NEW ORLEANS – University of South Alabama senior Ken Williams has been voted Preseason Second Team All-Sun Belt Conference, the league announced Wednesday morning.

The Jaguars were picked to finish sixth in the preseason coaches' poll.

Williams makes his second straight appearance on the preseason team; he was a first-team selection a season ago.

As a junior, the Houston, Texas native averaged 15.5 points per game, tops on the team and eighth in the conference. He was seventh in the league in assists with 106 – the highest total by a Jag since 2007-08 – and ninth in both 3-pointers (61) and assist/turnover ratio (1.3).

He joined the school's 1,000-point club last season, becoming the 15th Jaguar to do so, and was the first USA player to lead the team in scoring and dish out 100 assists since 2001-02.

Texas-Arlington is the preseason favorite, as voted by the coaches, receiving 10 first-place votes and 140 points. Defending champion Little Rock earned 124 points and a first-place vote, and Georgia State was third with 114 points and a first-place nod.

Georgia Southern (111 points) was picked fourth, followed by Coastal Carolina (88), South Alabama (75) and Louisiana-Lafayette (70), Louisiana-Monroe (59) and Troy (54). Arkansas State (46), Appalachian State (28) and Texas State (27) round out the bottom three.

UT Arlington's Kevin Hervey was voted the player of the year.

The Jaguars host Mobile in an exhibition contest Nov. 4 at 7:05 p.m.

For more information about South Alabama athletics, check back with www.usajaguars.com, and follow the Jaguars at www.twitter.com/USAJaguarSports. Season tickets for all Jaguar athletic events can be purchased by calling (251) 461-1USA (1872).

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Preseason Coaches' Poll
Rank    Team    Points (first-place votes)
1    UT Arlington    140 (10)
2    Little Rock    124 (1)
3    Georgia State    114 (1)
4    Georgia Southern    111
5    Coastal Carolina    88
6    SOUTH ALABAMA    75
7    UL Lafayette    70
8    UL Monroe    59
9    Troy    54
10    Arkansas State    46
11    Appalachian State    28
12    Texas State    27

Preseason First Team All-Conference
Devin Carter (Arkansas State, Senior, Guard, Interdisciplinary Studies)
Tookie Brown (Georgia Southern, Sophomore, Guard, Sport Management)
Marcus Johnson Jr. (Little Rock, Senior, Guard, Criminal Justice)
Kevin Hervey (UT Arlington, Junior, Forward, Interdisciplinary Studies)
Erick Neal (UT Arlington, Junior, Guard, Communication Broadcasting)

Preseason Second Team All-Conference
Elijah Wilson (Coastal Carolina, Senior, Guard)
Mike Hughes (Georgia Southern, Junior, Guard, Sport Management)
Jeremy Hollowell (Georgia State, Senior, Forward, Interdisciplinary Studies)
Ken Williams (South Alabama, Senior, Guard, Interdisciplinary Studies)
Wesley Person (Troy, Junior, Guard, Global Business)

Preseason Third Team All-Conference
Ronshad Shabazz (Appalachian State, Sophomore, Guard, Undecided)
Jay  Wright (UL Lafayette, Senior, Guard, General Studies)
Nick  Coppola (UL Monroe, Senior, Guard, Risk Management and Insurance)
Kavin Gilder-Tilbury (Texas State, Senior, Forward, General Studies)
Jordon Varnado (Troy, Sophomore, Forward, Global Business)

Preseason Player of the Year
Kevin Hervey (UT Arlington, Junior, Forward)