ASHLAND – The Southern Oregon men's basketball team was picked fifth in Wednesday's Cascade Conference coaches' preseason poll, which had defending national champion College of Idaho as a unanimous favorite.

The Raiders went 20-11 overall and 15-7 in the CCC in Matt Zosel's first season as head coach, earning an at-large berth in the NAIA National Tournament. They've had to reload since after losing four starters to graduation. Senior forward Dominic McGarvey is the only one back, but Zosel added a recruiting class of seven players to complement his 10 total returners.

College of Idaho kept its title team almost entirely intact after going 36-1 overall and winning the CCC for the third consecutive season. Eastern Oregon was picked second, and Lewis-Clark State (Idaho) and Oregon Tech tied for third in the poll.

The Raiders debut Oct. 29 with a 5 p.m. exhibition at Oregon State. Their first regular season game is against Menlo (Calif.) on Nov. 3.

2023-24 CCC Men's Basketball Preseason Poll

Team (1st-place votes)	Points
1. College of Idaho (12)	114
2. Eastern Oregon	109
T-3. Lewis-Clark State (Idaho)	106
T-3. Oregon Tech	106
5. Southern Oregon	93
6. Bushnell	92
7. Corban	89
8. Warner Pacific	62
9. Multnomah	50
10. Northwest (Wash.)	39
T-11. Evergreen (Wash.)	23
T-11. Walla Walla (Wash.)	23