Anthony Lamb — Vermont, Sr., F

Last season, Anthony Lamb took the America East by storm. The Rochester, New York native averaged 21.2 points and 7.8 rebounds per game, leading the entire conference in both categories. He has more than 1,000 career points and scored 20 or more points 17 times last season. Unsurprisingly, Lamb was the AE Player of the Year a season ago, and also earned an Associated Press All-American Honorable Mention. The senior forward is the undisputed core and leader of the 2019-20 Vermont Catamounts, and will undoubtedly be extra motivated to lead his team to another conference title and NCAA Tournament bid in his final season at Vermont. Perhaps he’ll raise the eyebrows of some NBA scouts as well.

Cameron Healy — Albany, So., G

With four of its top five scorers from last season returning, Albany’s core of key players returns for the 2019-20 season. At the center of that core is Healy, who led the Great Danes in scoring last season as a freshman. The Australian also set new single-season program records for 3-pointers attempted and 3-pointers made, going 104-for-251 over the course of last year’s campaign. With a full season now under his belt, Healy is expected to continue to play a prominent role on the Great Danes’ roster, and help them improve on their lackluster seven AE wins from last year.

Andrew Fleming — Maine, Sr., F

On their face, Fleming’s career numbers don’t look like anything extraordinary, but it’s his consistent good play across multiple categories, and his effort on the court, that make him a preseason all-conference selection. Fleming was in the top 10 in rebounding, steals and blocks last season, and averaged more minutes per game than any other AE player that didn’t graduate. Fleming recorded four double-doubles last year and shot an incredible 90 percent from the field in a 38-point performance against UMass Lowell. The Black Bears will need to rely on his steady, consistent presence on the court to break out of the basement of the conference.

Christian Lutete — UMass Lowell, Grad., G

If Anthony Lamb was the best player in the AE last year, it’s hard to argue that Christian Lutete wasn’t second. The current graduate student finished second in the league in scoring with a personal-best 18.7 points per game, was third in rebounding with 7.6 boards per contest and shot 53.4 percent from the field, good for second-best in the AE. Behind his performance last season, UML finished fifth in the conference, which was much higher than most expected. The River Hawks will hope to continue their program’s rise in the conference next season, and if the former second-team all-conference selection can build upon last year’s performance, UML could be a sleeper pick to sneak into the top four of the AE.

Sam Sessoms — Binghamton, So., G

Sam Sessoms had quite the breakout season for the Bearcats in 2018-19. Averaging 17.8 points per game, he finished third in the conference in scoring and led all freshmen in that category. Sessoms also led the Bearcats in field goal percentage and 3-point field goal percentage. Appropriately, Sessoms was named AE Rookie of the Year last season, and was selected to the third-team all-conference. As the centerpiece of the team, Binghamton will be relying heavily on Sessoms to produce amid an overhauled roster with very few returners. Should Sessoms succeed in this role, Binghamton has a chance to climb further up the AE standings.