ST. CLOUD — The NSIC preseason men’s basketball poll was released Thursday, Oct. 9, and St. Cloud State was picked to finish second.

Southwest Minnesota State was picked to finish first and received 11 of the 16 first-place votes from the league’s coaches. The Huskies received two first-place votes. MSU-Mankato, Concordia-St. Paul and Augustana each received a first-place vote.

St. Cloud State

went 15-7 in NSIC play last season and 20-12 overall. The Huskies return four of their five starters from last year.

SMSU’s Jakob Braaten is the South Division preseason player of the year, while Duluth’s Caleb Siwek is the North preseason player of the year.

Sophomore guard Luke Winkel was named the player to watch for the Huskies. Winkel played in 31 games and paced St. Cloud State with team-highs of 13.3 points, 3.9 assists, and 1.4 steals last season.

NSIC men’s basketball preseason poll
1. SMSU
2. St. Cloud State
3. MSU-Mankato
4. Concordia-St. Paul
5. Augustana
5. Minnesota Duluth
7. MSU-Moorhead
8. USF
9. Winona State
10. Wayne State
11. Minot State
12. Bemidji State
13. Northern State
14. Jamestown
15. Minnesota-Crookston
16. U-Mary

Andy Rennecke

Andy Rennecke is sports editor for St. Cloud LIVE. He focuses on writing in-depth high school and college features for the St. Cloud metro area (including Sartell, Sauk Rapids and St. Joseph) and for the ROCORI, Albany, Foley and Holdingford School Districts. Send him story ideas or feedback at andy@stcloudlive.com.