CENTRAL ISLIP, N.Y. (Oct. 26, 2016) - The LIU Post men's basketball team has been tabbed to finish second in the 2016-17 East Coast Conference Preseason Poll, as announced by the league office on Wednesday.

The Pioneers earned 76 points in the voting, including one first-place nod, after reaching the semifinals of the ECC Tournament last year. Reigning league champion St. Thomas Aquinas topped the poll with 99 points and nine first-place votes.

Bridgeport followed at a close third, amassing 75 points. District of Columbia and Daemen rounded out the Top-5 with 70 and 69 points, respectively.

Head Coach Erik Smiles returns for his fourth campaign at the helm. The green and gold have secured a winning season in each year of his tenure with the Pioneers.

LIU Post returns two starters from last year's 18-12 squad, both of whom were All-ECC selections. Senior guard Jared Hall (South Orange, N.J.) ranked in the Top-5 in the league in scoring (18.4 ppg), while senior forward Greg Dotson (Abington, Pa.) averaged nearly a double-double (15.0 ppg, 8.1 rpg) per game.

The Pioneers open the 2016-17 campaign on Saturday, Nov. 12, when they host University of the Sciences in Philadelphia in the LIU Post Tip-Off Tournament at the Pratt Recreation Center at 2 p.m.

2016-17 ECC Men's Basketball Preseason Poll
1. St. Thomas Aquinas (Nine First-Place Votes) - 99 Points
2. LIU Post (One First-Place Vote) - 76 Points
3. Bridgeport - 75 Points
4. District of Columbia - 70 Points
5. Daemen - 69 Points
6. Mercy - 42 Points
T-7. Molloy - 37 Points
T-7. Queens - 37 Points
9. NYIT - 27 Points
10. Roberts Wesleyan - 18 Points