HUNTSVILLE | The Gulf South Conference unveiled its 2020 Men's Basketball Preseason Release on Thursday, and The University of Alabama in Huntsville has been picked to win the GSC West Division and also placed two on the division's Preseason All-GSC Team.
 
The Chargers – who are the defending champions of the GSC tournament and enter the new campaign ranked No. 14 in the country in the NABC Division II Top 25 – had both two-time All-GSC performer JJ Kaplan along with Max Shulman earn the preseason individual honors.
 
For the 2020-21 season, the GSC is utilizing divisional play, and the Chargers have been selected by the West Division's head coaches to finish first at the end of the scheduled 20-game slate and received the maximum possible amount of first-place votes.
 
Union earned the other first-place nod and ranked second in the poll, followed by Delta State in third, West Alabama in fourth, and Mississippi College in fifth. Christian Brothers was selected sixth in the rankings.
 
The Chargers posted a 26-5 overall record last season and went 15-5 in the GSC, and they wrapped up the pandemic-shortened season on a nine-game winning streak that concluded with the Blue and White hoisting the trophy on the floor of the Pete Hanna Center in Birmingham as the GSC tournament champions.
 
UAH returns many of its key contributors from that team including the two-time all-league choice Kaplan who averaged 11.9 points and 9.1 boards while posting 10 double-doubles in his redshirt junior season. UAH's other preseason honoree Shulman paced the team in scoring, averaging 12.7 per outing thanks in large part to his long-range exploits as he made 101 treys while shooting 44.7 percent from beyond the arc.
 
The league also honored its top newcomers on Thursday, with Dalton Dodd – a former Charger who has returned to wear the Blue and White – and Huntsville native and Southern Miss transfer Auston Leslie representing UAH.
 
UAH will open the 2020-21 season on Dec. 11 when Mississippi College visits Kelly Court at Spragins Hall. Due to the increased spread of COVID-19, UAH's home games in December will feature limited attendance of only family members of the student-athletes.