ST. LOUIS, Mo. – The new era of Drake men's basketball is set to begin and the Missouri Valley Conference announced its preseason poll and preseason all-conference teams on Wednesday morning. The Bulldogs were picked to finish fifth in the conference and had two players named to the preseason Third Team in Cam Manyawu and Bennett Stirtz.
 
Drake tallied a total of 388 points in the preseason poll en route to its fifth-place selection. Bradley was selected to finish in first with 597 points and received 46 first-place votes. UNI (527 points) and Murray State (473 points) were voted second and third with the Panthers getting two first-place votes and the Racers getting one. The only other team above Drake was Illinois State receiving 397 votes.
 
The rest of the poll was as follows: Belmont in sixth (373 points), Southern Illinois in seventh (337 points), Indiana State in eighth (207 points), Evansville in ninth (199 points), Valparaiso in 10th (173 points), Missouri state in 11th (116 points), and UIC in 12th (110 points).

Manyawu comes to Drake after transferring from Wyoming where he appeared in 31 games with nine starts as a freshman for the Cowboys last season. Manyawu averaged 7.3 points per game and 6.6 rebounds per game and scored a career-high 20 points on December 5 versus South Dakota Mines over the course of his 2023-24 season. He also totaled seven double-doubles in his freshman campaign. A native of Kansas City, Mo., he played at Staley High School leading his team to a state title in his last season with an impressive 30-2 record. He was ranked as the ninth best prospect in the state of Missouri and the 53rd best power forward prospect in the nation.
 
A Northwest Missouri State transfer, Stirtz has played under Coach Ben McCollum for two seasons. He immediately burst on to the scene to begin his collegiate career and was named the MIAA Freshman of the Year and a Second-Team All-MIAA selection in the 2022-23 season. As a freshman he averaged 12.6 points per game and had the most steals by any NCAA Div. II freshman (65). As a sophomore he was again tabbed as Second-Team All-MIAA and scored a career-high 29 points vs. Southwest Minnesota State on November 11. The Liberty, Mo. native was also a three-time MIAA Athlete of the Week selection (Dec. 4, Jan. 29, Feb. 19).
 
The rest of the Preseason All-Missouri Valley Conference teams are listed below.
 
Preseason MVC Men's Basketball Poll
1. Bradley (46 first-place votes) -- 597
2. UNI (2) -- 527
3. Murray State (1) -- 473
4. Illinois State -- 397
5. Drake -- 388
6. Belmont -- 373
7. Southern Illinois -- 337
8. Indiana State -- 207
9. Evansville -- 199
10. Valparaiso -- 173
11. Missouri State -- 116
12. UIC – 110
 
Preseason MVC Men's Basketball Preseason Teams
 
FIRST TEAM
Duke Deen, Bradley (Preseason Player of the Year)
Tytan Anderson, UNI
Darius Hannah, Bradley
Johnny Kinziger, Illinois State
Cooper Schwieger, Valparaiso
Jacobi Wood, Murray State
 
SECOND TEAM
Trey Campbell, UNI
Nick Ellington, Murray State
Jacob Hutson, UNI
Zek Montgomery, Bradley
Malachi Poindexter, Illinois State
 
THIRD TEAM
Kennard Davis Jr., Southern Illinois
Ali Dibba, Southern Illinois
Cam Manyawu, Drake
Filip Skobalj, UIC
Bennett Stirtz, Drake