The Dean's List - March 6, 2025

The Dean’s List 

March 6, 2025 

1. Inside the SoCon 

The regular season is complete, and we are just a day away from the start of the Ingles SoCon Basketball Championships in Asheville, North Carolina.  There is not a better time of year as Championship Week is upon us.  Nothing compares to post-season play with so much riding on every possession.  There will be hoop fans from all over the southeast inside Harrah’s Cherokee Center and while there is enormous pressure during every game, it’s always exciting for the fans. 

Congratulations to the regular season champion Chattanooga Mocs as they will be the number one seed this weekend in Asheville.  They’re currently on an 11-game win streak which is the longest since winning 11 during the 1996-97 Sweet 16 season.  They’ve also won eight-straight SoCon road games, which continues to extend a single season program record.  UTC finished with 15 SoCon wins during the regular season for the first time since 2015-16. That’s the second most in program history. 

UNCG finished second and arrives in Asheville with another 20-win season.  ETSU was third and Samford was fourth.  The Furman Paladins finished fifth while tying Chattanooga for the most overall wins with 23.  They will face Samford in what should be a terrific quarterfinal game.  Wofford finished as the sixth seed.  The top six all receive a first-round bye. 

The VMI Keydets finished with seven regular season conference wins and will be the seventh seed. They will face the 10^th seed Citadel Bulldogs in an all-military first round game.  The Mercer Bears are the eighth seed and will face the ninth seed Western Carolina Catamounts.  Both of those games are on Friday evening. 

Yes, Chattanooga enters as the top seed, but there are five or six teams that can realistically win the tournament.  But like in past seasons, I believe that anyone can win at least one game to throw off the bracket and that’s what makes the SoCon tournament so exciting.  The competitive balance this season has made for some interesting games and that should continue in the tournament. 

I don’t know who will win the tournament, but I do know it’s going to be a great weekend of basketball in Asheville. 

II. Celebrating “The Best of Everything”  

In what has become an annual list of the Best of Everything in Southern Conference men’s basketball, let’s take a minute and celebrate those that deserve recognition as we head to the Ingles SoCon Basketball Championships.  The following are my 2024-2025 Dean’s List post-season award winners: 

Best Starting five – Chattanooga 

• The Mocs are not exceptionally big, but they are solid at every position. They have a nice blend of talent and experience in their starting five and they play unselfish basketball. UNCG also has a very good starting unit. 

Best Bench – Samford 

• The Bulldogs can go 11 deep while keeping the music playing. 

Best Backcourt – Chattanooga 

• There are lots to choose from as the league is full of talented guards.  The Mocs gain a very slight edge over UNCG.  ETSU, Samford and Furman also have solid backcourts.  

Best Frontcourt – ETSU 

• Honestly, there was not a dominant frontcourt this season in the Southern Conference.  I think some of that is a by-product of the transfer portal.  ETSU gets a slight nod here but that’s only when Jaden Seymour is healthy. UNCG’s group is probably a bit underrated as Jalen Breath, Demetrius Davis and Malik Henry can battle with most in this league.  Also, if Western Carolina had a bit better guard play, the trio of Marcus Kell, Bernard Pelote and Vernon Collins would probably get more recognition. 

Best Freshman – Brady Shoulders (Mercer) & Linus Holmstrom (VMI) 

• League coaches have continued to recruit the high school ranks well, yet not as many are playing major minutes.  Mercer’s Brady Shoulders was solid from start to finish.  He should be a cornerstone of Ryan Ridder’s program. Equally, VMI freshman Linus Holmstrom never seemed to hit a wall and was a part of the Keydets success.  Several other newcomers had fine first seasons as Western Carolina guard CJ Hyland, Wofford’s Luke Flynn and Kahmare Holmes and Furman guard Eddrin Bronson all have bright futures. 

Best Sophomore – Augustinas Kiudulas (VMI) and Marcus Kell (Western Carolina) 

• VMI forward Augustinas Kiudulas had three double doubles in league play.  He was a big reason why the Keydets were competitive every night out in SoCon play.  And how about the way Western Carolina forward Marcus Kell played down the stretch!  His last 10 games in league play were as good as anyone not named Quimari Peterson.  Others that deserve recognition are TJ Johnson (VMI), Cooper Bowser (Furman), Jeremy Lorenz (Wofford), Josh Holloway (Samford) and Riley Allenspach (Samford). 

Best Junior – Honor Huff (Chattanooga), Kenyon Giles (UNCG), Rickey Bradley, Jr. (VMI), Jaden Brownell (Samford), Donovan Atwell (UNCG) and Karon Boyd (ETSU) 

• This class has a ton of talented players. Wofford’s Justin Bailey and also deserves recognition. 

Best Senior/5^th year/6^th year – Quimari Peterson (ETSU) 

• Peterson is the Player of the Year.  He was the best player by a fairly large margin.  That said, Samford guard Rylan Jones, Jaden Seymour (ETSU), Trey Bonham (Chattanooga), Frank Champion (Chattanooga), Bash Wieland (Chattanooga), Corey Tripp (Wofford), and Kyler Filewich (Wofford) all deserve mention as they had outstanding campaigns. 

Best (1^st year) graduate transfer – Ronald Polite III (UNCG) 

• The graduate transfer from George Mason was terrific throughout the regular season.  Chattanooga wing Bash Wieland and Mercer’s Chip Johnson were also very good! 

Best 6^th man – Lukas Walls (Samford) 

• Walls did not start a game in conference play, but his numbers were more than solid for the Bulldogs.  He shot 44.4% from the field and 37.5% from 3.  He was also second on the team in offensive rebounds and fourth in assists.  Samford guard Josh Holloway started nine conference games, therefore didn’t receive consideration. 

Best long-range shooters – Donovan Atwell (UNCG), Honor Huff (UTC), Ronald Polite III (UNCG), Quimari Peterson (ETSU), PJay Smith (Furman), Nick Anderson (Furman) 

• Yet another great season of talented shooters in the SoCon. 

Best Dunker – Jaden Seymour (ETSU) 

• Even at 6’9”, Seymour is a talented dunker. 

Best Defender – Karon Boyd (ETSU) 

• It’s hard to argue against a guy that can guard just about every position on the floor.   

Best Glue Guy – Garrison Keeslar (Chattanooga) 

• Keeslar arrived at Chattanooga after a stellar career at the Division II level.  He started all but one game for the Mocs and led them in assists and was second in steals and defensive rebounds.  His 5-to-1 assist/turnover ratio is among the nation’s best.  Yes, others generally get the headlines, but Keeslar did whatever was needed. 

Best Rebounder – Kyler Filewich (Wofford) 

• Filewich gets this award, not only because he led the league in rebounding, but because he did it consistently throughout the season.  He had 14 double-digit rebound games, including 18 boards against Western Carolina.   

Best Decision maker – Garrison Keeslar (Chattanooga) 

• Keeslar was always a terrific assist-to-turnover guy at the DII level, but he proved he could do it in the SoCon where he had 90 assists this season and only 18 turnovers.  In league play, he was even better with 50 assists against just 9 turnovers! 

Best Improvement – Marcus Kell (Western Carolina) 

• After redshirting last year, Kell made huge strides this season, especially in the later stages of conference play.  If he continues to work, he’s going to be a problem in this league. 

Best in Transition – Rylan Jones (Samford) 

• Jones is the consummate point guard.  He generally makes the right decision in transition. He led the league in assists and assist/turnover ratio. 

Best Toughness – Karon Boyd (ETSU)  

• Boyd provides toughness and energy at both ends of the court - and impacts winning for the Bucs in ways that don’t always show up in the stat sheet. 

Best Lungs – Rickey Bradley, Jr. (VMI) and Quimari Peterson (ETSU)  

• The Ironmen of the Southern Conference. They rarely came out in league play this season. 

Best Players who didn’t get an official award – Ronald Polite III (UNCG), Marcus Kell (Western Carolina), Chip Johnson (Mercer) 

• I know there are only 15 spots, but seriously?  No one thought that Ronald Polite III, Marcus Kell or Chip Johnson were worthy of all-conference honors.  They didn’t win any post-season awards by the league coaches, but I certainly didn’t forget them! 

Best Team improvement – VMI 

• This one is easy.  The VMI Keydets won three conference games combined during the past two seasons. This year, they went 7-11 and were in just about every game.  They will be a factor in Asheville. 

Best Coach – Dan Earl (Chattanooga)  

• I say this every year, but in a league with good coaches, it’s hard to select just one.  Andrew Wilson did an outstanding job this season and certainly deserves special recognition. Equally, Mike Jones and Brooks Savage did great work this year, but Earl guided the Mocs to a terrific conference season.  They have not lost since January 23. 

Best SoCon moment – Trey Fort going for 36 & Ronald Polite III hitting the game winner against UTC  

• On a day when they needed it, Trey Fort went for a career high 36 points propelling the Bulldogs over Wofford.  The Samford guard was 13-17 from the floor and 4-6 from three. He added eight rebounds. Ronald Polite III hit the game-winning three-pointer to give UNC Greensboro a 78-75 victory over Chattanooga.  A special shoutout to Jaden Seymour, the only player in the SoCon, who had a triple-double this season.  He had 18, 10 & 10 against VMI on New Year’s Day! 

III. It’s been how long? 

Samford won the regular season and post season tournament last year. Here’s offering best wishes to every program in the 2025 Ingles SoCon Basketball Championships: 

Team (last time they participated in the NCAA Tournament) 

Samford – 2004 

Furman – 2023 

Chattanooga – 2022 

UNCG – 2021 

Wofford - 2019 

ETSU – 2017 (2020 SoCon Champions, but the NCAA tournament was cancelled) 

Mercer – 2014 (as member of the Atlantic Sun Conference) 

Western Carolina – 1996 

VMI - 1977 

The Citadel – never participated 

IV. Thanks 

For the thirteenth season, The Dean’s List has attempted to provide inside info on SoCon men’s basketball as well as other things within the world of college hoops. 

I would like to say thanks to Commissioner Cross and his outstanding staff for allowing me to report again on Southern Conference Men’s Basketball.  I also want to thank those that have followed The Dean’s List. I hope that everyone has enjoyed the articles and content as much as I have liked putting everything together. 

Let’s hope we have a successful and memorable Southern Conference Tournament in Asheville.  

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