RJ Cole named MEAC Preseason Player of the Year, leads pre-season All-MEAC selections

NORFOLK, VA –One season after exceeding the hype, RJ Cole just had a new set of expectations thrust upon him.

The Howard University sophomore guard was named the MEAC Men’s Basketball Preseason Player of the Year on Thursday.

Last year’s MEAC Freshman of the Year, Cole ranked seventh nationally and led the MEAC with 23.7 points per game. Cole led the MEAC in three-pointers made with 109 led the league in minutes played. He scored 30-plus points on five occasions while scoring 20-plus points 25 times. Cole was also named MEAC Rookie of the Week on 13 occasions.

He’s a part of a stellar preseason All-MEAC team that includes Charles Williams from Howard, Shawnrez Davis and Soufiyane Diakite from Bethune-Cookman, and Raasean Davis NC Central.

The full list of All-MEAC preseason selections is listed below.

First Team
Name	Pos.	Ht.	Class	School	Hometown
RJ Cole	G	6-1	So.	Howard	Union, N.J.
Charles Williams	G	6-6	Jr.	Howard	Richmond, Va.
Shawntrez Davis	F	6-9	Sr.	Bethune Cookman	Atlanta, Ga.
Raasean Davis	C	6-8	R-Sr.	N.C. Central	Chicago, Ill.
Soufiyane Diakite	F	6-6	Sr.	Bethune Cookman	Bronx, N.Y.
Second Team
Name	Pos.	Ht.	Class	School	Hometown
Lamar Morgan	G/F	6-6	Sr.	Coppin State	Willingboro, N.J.
Reggie Gardner, Jr.	G/F	6-2	So.	N.C. Central	Bowie, Md.
Isaiah Bailey	G/F	6-6	Sr.	Bethune-Cookman	Compton, Calif.
Steven Whitley	G	6-3	R-Jr.	Norfolk State	Norfolk, Va,
Alex Long	F	6-8	Sr.	Norfolk State	Clinton, Md.
Third Team
Name	Pos.	Ht.	Class	School	Hometown
Jordan Perkins	PG	6-0	Jr.	N.C. Central	Greensboro, N.C.
Dejaun Clayton	G	6-2	R-So.	Coppin State	Bowie, Md.
Kameron Langley	G	6-2	So.	North Carolina A&T State	Greensboro, N.C.
Justin Ravenel	F	6-1	Sr.	Florida A&M	Lithonia, Ga.
Damani Applewhite	F	6-8	Jr.	S.C. State	Fayetteville, N.C.