SPARTANBURG, S.C. (Oct. 1, 2025) – During the Southern Conference's annual men's basketball media day, the league announced ETSU's Jaylen Smith earned 2025-26 SoCon Preseason honors, while the team was picked to finish fourth by the conference's coaches.
Jaylen Smith, a 5-11 transfer guard from Ocoee, Fla. (North Florida), was named to the Preseason All-SoCon roster in his first year in the league. A rising junior, Smith averaged 11.4 ppg, 2.1 rpg, 5.7 apg and 1.3 spg last season. He led the ASUN in assists per game and total assists (181), ranking 31st and 29th nationally, respectively. His 181 assists were the sixth-most in a single season at UNF, and his 259 career assists rank him sixth all-time for the Ospreys.
An ASUN All-Freshman pick in 2023–24, Smith posted 6.5 ppg, 1.4 rpg and 2.4 apg with 16 starts as a rookie. Across two seasons in Jacksonville, he averaged 8.9 ppg, 1.8 rpg and 4.0 apg with a 1.98 assist-to-turnover ratio, adding 102 made 3-pointers at a .320 clip.
Head coach Brooks Savage is entering his third year as the leader of the ETSU men's basketball team and his squad has been slotted in fourth in the preseason coaches' poll. He has recorded two winning seasons in his time at the helm of the Bucs and led the ETSU team to a seven-win improvement in his first season.
2025-26 Southern Conference Men's Basketball Preseason Coaches Poll
1. Chattanooga (5) - 77
2. Furman (5) - 73
3. Samford - 62
4. ETSU - 61
5. UNC Greensboro - 43
6. VMI - 41
7. Western Carolina - 32
8. Mercer – 30
9. Wofford – 21
10. The Citadel - 10
() denotes first-place votes
2025 Southern Conference Men's Basketball Preseason All-Conference Team
Jaylen Smith, Jr., G, ETSU
Cooper Bowser, Jr., F, Furman
Tom House, Sr., G, Furman
Jadin Booth, Gr., G, Samford
Dylan Faulkner, Jr., C, Samford
Jikari Johnson, Gr., G, Chattanooga
Collin Mulholland, R-So., F, Chattanooga
Teddy Washington Jr., Gr., G, Chattanooga
Rickey Bradley Jr, Sr., G, VMI
Marcus Kell, R-Jr., F, Western Carolina
Season, single-game and group tickets can be purchased here. For more information on Buccaneer men's basketball, follow @ETSU_MBB on X (Twitter) and @etsumensbasketball on Instagram, and visit ETSUBucs.com.
