TOLEDO, Ohio – Junior guard Jaelan Sanford was named to the 2017-18 Lou Henson Award Preseason Watch List on Wednesday. The award is presented annually to the nation's top Division I mid-major player.
 
     An Evansville, Ind. native, Sanford is the Rockets' top returning scorer after tallying 13.6 ppg and a 39.2 three-point field-goal percentage last year. A member of the Preseason All-MAC West Division team, Sanford knocked down 48 treys with a 35.0 3PTFG% as a freshman before improving those numbers to 65 three-pointers and a 39.2 3PTFG% last year.
 
     Lou Henson coached 41 years and he ranked sixth all-time in career Division I victories with 779 when he left the game in 2005. Henson is the winningest coach at both Illinois and New Mexico State and is one of only 12 coaches in the history of the game to take two schools to the Final Four.
 
     The 2017-18 Lou Henson National Player of the Year Award will be announced on March 31, 2018 at the CollegeInsider.com Awards Event in San Antonio, site of the men's NCAA Basketball Championship.
    
          The Rockets open their season at home vs. Saint Joseph's on Saturday, Nov. 11 at 7:00 p.m. For ticket information, go online or call 419-530-GOLD (4653).