By UPIKE Athletics

PIKEVILLE, Ky. – The NAIA men’s basketball coaches have picked Pikeville to be one of the top teams in the country entering the new 2019-20 campaign.

Pikeville came in as No. 5 in the preseason NAIA Coaches’ Top 25 Poll, which was released by the NAIA national office on Wednesday.

UPIKE has now been ranked in 75 consecutive polls, the longest active streak in the NAIA.

The Bears are part of a logjam at the top of the poll where 12 voting points separate third from sixth. There are five teams from the Mid-South Conference mentioned in the poll, led by Georgetown, who are the preseason No. 1.

Cumberlands (16th), Campbellsville (21st), and Life (RV) are the other MSC representatives in the poll.

Pikeville returns just two starters from last season’s 25-9 team that reached the quarterfinals of the NAIA Tournament in Luke Layhew and Xaviar Gaona, but also regains the services of 2017-18 All-MSC guard Jordan Perry and brings in NCAA D-I transfer guard Mike Green.