Iona, Manhattan, Monmouth picked to finish atop MAAC, Tyler Nelson Preseason POY

Tim Cluess and Iona are consensus choice to win MAAC in a season where Gaels attempt to become just third program in conference to win three straight league championships. (Photo by Vincent Simone/NYC Buckets)

In a Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference that looks to be anything but predictable going into the 2017-18 season, it is somewhat ironic that the three teams that have combined to win each of the last three regular season and postseason conference championships are ranked first, second, and third in the preseason coaches' poll, respectively.

Irony aside, the MAAC coaches sided with consistency when submitting their votes for the annual prognostication, naming Iona the consensus choice to win the league in a year where the reigning two-time champion looks to join La Salle and Siena as the only MAAC schools to win three consecutive conference tournaments. The Gaels received nine of eleven first-place votes and 116 points in the poll overall. Manhattan, winners of the MAAC Tournament in 2014 and 2015, secured the two remaining No. 1 spots on the ballot en route to a second-place prediction, the highest such expectation for the Jaspers since being selected third in the preseason poll three years ago, months before head coach Steve Masiello brought a second straight postseason crown to Riverdale. Monmouth, the regular season MAAC champion in each of the past two years before falling short of an NCAA Tournament berth, was picked third in a campaign where the Hawks lose two-time defending MAAC Player of the Year Justin Robinson, but return a deep roster with experience that has guided King Rice's program to 55 wins since 2015-16.

Fairfield and Niagara round out the top five in the preseason speculation, with the Purple Eagles being the pick to make a jump from the second half of the standings behind senior guards Matt Scott and Kahlil Dukes, with Scott being named to the all-conference preseason first team. For the Stags, senior guard and leading scorer Tyler Nelson was selected as the MAAC's Preseason Player of the Year on the heels of a junior season where the Massachusetts native averaged 19.5 points per contest while guiding Fairfield to an appearance in the CollegeInsider.com Postseason Tournament. Siena, Rider, Saint Peter's, Canisius, Marist and Quinnipiac; the latter of whom begins their first season under new head coach Baker Dunleavy, complete the poll.

While Iona was picked to win the MAAC, the Gaels did not have a player selected to the preseason All-MAAC first team. Instead, guards Rickey McGill and Deyshonee Much, both second team honorees, are the only representatives from New Rochelle among the 15 players named. Manhattan has the distinction of being the only school to place one player on each of the three all-conference teams, with seniors Zane Waterman (first team), Rich Williams (second team) and Zavier Turner (third team) recognized. Monmouth's Micah Seaborn and Jermaine Crumpton of Canisius complete the first team, with Nelson and Seaborn being the lone unanimous selections for all-league honors.

The complete preseason poll and list of All-MAAC selections can be found below:

2017-18 MAAC Preseason Poll
1) Iona (9 of 11 first-place votes)
2) Manhattan (2 of 11 first-place votes)
3) Monmouth
4) Fairfield
5) Niagara
6) Siena
7) Rider
8) Saint Peter's
9) Canisius
10) Marist
11) Quinnipiac

All-MAAC First Team

Tyler Nelson, Fairfield (Preseason Player of the Year, unanimous selection)

Jermaine Crumpton, Canisius

Matt Scott, Niagara

Micah Seaborn, Monmouth (unanimous selection)

Zane Waterman, Manhattan

All-MAAC Second Team

Nico Clareth, Siena

Kahlil Dukes, Niagara

Rickey McGill, Iona

Deyshonee Much, Iona

Rich Williams, Manhattan

All-MAAC Third Team

Chaise Daniels, Quinnipiac

Nick Griffin, Saint Peter's

Stevie Jordan, Rider

Brian Parker, Marist

Zavier Turner, Manhattan