NEWPORT NEWS, Va. - Christopher Newport University men's basketball has been tabbed to repeat as Champions of the Coast-To-Coast Athletic Conference. The league released its annual pre-season poll of coaches Tuesday morning, one day before John Krikorian's squad opens the 2022-2023 season at tenth-ranked Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore, Md.

The Captains, ranked fourth in the nation in the pre-season poll from D3hoops.com, received all six possible first-place votes in the pre-season voting (coaches are not able to vote for their own teams). Christopher Newport posted a 27-3 record and advanced to the Elite 8 of the NCAA Division III Tournament last season, winning both the regular and post-season crowns in the C2C.

 2022-23 C2C Men's Basketball Preseason Poll
1. Christopher Newport - 36 (6)
2. Mary Washington - 30
3. Salisbury - 27 (1)
4. UC Santa Cruz - 21
5. Pratt - 14
6. Finlandia - 10
7. Warren Wilson - 9

Wednesday's season-opener in Baltimore will be a battle of Top 10 squads when the fourth-ranked Captains take on the tenth-ranked Blue Jays of Johns Hopkins. Tipoff is scheduled for 6:00 p.m. at Goldfarb Gymnasium. The Blue Jays are the pre-season pick to win the Centennial Conference, and are the two-time defending Champions of the league. Head coach Josh Loeffler led Hopkins to a 23-4 record last year, including a 16-2 mark in the Centennial. The Blue Jays advanced to the second round of the NCAA Tournament after winning their second straight conference title. JHU returns four starters from last year's squad

Christopher Newport University's roster includes eight seniors, and the Captains return a dozen student-athletes from last year's Elite 8 squad. Leading the way will be junior Jahn Hines, who was selected pre-season All-America last Friday by D3hoops.com. Hines, from Norview High School in Norfolk, was a third team NABC All-American and Player of the Year last season in the Coast-To-Coast Athletic Conference. The 6-3 guard was also selected the MVP of the Coast-To-Coast Athletic Conference Tournament, and averaged 15.3 points per game and also pulled down 6.9 rebounds per contest as a sophomore.

Wednesday's game will be broadcast live on the Christopher Newport/Pepsi Radio Network (Xtra 99.1 FM) with the pre-game show beginning at 5:40 p.m.Click HERE to listen to the broadcast. 

Following Wednesday's road game, the Captains will open their home schedule on Saturday night at the Freeman Center. CNU will host the University of Lynchburg. Please note game time for Saturday's game has been moved back to 7:00 p.m.