The college basketball season is just over six weeks away, and with time winding down, the Blue Ribbon College Basketball Yearbook released its predictions for the Mid-American Conference, including a preseason All-MAC Team, a conference forecast and predictions for the Player of the Year and Newcomer of the Year.
Here are the picks for each:
BLUE RIBBON FORECAST
- Akron
- Miami
- Kent State
- Ohio
- Toledo
- Massachusetts
- Bowling Green
- Eastern Michigan
- Buffalo
- Western Michigan
- Ball State
- Central Michigan
- Northern Illinois
ALL-CONFERENCE TEAM
- F – Delrecco Gillespie, Sr., Kent State
- G – Javontae Campbell, Sr., Bowling Green
- G – Tavari Johnson, Sr., Akron
- G – Jackson Paveletzke, Sr., Ohio
- G – Peter Suder, Sr., Miami
PLAYER OF THE YEAR: Peter Suder, Sr., Miami
NEWCOMER OF THE YEAR: Daniel Freitag, So., Buffalo
Before going into what I would change about the picks Blue Ribbon made, let’s first talk about last year’s predictions and what actually ended up happening. The 2024-25 season unfolded without a single team finishing in its projected spot. Additionally, only one projected All-MAC selectee, Kent State’s VonCameron Davis, actually made the first team. Projected POTY, Central Michigan’s Anthony Pritchard, ended up on the Third Team.
Starting with my own takes, Peter Suder is the correct pick for POTY (on paper). Miami is returning two-thirds of its minutes from this past season, despite losing two starters, including second option Kam Craft and starting guard Mekhi Cooper.
Junior Evan Ipsaro and reigning Freshman of the Year Brant Byers are likely to thrive filling in those spots in the starting five. But with a younger team, the reins are Suder’s to command. The 6-foot-5 guard made a massive jump during his first year in Oxford, Ohio, making All-MAC First Team with averages of 13.7 points, 4.9 rebounds and 3.8 assists, and will reap the rewards in 2025-26.
While Newcomer of the Year isn’t an actual award, I think there’s an obvious pick, and it’s not Daniel Freitag. It’s Marcus Banks Jr.
Banks was one of the country’s best shooters at UMBC last season, making 41.8% of his eight 3-point attempts per game. His electric scoring should help propel a talented UMass team into conference championship contention.
The other awards Blue Ribbon didn’t make a pick for were Coach of the Year, which I will not make a pick for, Defensive Player of the Year, and Sixth Man of the Year. For DPOY, the obvious choice is projected first-teamer Javontae Campbell. Campbell had nearly 30 more steals than last year’s winner, Nate Johnson, and averaged almost an extra steal per game than the second-placed thief, Anthony Pritchard.
For Sixth Man, I have Akron sophomore Sharron Young stepping into the role of last year’s winner, Shammah Scott. Scott is still with the Zips, although with Nate Johnson at Kansas State, Young will be the lead shot creator in coach John Groce’s second unit.
Rounding out the ballot is freshman of the year, which I am going with Akron’s Ognjen Stankovic. Stankovic will be 21 by the end of his freshman season, with 19 Adriatic League games under his belt. With a 6-foot-8 frame and an all-around skillset, his game should translate into an immediate role with the reigning back-to-back conference champs.
Wrapping up with the All-Conference selections, I generally have no issues, though it’s rare that the team only consists of seniors. The biggest snubs are both juniors: Ohio’s Javan Simmons and Toledo’s Sonny Wilson.
To recap, here are my picks for each of the All-MAC Awards, including Newcomer of the Year and excluding Coach of the Year:
Player of the Year: Peter Suder, Miami
Newcomer of the Year: Marcus Banks Jr., Massachusetts
Defensive Player of the Year: Javontae Campbell, Bowling Green
Sixth Man of the Year: Sharron Young, Akron
Freshman of the Year: Ognjen Stankovic, Akron
