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Somerset, NJ -- Headlined by the reigning Northeast Conference (NEC) Player of the Year, the 2019-20 preseason All-NEC team was unveiled this morning.

The announcement of the team, along with the preseason coaches’ poll, was made on Wednesday at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn, the site of NEC Basketball “Social” Media Day.

Saint Francis U senior guard Keith Braxton (Glassboro, NJ/Delsea (The Lawrenceville School)) will look to repeat as NEC Player of the Year, and he’s joined on the preseason team by fellow NEC first teamer Raiquan Clark (New Haven, CT/Hillhouse), a LIU redshirt senior swingman. Sacred Heart junior guard/forward E.J. Anosike (East Orange, NJ/Paramus Catholic (St. Thomas More)), Bryant senior guard Adam Grant (Franklin, VA/Norfolk Collegiate School) and Fairleigh Dickinson junior guard Jahlil Jenkins (Ranson, WV/Virginia Academy) round out the five-player squad.

Braxton, Clark and Jenkins were all unanimous selections.

Braxton will bid to become the first repeat NEC Player of the Year since LIU’s Charles Jones was honored in both 1996-97 and 1997-98. Last year, the multifaceted guard helped lead the Red Flash to their first NEC regular season championship since 1991. He paced the NEC and ranked 22nd nationally with 9.8 rpg, and topped the circuit with a 27.6 defensive rebound percentage, good for 21st in the country. Braxton was also the league leader with 13 double-doubles and ranked in the top-10 in scoring (16.4, sixth), assists (3.8, seventh) and steals (1.5, sixth). And as a testament to his versatility, he was the only player in the nation to average at least 16 ppg, 9.5 rpg, 3.5 apg and 1.5 spg. The former NEC Rookie of the Year is a three-time All-NEC first team performer and has been tabbed to the first team in each of the last two years. He has a chance to join Mount legend and NEC Hall of Fame inductee Chris McGuthrie as the only four-time All-Conference award winners in league history. Likewise, Braxton is on pace to become the NEC’s all-time rebound leader and the first 2,000-point, 1,000-rebound player in conference annals. With a big push on the assist side, he could become just the second student-athlete in NCAA history (along with Duke’s Danny Ferry) to finish his career with 2,000 points, 1,000 boards and 500 assists. He is currently the NEC’s active leader in points (1,504) and rebounds (912).

From walk on to two-time All-NEC honoree, Clark has been the straw that stirs the drink for LIU the last two years. And with the Sharks entering the year as the preseason NEC favorite, the New Haven, CT native will look to steer the Sharks toward a second NEC crown in the last three years. With a non-stop motor, Clark is a perfect fit for LIU’s uptempo style. Last season, he led the NEC with 18.9 ppg on an efficient 50.3 percent from the field. He ranked sixth on the loop in field goal accuracy and rebounding (6.8), and was also 11th in steals (1.3). If the 6’6” swingman matches the 600+ points he has scored in each of the last two years, Clark will become the just the seventh player in NEC history to reach 2,000 career points. Clark enters the 2019-20 campaign second among active conference leaders with 1,406 points and 594 boards.

Grant has played at an all-star level for his entire career. From his memorable nine three-point shot barrage as a freshman to the litany of clutch makes to a pair of All-NEC third team appearances, he is set to leave behind a legacy at Bryant that will be hard to match. Grant enters his senior year ranked first among active NEC players with 204 triples and third with 1,317 points. Last year, the 6’1” two guard from Franklin, VA was the seventh-leading scorer on the circuit with 15.6 ppg, and also finished third in made three-pointers (2.7) and seventh in long distance accuracy (.386).

Anosike built on his promising rookie campaign, winning the NEC’s Most Improved Player award in emerging as a full-fledged star on a resurgent Pioneer squad last season. A bruising presence on the block and a premier glass sweeper, the East Orange, NJ native added a three-point shot to his arsenal last season, making him a true inside-outside threat. Anosike averaged 14.2 ppg on the year, and ranked second in the league with 8.1 rpg. He also landed in the top-five in double-doubles (7, third) and field goal percentage (.518, fourth), and shot 42.1 percent from outside the arc during NEC play on his way to second team All-NEC honors.

A consummate floor general, Jenkins saw his stock skyrocket last March during FDU’s run to the NEC championship and NCAA opening round win over Prairie View A&M. The cat-quick guard with a lethal mid-range game reminiscent of Tony Parker, Jenkins dropped 20 points in the Knights’ title win over SFU, then exploded onto the national scene with a 22-point, six-assist effort in helping spark FDU’s comeback against PVAM. He put up 13.6 ppg as a sophomore, and ranked second in the NEC in free throw percentage (.881), steals (1.6) and assist-to-turnover ratio (2.1), and fourth in assists (4.5). The 6-footer out of Ranson, WV has compiled 293 assists over his first two years, third among conference returnees.
  
2019-20 Northeast Conference Preseason All-Conference Team    
          
Name                 School   Pos.   Ht.   Wt.   Cl.   Hometown/High School
E.J. Anosike         SHU      G/F    6-6   245   Jr.   East Orange, NJ/Paramus Catholic (St. Thomas More)
Keith Braxton        SFU      G      6-5   210   Sr    Glassboro, NJ/Delsea (Lawrenceville School)
Raiquan Clark        LIU      G/F    6-6   195   R-Sr  New Haven, CT/Hillhouse
Adam Grant           BRY      G      6-1   180   Sr    Franklin, VA/Norfolk Collegiate School
Jahlil Jenkins       FDU      G      6-0   160   Jr    Ranson, WV/Virginia Academy

About The Northeast Conference
Now in its 39th year, the Northeast Conference is an NCAA Division I collegiate athletic association consisting of 11 institutions of higher learning located throughout seven states. Media coverage of the NEC extends to a number of the largest markets in the United States - New York (#1), Boston (#9), Pittsburgh (#24), Baltimore (#26), Hartford/New Haven (#33) and Providence (#53).  Founded in 1981 as the basketball-only ECAC Metro Conference, the NEC has grown to sponsor 23 championship sports for men and women and now enjoys automatic access to 16 different NCAA Championships. NEC member institutions include Bryant, Central Connecticut, Fairleigh Dickinson, LIU, Merrimack, Mount St. Mary’s, Robert Morris, Sacred Heart, St. Francis Brooklyn, Saint Francis U and Wagner. For more information on the NEC, visit the league’s official website (www.northeastconference.org) and digital network (www.necfrontrow.com), or follow the league on Twitter, Facebook, YouTube, Instagram and Snapchat, all @NECsports.