Preseason MVP: Gavin Kensmil has a job ahead to repeat as the leading returning scorer and rebounder. The big question is if he can he maintain his 60 percent shooting while also being asked to score more. 

The Ceiling: Anything short of securing an NCAA Tournament berth will be a disappointment following a campaign that saw the Lumberjacks go 28-3, win the league and defeat Duke inside Cameron, yet not play in the post-season due to COVID-19. It’s NCAA or bust. Playing in a minor tournament is not on this team’s radar.

The Floor: Considering the team’s returning talent and newcomers, it’s difficult to see the Lumberjacks not being the leader throughout the league race. Besides SFA being stacked with players, the SLC lost plenty of seniors and players who transferred to other leagues. Maybe some team slips up on the Lumberjacks. But with SFA returning the core group of a 28-win squad, good luck denying the Lumberjacks the title.

Game of the Year: Kansas

Projected Starting Five

Cameron Johnson
G | 6-4 | Sr. | Little Rock, Ark.

Roti Ware
G | 6-3 | Sr. | Morton, Miss.

David Kachelries
G | 6-1 | Sr. | Emmaus, Pa.

Jaylin Jackson-Posey
G | 6-1 | Fr. | Irving, Texas

Gavin Kensmil
F | 6-7 | Sr. | Paramaribo, Suriname

Kyle Keller
Head Coach

Impact First-Year Player: Jaylin Jackson-Posey.

Season Preview

The loss of one of Stephen F. Austin's all-time greats isn't expected to slow the Lumberjacks this season.

With about 70 percent of its offense returning from a 28-3 squad that won the league's regular season title (19-1) and sprung a remarkable road non-conference victory over Duke, the Lumberjacks look like the very solid favorite to win the Southland crown and represent the league in the NCAA Tournament.

There is some urgency to get the goals accomplished. SFA was penalized by the NCAA for APR issues in the spring for violations that dated back to 2014. The Lumberjacks will be ineligible for the post-season in 2021-2002, leaving the door open for a veteran squad under Kyle Keller to make a March splash in this campaign after it was ruined by the COVID-19 outbreak last March.

Former Lumberjack Kevon Harris will be missed. A four-year starter and last season's MVP in the Southland, Harris led SFA in scoring (17.5 ppg) and averaged 5.7 rebounds. His strongest assets were his versatility in piling up points. He dropped jumpers and 3-pointers, could get to the rim on drives and shot 77 percent at the free throw line.

Post Gavin Kensmil rates as the Lumberjacks' top returner and is a solid league MVP candidate after he averaged 11.8 points and 6.8 rebounds in his first season at SFA. The 6-foot-8 Kensmil shot 60 percent from the field (133-of-220) and blocked 18 shots.

Also is the mix were 79 turnovers, an alarming number for such a successful player. If Kensmil can improve his ability to handle perimeter passes to him inside, his scoring potential will increase.

Other leading veterans include senior guard Cameron Johnson (11.4 ppg), senior guard Roti Ware (9.5 ppg) and  senior guard David Kachelries (5.2 ppg, 58 assists).

Johnson shot 54 percent from the field and should get more scoring opportunities now that Harris is gone. Ware knocked down 30-of-70 3-pointers and added 35 steals. Kachelries was a nice back-up at point guard to play-maker John Comeaux, who was one of four seniors on last season's squad.

Other veterans are senior Charlie Daniels (4.0 ppg, 2.7 rpg), sophomore Calvin Solomon (3.0 ppg, 4.3 rpg) and sophomore guard Sama'Zha Hart (3.2 ppg).

Two newcomers who are expected to make immediate impacts are DeAndre Heckard, a transfer point guard from Tyler Junior College, and true freshman Jaylin Jackson-Posey.

Heckard will push Kachelries for playing time a what looks like a crowded point guard position that will offer Keller plenty of rotation options.

Posey, a guard from the Dallas area, was rated as the sixth-best high school player in the state and is the highest recruit in Keller's reign at SFA.

Another player to watch is Kharee McDaniel, who redshirted last season. McDaniel won the 2019-2020 Guy V. Lewis Award as one of the top guards in the Houston area during his high school career.

Other newcomers are freshmen Russell Hyman and Nana Antwi-Boasiako, a Nacogdoches High School recruit.

A couple of transfers add intrigue to the roster. Demiere Brown, a redshirt junior, averaged 13.2 points and 7.3 rebounds in his 2018-2019 campaign at Kilgore Junior College. The other JUCO transfer is Nigel Hawkins, from UTEP.

Keller's program stresses intense defense in the halfcourt, which had led to the team to excelling at scoring in the transition game.

The Lumberjacks averaged 80 points an outing last season.

Bottom line? This team is stacked and eager to get a post-season reward that was stolen by COVID-19 last time around.