With two returning All-ASUN studs, Lipscomb has the inside edge on the league’s automatic bid.
For five seasons, Liberty was the class of the ASUN. Without the Flames to buoy the league, the ASUN struggled to re-establish itself last year, finishing as the 26th-best conference in the KenPom rankings, and without a single top-150 team.
This year, a fully healthy Lipscomb aims to change that, but several teams are nipping at the Bison’s heels. Florida Gulf Coast aims to return to the success it had under Andy Enfield and Joe Dooley, North Alabama has the talent to make a surprise run, and Eastern Kentucky is a defending champion that shouldn’t be counted out.
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While the conference isn’t elite, it is saved by its high-scoring affairs. Defense has been optional in the league for a few years, and after finishing 2022-23 with the highest KenPom offensive efficiency in conference games, that trend is alive and well. If that excitement can extend outside of the ASUN schedule, too, it should help lift the league out of last year’s doldrums.
Projected Order of Finish
1. Lipscomb Bison
Just five All-ASUN players return to the conference this season — two of them are playing for Lipscomb. Jacob Ognacevic, a 2023 All-ASUN first-teamer after averaging 17.7 points, suffered a season-ending injury and never took the floor last year. His injury paved the way for other players to step up, including 2024 All-ASUN second-teamer Will Pruitt (15.1 ppg, 6.0 rpg, 3.1 apg). In Ognacevic’s absence, Pruitt helped guide the Bison to an 11-5 league record and the top offense in the ASUN, per KenPom.
With these two stars returning alongside starting point guard Joe Anderson (8.4 ppg, 4.4 apg) and rim protector Dylan Faulkner (6.2 ppg, 3.9 rpg, 1.2 bpg), head coach Lennie Acuff has a good foundation to build around. To do so, he went into the transfer portal and came out with intraconference guard Gyasi Powell (9.0 ppg at Jacksonville), Ross Candelino (0.8 ppg at Wisconsin), Kellan Boylan (7.2 ppg at Air Force), Miles White (12.6 ppg at D-II Rockhurst) and Charlie Williams (6.6 ppg at William & Mary). Candelino brings experience in a Big Ten locker room, while the four others were all starters at their previous stops.
Alongside Faulkner and Ognacevic in the frontcourt, Grant Asman (4.5 ppg, 58.3 2P%) was an efficient scorer in limited minutes and could be in for an increased role after he saw his minutes grow steadily throughout last season. If he can provide valuable depth down low, and the backcourt and wing transfers deliver, Lipscomb has the highest ceiling in the ASUN.
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