It's gonna be a busy week

Good morning! Ready for more media fun! We’re covering multiple events all week, including the Big West (watch coverage starting at 2 pm ET), though you’ll also have SEC and Sun Belt news nuggets to look forward to on Wednesday.

So enough with all that. Let’s get to Monday’s news.

1. News and notes from AAC media day

I wonder if the American Athletic Conference regrets holding part of its media day event on an NFL Sunday. But as an event open to fans, I suppose it makes the most sense to ensure part of it is on the weekend, rather than on a Monday (even if many people do have Columbus Day off).

ANYWAY, as the league wrapped its event, there wasn’t an overarching theme or storyline that hovered over everything. But it was interesting to read how new Florida Atlantic coach John Jakus views things.

If you’re Jakus, it’d be easy to spend a season or two adjusting. May was 60-13 over the last two seasons, reached a Final Four, and turned the Owls into a respected program seemingly overnight. They were a Top 25 mainstay most of the season, which isn’t easy when you drop games to Bryant or FGCU.

But Jakus isn’t having that. The longtime Baylor assistant is used to winning. He’s not worried about what FAU has done. He’s focused on what’s next.

And some other news nuggets from the event:

• Reigning regular-season champ South Florida found putting together a non-conference schedule this year was challenging. When I sat down last March my phone was ringing off the hook last year, this year it wasn’t,” coach Amit Abdur-Rahim said. “When you have Jayden Reid and Kasen Jennings sitting next to him on our team, you don’t want to play us.”

• Memphis’ backcourt features Tyrese Hunter and PJ Haggerty, two preseason All-AAC selections who’ll be the focal point this season. They’ve already meshed as a duo.

• Wichita State was 15-19 under new coach Paul Mills. Would he view an NCAA Tournament berth as a pleasant surprise? Nah. “Playing in March is more of an expectation that it is an anomaly"

• Playing in the NCAA Tournament “was a movie,” says UAB big man Yaxel Lendeborg.

• The AAC has held its league tourney in Fort Worth since 2021, but it’ll look for a new venue starting with the 2026 tourney.

• Charlotte lost big man Igor Milicic to the portal, but added FAIU big man Giancarlo Rosado. And the staff is quite optimistic about Rosado’s season.

As for the preseason pool, we wrote about that (somewhat) surprising result that features UAB — not Memphis — as the team to beat, but if you missed it, here’s that full voting breakdown.

American Men’s Basketball Preseason Poll

And the preseason honors

Preseason Player of the Year: Yaxel Lendeborg, Sr., F, UAB

Preseason Freshman of the Year: Jared Harris, G, Memphis

Preseason All-Conference First Team: Yaxel Lendeborg, Sr., F, UAB (unanimous); RJ Felton, Sr., G, East Carolina; PJ Haggerty, R-So., G, Memphis; Tyrese Hunter, Sr., G, Memphis; Jamal Mashburn Jr., Gr., G, Temple

Preseason All-Conference Second Team: Efrem 'Butta' Johnson, Jr., G, UAB; Alejandro Vasquez, Sr., G, UAB; KyKy Tandy, Gr., G, Florida Atlantic; Colby Rogers, R-Sr., G, Memphis; Jayden Reid, So., G, South Florida

2. SEC, Sun Belt drop their preseason polls

The SEC will spend the next two days in Birmingham, Ala., for its annual preseason media day event, which is fitting. Because the league’s top teams teams both hail from that state.

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