Note: This story was updated on Friday, Nov. 1 to include the D2SIDA West Regional Preseason Poll

IRVINE, Calif. – The Concordia University Irvine men's basketball team embarks on a new regular season this Friday with a renewed energy and excitement after garnering both regional and national preseason accolades.

CUI was voted as the favorites to come out on top in the PacWest Preseason Men's Basketball Poll and received eight of the league's 12 first-place votes. Azusa Pacific was selected second and received three first-place votes while Chaminade was slotted third with one first-place vote. Point Loma and Biola round out the top five. To check out the full PacWest Preseason Poll, click here.

Senior Robert McCoy, a DI transfer from Portland State, was also named to the Preseason PacWest All-Conference Team. McCoy averaged 7.3 points and 5.8 rebounds per game for the Vikings and is a 6'7" 195 lb. senior forward who projects as a two-way difference-maker for the Eagles.  Prior to playing at Portland State, McCoy was a two-time All-Conference selection at San Diego City College and the Southern California Junior College Player of the Year as a sophomore. He joins Darius Lee and Robert Taylor as former SDCC Knights that now play for the Green and Gold.

"It's really exciting to see that we were picked number one but our goal is to actually be number one when it's all said and done," explained McCoy.

The Eagles are also garnering national attention from multiple publications.

Street & Smith's Basketball Yearbook featured Concordia as the No. 10 team in NCAA DII in its recent men's basketball preseason rankings. 

Wayne Cavadi of NCAA.com also ranked Concordia in the top 20 of his DII preseason projections. To see the full list, click here.

In addition, Concordia is ranked No. 23 in the National Association of Basketball Coaches (NABC) NCAA DII Preseason Poll. This is the first time the Eagles have been featured in the top 25 on this list. UC San Diego is the only other school from the West Region to make the preseason top 25 this year, although PacWest foes Azusa Pacific, Point Loma and Chaminade did receive votes.

To view the NABC Preseason Poll, click here.  The first NABC regular season rankings will be released on Tuesday, Nov. 19.

This week Concordia earned some early kudos in the D2SIDA West Region Preseason Poll. The Eagles were ranked No. 2 behind UC San Diego in the early rankings which is voted on by six sports information directors in the west region (two from all three conferences). UC San Diego was voted as the preseason favorite in the CCAA while Western Washington narrowly edged Seattle Pacific in the GNAC preseason poll. Both WWU and SPU will visit Concordia in mid-November as part of the GNAC/PacWest Challenge on Nov. 15-16. To view the full D2SIDA West Region Preseason Poll, click here.

"It's always nice to see our team and guys get some preseason acknowledgement," said senior Mike Mellinger. "I'm excited our conference season is just around the corner. Now we just have to go out every night and prove to everyone that we are actually that team that deserves to be picked No. 1."

The Eagles are just a few months removed from their first trip to the NCAA DII Tournament as an at-large team in the West Region.  CUI also made its first appearance in the championship round at the PacWest Conference Championships last season. Now the Eagles want to book return trips to both tournaments and take the next steps forward in the postseason. This is the third year that CUI will be postseason eligible after completing the transition from NAIA to NCAA DII.

"Our entire university has worked very hard during our transition to NCAA to take big steps forward each year," said CUI head coach Ken Ammann. "The progress we've made each season is very rewarding and it is exciting to be picked at the top of our conference and to receive national attention. Our goal remains the same – namely to continue taking steps forward and to compete for the conference title and wins in the postseason."

CUI finished in second place in the conference standings last season and defended the nest extremely well. The Eagles were 12-1 overall at CU Arena and ran the table with a perfect 11-0 home record against PacWest opponents. This included a statement victory in overtime against the NCAA DII runner-ups from Point Loma.

"We have a good returning group and a good recruiting class and play in one of the toughest conferences in the country," added Ammann. "Any time you do anything for the first time in program history, it's a big deal and exciting but what ultimately matters is where we're ranked at the end of the year."

The Eagles have finished with at least 20 victories in 15 of Ken Ammann's 18 seasons at the helm. This year he may have one of his deepest teams in recent memory.

PacWest Freshman of the Year Kayle Knuckles returns for CUI along with a strong senior-laden group that includes gritty defenders Taylor and Jamel White as well as big man Cameron English and swingman Kyle Gray. Mellinger is also back after earning a medical redshirt and will help stretch the defense from the perimeter.

Concordia also added multiple DI transfers in its recruiting class, including Jalen Sanders from Northern Colorado, the aforementioned McCoy and Zach Buscher of Hawai'i. Sanders and Knuckles were teammates at Valor Christian High School and Sanders played against McCoy in the Big Sky Conference. Another newcomer is former Holy Names starter Andre Green.  Green joins the Eagles as a graduate student and will provide strength and versatility at the guard spot after averaging 12.4 ppg, 4.6 rpg and 1.1 spg last year for the Hawks.

"I've learned how talented and deep we are as a team," added McCoy. "We're very excited to finally begin the season and the energy in the locker room is great."

Concordia has also had at least one player from Australia on the roster every year since 2007. Junior sharpshooter Austin Clarke will continue that unique trend this fall. Former Aussies at CUI include Cameron Gliddon and Tad Dufelmeier who are now playing professionally overseas.

The Eagles did lose three key seniors from last season in D2CCA All-West Region selection Brian Chambers (First Team All-PacWest), forward Tyler Lacour and center Geoff Gerlach, who was named All-PacWest Honorable Mention. Gerlach is now a graduate assistant coach on the bench.

The Eagles open their season this Friday, Nov. 1 against UT-Permian Basin in the Disney DII Tip-Off Challenge hosted at Santiago Canyon College. After facing UTPB at 3:15 p.m. on Friday, the Eagles will face Wayne State at the same time Saturday, followed by a Sunday matinee with Ferris State on Sunday, Nov. 3 at 5:30 p.m. There is no video live stream or live stats for theses three contests, so stay tuned to @cuieagles on twitter and instagram for updates throughout the weekend, as well as story recaps here on cuieagles.com.

"We get to play three really good, tough teams early in the year," added Mellinger, "so it's always something our guys are hyped up for."

For the full CUI men's basketball schedule, click here.