HARROGATE, Tenn. - The Lincoln Memorial University men's basketball team is ranked No. 6 in the Basketball Times NCAA Division II Preseason Top 20, while senior forward Dorian Pinson has been tabbed as a preseason All-American, it was announced on Friday, Oct. 27.

Coming off of a stellar 30-6 season and the program's second straight trip to the national semifinals, the Railsplitters earn their third Top 10 preseason ranking heading into the 2017-18 campaign. Lincoln Memorial was also ranked sixth in the Street & Smith's preseason rankings and No. 7 by the Division II Bulletin. Defending national champions Northwest Missouri State are ranked first in the Basketball Times rankings, while Queens, Bellarmine, Indiana (Pa.) and Texas-Permian Basin round out the top five. After No. 6 Lincoln Memorial, Ferris State, St. Thomas Aquinas, California Baptist and Arkansas Tech makes up the remainder of the top 10. The Railsplitters, coached by Josh Schertz (pictured), enter the 2017-18 season looking to record their fourth straight 30-win season and capture their sixth straight South Atlantic Conference regular-season title. Lincoln Memorial has also won back-to-back Southeast Regional championships, which includes a trip to the NCAA Division II National Championship game in 2016. Pinson, who was also selected as a preseason All-American by Street & Smith, is expected to lead the Railsplitters into the 2017-18 campaign. The senior averaged 12.5 points, 8.1 rebounds and 4.8 assists per game while shooting 52.3 percent from the field before having his junior season cut short by a broken foot. Pinson missed 15 of the team's last 16 games but still earned enough respect to land on the All-SAC second team. The Greenville, S.C. native enters his final season in the Blue and Gray with 809 career points, 582 rebounds and 280 assists. He is ranked 11th in program history in starts with 72 and 14th in minutes played with 2,026. The Railsplitters commence the 2017-18 season on November 10 when they travel to Banner Elk, N.C. to face the Lees-McRae Bobcats.

Photo by Jamie H. Vaught,

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