Ohio Men’s Basketball Selected First in MAC Preseason Poll; Clayton, Mitchell and Brown Earn Preseason All-MAC Honors

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CLEVELAND – The Ohio men's basketball team was selected to place first in the 2024-25 Mid-American Conference Preseason Coaches Poll, the league announced today (Oct. 22). Senior forward AJ Clayton (Roseville, Ohio) was selected to the Preseason All-MAC First Team, while graduate student guard Shereef Mitchell (Omaha, Neb.) and redshirt sophomore guard AJ Brown (Orlando, Fla.) earned a spot on the Preseason All-MAC Second Team.

Ohio earned 121 points and 11 out of 12 first-place votes. The Bobcats also earned eight votes to win the 2025 MAC Tournament.

Selected to finish behind Ohio was Akron with 106 points and one first-place vote, followed by Kent State (99), Toledo (95), Bowling Green (73) and Miami (72) to round out the top six. Ball State (67), Central Michigan (55), Eastern Michigan (36), Western Michigan (33), Northern Illinois (24) and Buffalo (11) round out this year's poll.

Ohio was selected to win the tournament with eight votes, followed by Kent State (3) and Toledo (1).

This is the first time Clayton has earned a spot on the All-MAC Preseason Team. Clayton finished the 2023-24 regular season third on the Bobcats with 12.4 points a game and a team-leading 4.5 rebounds a game. Last season, he shot .514 percent from the field, .337 percent from three and .821 percent from the line. He also averaged 1.8 blocks a game. In MAC play, Clayton averaged 12.8 points and 4.0 rebounds a game. He shot .476 percent from the field, .402 percent from the three and .800 percent from the line, while averaging 1.5 blocks a game. Clayton also earned a spot on the 2024 All-MAC Team.

Clayton finished the season sixth in the MAC in field goal percentage, fourth in three-point field goal percentage and second in blocks and blocks per game. On the season. Clayton recorded 23 double figure scoring games, two 20-point games and led Ohio in scoring eight times during the season.

This is also the first time Mitchell has earned a spot on the Preseason All-MAC Team. Last season, Mitchell played in 32 games for the Bobcats, making 31 starts in his first season in the Green and White. Mitchell averaged 13.3 points in 29.9 minutes on the floor. He shot .470 from the field, 327 from three and .731 from the line and averaged 4.2 rebounds and grabbed 45 steals and dished out 77 assists with seven blocks.

Mitchell scored a career-high 24 points against Brown in the Baha Mar Nassau Hoops Championship and grabbed a career-high nine rebounds against Kent State and snagged a career-high six steals against WMU in the MAC Quarterfinals. He was also named MAC Player of the Week on March 11.

This is the second time Brown has been selected to the Preseason All-MAC Second Team, earning the recognition last season. Brown played in nine games last season before it was cut short due to a season-ending injury. In those nine games, Brown averaged 9.0 points in 26.5 minutes. He shot .380 from the field, .286 from three and .458 from the line and averaged 3.9 assists and had two blocks and seven steal. He scored a season-high 24 points and grabbed a season-high six rebounds in Ohio's season opener against Troy.

During his freshman season, Brown played in 26 games while making eight starts. He averaged 10.3 points and shot .375 from three and .426 from the field. Brown broke out in the MAC Tournament, scoring a career-high 28 points in the MAC Quarterfinals against Ball State. He also went 10-of-16 from the field and 5-of-10 from three in the victory, while grabbing a career-high seven rebounds.

With Boals entering his sixth year at the helm of the Bobcats, Ohio returns five starters from last year's squad, including Clayton, Mitchell and Brown, while adding seven newcomers, including transfers Jackson Paveletzke from Iowa State and Vic Searls from Ashland.

The Ohio men's basketball team opens the 2024-25 season on Monday, Nov. 4 when they head to Harrisonburg, Va. to take on James Madison. Tip-off is set for 7 p.m. inside Atlantic Union Bank Center.

Season tickets, mini plans and single game tickets are on sale now for Ohio men's basketball. Tickets start at $40 for upper level, with upper level premium, silver, gold, platinum and courtside seats available. For tickets, call 740-593-1300 or click here.

2024-25 MAC Men's Basketball Preseason Coaches' Poll
(First Place Votes)
1. Ohio (11) – 121
2. Akron (1) – 106
3. Kent State – 99
4. Toledo – 95
5. Bowling Green – 73
6. Miami – 72
7. Ball State – 67
8. Central Michigan – 55
9. Eastern Michigan – 36
10. Western Michigan – 33
11. Northern Illinois – 24
12. Buffalo – 11

Tournament Champion: Ohio (8), Kent State (3), Toledo (1)

2024-25 MAC Men's Basketball Preseason All-MAC Teams
First Team
Payton Sparks, Senior, Center, Ball State
Anthony Pritchard, Senior, Guard, Central Michigan
VonCameron Davis, R-Senior, Forward, Kent State
AJ Clayton, Senior, Forward, Ohio
Javan Simmons, Sophomore, Forward, Toledo

Second Team
Isaiah Gray, Senior, Guard, Akron
Jalen Sullinger, Senior, Guard, Kent State
Shereef Mitchell, Graduate Student, Guard, Ohio
AJ Brown, R-Sophomore, Guard, Ohio
Isaiah Adams, Fifth Year, Guard, Toledo

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Ohio Men’s Basketball Selected First in MAC Preseason Poll; Clayton, Mitchell and Brown Earn Preseason All-MAC Honors

Players Mentioned

AJ Brown

AJ Clayton

Shereef Mitchell

Jackson Paveletzke

Vic Searls

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