NORTH BOSTON, N.Y. – League coaches voted the Penn State Altoona men's basketball team into sixth place in the 2024-25 edition of the Allegheny Mountain Collegiate Conference's Preseason Poll, which was released on Tuesday morning.

Two-time defending AMCC champion La Roche University was voted first, with Penn State Behrend coming in second and Pitt-Greensburg being third.

Penn State Altoona men's basketball was 10-16 overall last season, including a 9-9 mark within the AMCC that placed the Lions sixth in the conference's regular season standings. Head coach David McGreal returns for his eighth year at the helm of a program whose 2024-25 roster features a balanced mix of returners and newcomers.

Named as "Players to Watch" for Penn State Altoona this season in the poll were senior forward Dwayne Jones (Philadelphia, PA/Greater Johnstown) and junior guard Kaden Claar (Portage, PA/Portage).

Jones, a two-time AMCC Defensive Player of the Year and first-team all-conference selection last season, led the conference in blocks (52) and blocks per game (2.1) last winter while being second in points per 40 minutes (22.6), defensive rebounds (174), and total rebounds per game (9.2), third in total rebounds (230), and sixth in field goal percentage (52.4) and free throws made (83).

Claar was limited to 11 games last season, his first with Penn State Altoona, due to injury. Prior to the end of his season, he averaged 9.5 points per game while shooting 45.9 percent from the floor, including 41.7 percent from three-point range, and going 84.0 percent at the foul line. He also grabbed 3.6 rebounds per game.

Penn State Altoona men's basketball opens its season this Friday, November 8, at 7 p.m. against Case Western Reserve University in the opening night of the Bill Sudeck Tournament.