div. I Preseason rankings below:
NJCAA DI Men's Basketball Rankings
Preseason - October 17 2022
| 2022 NJCAA DI Men's Basketball Rankings | Preseason - 10-17-22 | |||||
| Place | Team | Points | First Place Votes | ||
| 1 | Northwest Florida State | 348 | 12 | ||
| 2 | Florida Southwestern | 330 | 1 | ||
| 3 | Indian Hills | 308 | 0 | ||
| 4 | Kilgore | 292 | 0 | ||
| 5 | Salt Lake | 286 | 0 | ||
| 6 | Odessa | 282 | 0 | ||
| 7 | Triton | 278 | 0 | ||
| 8 | Howard | 195 | 0 | ||
| 9 | Chipola | 185 | 0 | ||
| T10 | Pearl River | 175 | 0 | ||
| T10 | Tallahassee | 175 | 0 | ||
| 12 | Lee | 173 | 0 | ||
| 13 | Hutchinson | 171 | 0 | ||
| 14 | Coffeyville | 169 | 0 | ||
| 15 | Moberly Area | 111 | 0 | ||
| 16 | Seward County | 109 | 0 | ||
| 17 | Southern Idaho | 95 | 0 | ||
| 18 | Southeastern | 87 | 0 | ||
| 19 | South Plains | 80 | 0 | ||
| 20 | Cochise | 77 | 0 | ||
| 21 | Northeast Mississippi | 61 | 0 | ||
| 22 | Mineral Area | 58 | 0 | ||
| 23 | Butler | 50 | 0 | ||
| 24 | Snow | 43 | 0 | ||
| 25 | Eastern Florida State | 33 | 0 | ||
Receiving Votes: Northeastern Oklahoma A&M, South Georgia Tech, Connors State, Wallace State-Hanceville, Dyersburg State, Dodge City, Three Rivers, New Mexico, Southwestern Illinois, Cowley, Jones, Arizona Western, Georgia Highlands, North Dakota SCS, Blinn, Garden City, Harcum, Indian River State, Brunswick, Vincennes, Western Wyoming, Olney Central