Jordan “Jelly” Walker is coming off one of the best seasons in UAB basketball history and not shying away from the expectations and challenges that accompany the multitude of accolades heading into his final season on the Southside.

The Conference USA league office released its annual preseason honors Thursday and the Blazers were picked to win the 2022-2023 regular-season title in the league’s preseason coaches poll, receiving 9 of 11 first-place votes.

UAB finished second place in the regular-season standings last year but made a run through the conference tournament to clinch the league’s automatic bid to the NCAA tournament. The Blazers lost to Houston in the first round and finished the season at 27-8 overall and 14-4 in conference play.

Along with being selected to win the regular-season title, guards Jordan “Jelly” Walker and LSU transfer Eric Gaines were named to the preseason all-conference team.

Walker was also named C-USA Preseason Player of the Year following a record-setting season on the Southside where he averaged 19.3 points and 5.1 assists, both good for third in the league, and led C-USA during conference play with 21.6 ppg, 5.3 apg and 3.8 made 3-pointers per game. He also led the league in made 3-pointers (101) and was third in 3-point field-goal percentage (40.7 percent).

Walker set UAB’s single-game scoring record at home against Middle Tennessee State, scoring 42 points to break the previous record of 41 points held by UAB head coach Andy Kennedy and former UAB great Robert Vaden. His record-breaking performance was the highest-scoring output of any C-USA player during the 2021-2022 season.

Gaines transferred from LSU during the offseason and is expected to make an immediate impact for the Blazers. During his second and final season with the Tigers, Gaines made eight starts in 34 games and averaged 9.0 points, 3.3 rebounds, 2.9 assists and 2.1 steals.

The Blazers play a preseason exhibition game against Mississippi College, Tuesday, Nov. 7, and open the 2022-2023 season against Alabama State, Monday, November 7, both games tip-off at 6:30 p.m. at Bartow Arena in Birmingham.