Only one school can boast that it has four of the eleven players selected to the Preseason All-Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference (MAAC) First Team for men’s and women’s basketball. That school is Iona College.

On the men’s side, senior guard Sean Armand and junior forward David Laury were named to the First Team. Junior guard Damika Martinez and sophomore forward Joy Adams received First Team honors for the women.

The Maroon & Gold also had junior guard Aleesha Powell named to the Preseason All-MAAC Third Team.

“It’s very exciting and it shows that we’ve had success,” men’s basketball associate head coach Jared Grasso said. “It’s something they deserve.”

Armand is coming off a record-setting junior campaign. He set a school record for 3-pointers made in a season by netting 112. This total included his tally of nine against Canisius in January, which set a Hynes Athletics Center record. For the season, he averaged 16.6 points per game and was named to the All-MAAC Second Team. He started in all 34 games for the Gaels last year.

Laury averaged a double-double last season with 13.1 points per game and 10.3 rebounds per game. He recorded a double-double in nine of the 25 games he played in. This includes a streak of five straight games with a double-double spanning the second half of January and into February. He was named to the 2013 All-MAAC Third Team.

“It means that the voters think that we have pretty good players on a talent level and that we work hard,” Laury said. “[Sean and I] put in a lot of work last year and in practice this year, and we’re grateful for the opportunity to be First Team.”

Armand and Laury are joined on the Preseason All-MAAC First Team by Manhattan senior forwards Rhamel Brown and George Beamon, Canisius senior guard Billy Baron and Niagara redshirt junior guard Antoine Mason.

Manhattan had the most All-MAAC selections with four among the three teams. Iona, along with Canisius, Marist and Rider, had a pair of representatives.

On the women’s side, Martinez is the reigning MAAC Player of the Year. She led the conference in scoring last year with 18.1 points per game. She scored in double figures in 28 out of the Gaels’ 33 games, highlighted by her career-high of 36 against Canisius in the MAAC quarterfinals. She was tied for the most 3-pointers in the conference.

Adams, last year’s MAAC Rookie of the Year, averaged a double-double with 13.0 points per game and 10.7 rebounds per game. She led the conference in rebounding and MAAC freshmen in scoring. She had the most double-doubles among freshmen in the nation with 17.

“It feels great to be honored, but I still have a lot of work to do,” Adams said.

Joining Martinez and Adams on the Preseason All-MAAC First Team are Fairfield senior forward Kate Cizynski, Marist senior guard Casey Dulin and Rider senior guard/forward MyNeshia McKenzie.

Powell posted 9.8 points per game and 3.3 assists per game. She led the team in steals with an average of 1.8 per contest.

With its three Preseason All-MAAC honorees, the Iona women’s basketball team was tied for the most selections with eight-time defending MAAC Champion Marist. The Red Foxes had one member on each of the First, Second and Third Teams.

“It’s great for the program to have three kids selected into the preseason teams,” women’s basketball head coach Billi Godsey said. “It says a lot about what they accomplished last year and what everybody in the league thinks about them to continue to accomplish going forward.”

Last season, the Iona men’s basketball team won the MAAC Championship and made its second straight appearance in the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Tournament. The Iona women’s basketball team was the MAAC runner-up and competed in the Women’s National Invitation Tournament (WNIT).

The men’s basketball team kicks off its season at Cleveland State on Nov. 9. The women’s basketball team begins its season at home with the Iona Tip-Off Tournament on Nov. 8 and 9.