Myles Powell Named 2019-20 BIG EAST Preseason Player of the Year

Tune in to BIG EAST Shootaround at BIG EAST Media Day Thursday at 9:15 a.m.

NEW YORK - In advance of a highly anticipated season with All-America aspirations, senior Myles Powell (Trenton, N.J.) has been voted the 2019-20 BIG EAST Preseason Player of the Year, the conference announced Thursday at its annual media day inside Madison Square Garden. The vote was conducted by the BIG EAST's 10 head coaches, who were prohibited from voting for their own student-athletes.

A candidate for the 2020 Wooden Award, Naismith Trophy and Jerry West Shooting Guard of the Year Award and consensus All-America, Powell is only the second-ever Pirate to earn the BIG EAST's top preseason honor. He joins The Hall's all-time leading scorer Terry Dehere, who was the BIG EAST Preseason Player of the Year in 1992-93 and went on to win the actual award at the end of the regular season.

The sharpshooting captain of the Pirates has been the buzz of college basketball since announcing that he would return for his senior season. He is coming off one of the most prolific campaigns in school history. In 2018-19, he averaged 23.1 points per game, the 13th highest scoring average in the country, and finished the season with 784 total points, the most by any Seton Hall student-athlete in the program's BIG EAST era (1979-present).

Powell also finished in the nation's top 35 in free throws made (173), three-pointers made (107) and steals (68). At the end of the year, he was named first-team All-BIG EAST and All-Met, the 2019 Haggerty Award Metropolitan Player of the Year, USBWA and NABC All-District and Associated Press All-America honorable mention.

Powell led the Pirates back to the NCAA Tournament for a fourth straight year in 2019 despite preseason prognosticators forecasting a doubtful return to March Madness. Now Powell will attempt to lead The Hall to a program-unprecedented fifth consecutive NCAA bid.

The voyage all begins Tuesday, Nov. 5, when the Pirates host Wagner inside historic Walsh Gymnasium at 6:30 p.m. Tickets to all Seton Hall basketball games are available at SetonHallTix.com.

2019-20 BIG EAST Preseason Honors

BIG EAST Preseason Player of the Year
Myles Powell, Seton Hall

BIG EAST Preseason Rookie of the Year
Jeremiah Robinson-Earl, Villanova

Preseason All-BIG EAST First Team
Kamar Baldwin, Butler
Ty-Shon Alexander, Creighton
Markus Howard, Marquette
Alpha Diallo, Providence
Naji Marshall, Xavier

Preseason All-BIG EAST Second Team
Paul Reed, DePaul
James Akinjo, Georgetown
L.J. Figueroa, St. John's
Mustapha Heron, St. John's
Collin Gillespie, Villanova
Jermaine Samuels, Villanova

Preseason All-BIG EAST Honorable Mention
Omer Yurtseven, Georgetown
Paul Scruggs, Xavier