RICHARDSON, Texas — St. Mary's University senior guard
Damani Claxton was today named the Preseason Player of the Year in the Lone Star Conference in a vote of the league's head coaches, media, and sports information personnel. Claxton and the Rattlers have also been chosen to finish second in the league for 2025-26.
The Rattlers finished 20-11 a season ago, advancing to the Second Round of the NCAA Tournament. StMU returns five letterwinners from last season's team, including Claxton (Bronx, N.Y.), who led the team with 17.1 points, 2.9 assists and 1.6 steals per game. At the conclusion of the 2024-25 season, Claxton was named the league's Newcomer of the Year and a First-Team All-Conference pick.
DBU totaled 850 points and collected 42 of the possible 51 first-place votes to be the favorite in the poll. Head coach Blake Flickner's Patriots went 34-5 overall and 19-3 in league play last season. DBU won its first LSC regular season championship, LSC tournament title and NCAA Division II South Central Regional crown in program history.
The Rattlers received 724 points and two first-place votes for second, while Lubbock Christian (4, 720) is third, St. Edward's (669) and West Texas A&M (2, 654) round out the top five.
St. Mary's kicks off the 2025-26 season on Nov. 14 at 8 p.m. against Regis at Bill Greehey Arena as part of a doubleheader with the Volleyball team.
Preseason Poll
Rank Team 1st Total
1 DBU 42 850
2 St. Mary's 2 724
3 Lubbock Christian 4 720
4 St. Edward's 669
5 West Texas A&M 2 654
T6 Angelo State 592
T6 Eastern New Mexico 592
8 Midwestern State 558
9 UT Permian Basin 468
10 Texas A&M International 1 350
11 Texas A&M-Kingsville 330
12 Cameron 301
13 Oklahoma Christian 266
14 UT Tyler 260
15 Western New Mexico 193
16 UT Dallas 188
17 Sul Ross State 88
Preseason Player of the Year
Damani Claxton, G, Sr., St. Mary's
Players to Watch
Name School Pos. Cl. Major Hometown
Jordan Crawford Angelo State G Sr. Sociology Ruston, La.
Jordan Mitchell Cameron G Sr. Interdisciplinary Studies West Memphis, Ark.
Xavion Brown DBU G Sr. Kinesiology Sacramento, Calif.
Jose Murillo Eastern New Mexico F Sr. Business Administration Chihuahua, Mexico
Amondo Miller Jr. Lubbock Christian F Sr. Communications Littleton, Colo.
Jonathan Jackson Midwestern State G/F Gr. Exercise Physiology Sachse, Texas
Miles Gibson Oklahoma Christian G Jr. Finance Allen, Texas
Blake Nielsen St. Edward's G Gr. Finance Perth, Australia
Damani Claxton St. Mary's G Sr. Exercise & Sport Science Bronx, N.Y.
Antwonne Holmes Sul Ross State G Jr. Business Administration El Paso, Texas
Caylen Goff-Brown Texas A&M International G Sr. Psychology Tulsa, Okla.
Allen Singleton Texas A&M-Kingsville G Sr. Engineering League City, Texas
Zach Spitzer UT Dallas F Jr. Interdisciplinary Studies Allen, Texas
Tash Lunday UT Permian Basin F Gr. Kinesiology Flandreau, S.D.
Sam Phipps UT Tyler F Sr. Information Technology Wellsville, Utah.
Brock Mishak West Texas A&M G Jr. Business Fort Collins, Colo.
Cortaviaus Seales Western New Mexico G Sr. Marketing Rock Island, Ill.
