ALBANY – The College of Saint Rose is listed among the nation's top-20 teams in three separate NCAA Division II national preseason polls and senior guard Rob Gutierrez is mentioned as a preseason All-American by two different publications.

The Golden Knights are ranked #10 by Division II Bulletin, are listed #12 by Basketball Times, and tabbed #20 in the National Association of Basketball Coaches (NABC) respective preseason polls. Gutierrez meanwhile is among those on the Basketball Times preseason Top-25 All-America Team and is furthermore recognized as a preseason honorable mention selection by Division II Bulletin.

Gutierrez is one of four returning starters from last year's Saint Rose squad that finished fourth in the Northeast-10 Conference on the way to its 12th NCAA Tournament appearance within a 20-year span. The Golden Knights wound up 22-9 overall and 15-7 in league action.

A first-team All-Conference honoree, Gutierrez finished fifth in the NE-10 with a team-leading 17.9 points per-game and was in double-figures in all but two of his 30 contests in 2010-11.

Also back in the mix is junior guard Andre Pope who tossed in 12.9 points on a regular basis and led the NE-10 with a 45.4 shooting percentage (69-for-152) from 3-point territory. Senior forwards Brian Hanuschak and Sheldon Griffin round out the quartet of returning starters. Hanuschak, who was named to the NCAA East Regional All-Tournament squad, averaged 11.5 points and a team-high 8.7 rebounds as a junior. Griffin produced 6.4 points and 4.9 rebounds on a regular basis.

The Golden Knights are scheduled to play an exhibition at Syracuse next Tuesday, November 8. Tip-off is scheduled for 7:00 pm from the Carrier Dome. They will then officially open their 2011-12 campaign on Saturday, November 12 and Sunday, November 13 when they host their own tip-off classic that is being presented by the Hilton Garden Inn-Albany Medical Center. Saint Rose will open up against Concordia on Saturday at 8:00 pm, and will then face C.W. Post the following day at 4:00 pm.

Basketball Times (pdf) -- NABC (pdf) -- Division II Bulletin (pdf)