By Danielle Daniels
NEW ORLEANS – App State Men’s Basketball junior guard Eren Banks was named to the Preseason All-Sun Belt Second Team in October.
Banks, who spent the last two seasons at Georgia Southern, joins the Mountaineers after appearing in all 33 games in 2024-25, making a team-best 30 starts. He averaged nine points a game and had his most efficient season at the collegiate level, shooting 46 percent from the field and 39 percent from 3-point range. According to KenPom, Banks ranked among the top 200 nationally in effective field-goal percentage at 56.9 percent
The Eatonton, Ga., native tallied 13 double-figure games last season, with eight coming in league play. This included a season-high 19-point outing against Coastal Carolina on Jan. 16, a 16-point performance against Southern Miss in the Sun Belt Tournament and a 14-point contest against Troy. Banks ranked third on the Eagles in scoring in conference games last year, averaging 10.6 per contest.
In addition to his scoring, Banks finished second on the Eagles last season with 77 assists and 45 steals. His 2.7 steal percentage ranked among the best in the country in 2024-25.
With Banks’ second-team nod, App State has had at least one player named Preseason All-Sun Belt in every year of the Dustin Kerns era. The Mountaineers own the most first-team All-Sun Belt selections in the league since the start of the 2023-24 season (three).
2025-26 Sun Belt Men’s Basketball Preseason Awards
Preseason Player of the Year
Robert Davis Jr., Old Dominion
Preseason All-Sun Belt First Team
Robert Davis Jr., Old Dominion
Thomas Dowd, Troy
Tyren Moore, Georgia Southern
Jalen Speer, Marshall
Bradley Douglas, James Madison
Preseason All-Sun Belt Second Team
Eren Banks, App State
Mark Drone, Texas State
Jelani Hamilton, Georgia State
Chandler Jackson, Arkansas State
RaSheed Jones, Coastal Carolina
Preseason All-Sun Belt Third Team
Jordan Battle, Old Dominion
John Broom, South Alabama
Kaden Gumbs, Texas State
Matt Van Komen, Marshall
Nakavieon White, Georgia Southern
2025-26 Preseason Men’s Basketball Coaches Poll
- James Madison (1) – 175
- Arkansas State (3) – 154
- South Alabama (4) – 152
- Troy (1) – 148
- Old Dominion (2) – 145
- Marshall (1) – 128
- App State (1) – 123
- Texas State – 106
- Louisiana (1) – 95
- Georgia Southern – 66
- Georgia State – 59
- Southern Miss – 57
- Coastal Carolina – 43
- ULM – 19
COURTESY APPALACHIAN STATE ATHLETIC COMMUNICATIONS
