ST. LOUIS — Missouri State men’s basketball standouts Donovan Clay (Sr., Alton, Ill.) and Chance Moore (Jr., Brookhaven, Ga.) have been named to the Preseason All-Missouri Valley Conference Team, the league announced Tuesday (Oct. 16) as part of its annual Media Day activities.
Clay landed on the Preseason All-MVC first team, while Moore is on the third team. The 12-member league awarded preseason accolades to 17 players in all, including preseason player of the year Tucker DeVries of Drake.
Clay averaged 14.7 points in MVC games last season and a team-best 11.9 ppg overall. He ranked in the top 20 in the league overall in scoring (19th), rebounding (17th), blocks (6th) and assists (7th). He earned All-MVC second team honors in his fourth season in The Valley in addition to landing on the prestigious MVC All-Defensive Team for the second year in a row.
Moore was an MVC All-Bench Team selection after dropping in 10.6 points per game, which was second on the club. He also knocked down a team-high 50 three-pointers his sophomore year and collected 120 rebounds and 25 steals for the Bears.
In addition to Clay and Moore, the Bears also boast fellow returning starters Alston Mason (9.9 ppg, 39 threes, 2.8 assists), and Damien Mayo Jr. (4.5 ppg, 2.7 rpg, 1.0 apg) who was one of the league’s top freshmen a year ago. Point guard Matthew Lee, who played just two games a year ago after suffering a knee injury, is also back in the fold after leading Saint Peters to an Elite Eight run in 2022.
Coach Dana Ford enters his sixth season with 10 returning players in all, including six lettermen from a 17-15 club that was 12-8 in the MVC.
All that returning experience was lost on the league’s pollsters who tabbed the Bears sixth in the MVC Preseason Poll, also released Tuesday.
Drake snagged 24 first-place votes and 558 points in all to claim the title of preseason favorites, followed by Northern Iowa with 19 first-place votes, Bradley, Indiana State and Belmont. The Bears received one first-place vote in the No. 6 position just ahead of Murray State, Illinois State, Southern Illinois and UIC to round out the top 10. Evansville and Valparaiso were picked 11th and 12th, respectively.
The Bears will host a sneak preview this Saturday at Great Southern Bank Arena at 11 a.m. before a home exhibition game against Westminster on Thursday, Nov. 2.
Season ticket information is available by calling (417) 836-8899 or visiting MissouriStateBears.com.
MVC PRESEASON POLL
1. Drake (24) 558
2. UNI (19) 524
3. Bradley (3) 487
4. Indiana State 402
5. Belmont 400
6. Missouri State (1) 386
7. Murray State 292
8. Illinois State 237
9. Southern Illinois 218
10. UIC 157
11. Evansville 95
12. Valparaiso 66
PRESEASON ALL-MVC
FIRST TEAM
Bowen Born, UNI
Donovan Clay, Missouri State
Tucker DeVries, Drake
Malevy Leons, Bradley
Cade Tyson, Belmont
SECOND TEAM
Tytan Anderson, UNI
Robbie Avila, Indiana State
Darnell Brodie, Drake
Julian Larry, Indiana State
Rob Perry, Murray State
Kenny Strawbridge Jr., Evansville
THIRD TEAM
Darius Burford, Illinois State
Duke Deen, Bradley
Xavier Johnson, Southern Illinois
Chance Moore, Missouri State
Toby Okani, UIC
Isaiah Swope, Indiana State
