One thing I really enjoy about NAIA basketball is the fact that every league is tough in its own right, and each league has at least a team or two who can go make a serious run at a national championship. Over the next couple months I will be posting league breakdowns with in-depth looks into each league. The NAIA, as a whole, gets more competitive each year. As you read below, you will see that a few leagues were very senior driven, and it will be interesting to see what the teams in those leagues bring in for the 2019-2020 season. As far as returners go, there are a total of 22 All-Americans from last season who will be returning. Here is a look at who returns in each conference:
NAIA DI
– Brady Smith (Hannible-Lagrange) – 2nd Team All-American
– Justin Shaw (Columbia) – HM All-American
– David Johnson Jr. (William Woods) – HM All-American
Frontier Conference Returning All-Americans (4)
– Dane Warp (Carroll) – HM All-American
– Damek Mitchell (Lewis-Clarke St) – HM All-American
– Taylor England (Montana Tech) – HM All-American
– Brandon Cotton (Providence Univ) – HM All-American
– Tim Soares (The Master’s)
Gulf Coast Athletic Conference Returning All-Americans (3)
– Dennis Miles (Edward Waters) – HM All-American
– William Loyd (Xavier) – HM All-American
– Rayshawn Mart (Xavier) – HM All-American
Heart of America Returning All-Americans (1)
– Dakota Quinn (MidAmerica Nazarene) – HM All-American
Mid-South Conference Returning All-Americans (3)
– Eljay Cowherd (Georgetown) – 3rd Team All-American
– Chris Coffey (Georgetown) – HM All-American
– Luke Layhew (Pikeville) – HM All-American
Red River Athletic Conference Returning All-Americans (0)
Sooner Athletic Conference Returning All-Americans (2)
– J.J. Culver (Wayland Baptist) – 1st Team All-American
– Nykolas Mason (Southwestern Assemblies of God) – HM All-American
Southern States Athletic Conference Returning All-Americans (4)
– Price McDaniel (Stillman) – 1st Team All-American
– Milan Skundric (Faulkner) – HM All-American
– Zach Wrightsil (Loyola) – HM All-American
– Myles Burns (Loyola) – HM All-American