Center Chris Cenac Jr Collects First Preseason Honor

10/30/2025 8:51:00 PM | Men's Basketball

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Freshman named to Kareem Abdul-Jabbar Center of the Year Top 20 Preseason Watch List

HOUSTON – Preparing for his collegiate debut, University of Houston freshman center Chris Cenac Jr. earned his first preseason honor when he was named to the Kareem Abdul-Jabbar Center of the Year Top 20 Preseason Watch List.

In the Cougars' win over rv/– Mississippi State during The Preview CBB Exhibition inside Fort Bend Epicenter on Sunday, Cenac totaled nine points and added game highs of nine rebounds and four steals.

This was the latest preseason honor from the Basketball Hall of Fame for Houston. Earlier this week, senior point guard Milos Uzan was named to the Bob Cousy Point Guard of the Year Top 20 Preseason Watch List, and senior guard Emanuel Sharp earned a place on the Jerry West Shooting Guard of the Year Award Top 20 Preseason Watch List.

On Wednesday, freshman guard Isiah Harwell was named to the Julius Erving Small Forward of the Year Top 20 Preseason Watch List. Junior forward Joseph Tugler was placed on the Karl Malone Power Forward of the Year Top 20 Preseason Watch List on Thursday.

Houston joined UConn as the only schools in the nation to have a representative at each of the five positions on the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame's Top 20 Preseason Watch Lists.

Fans are encouraged to participate in Fan Voting in each of the three rounds starting Friday. In late January, the watch list of 20 players for the 2026 Kareem Abdul-Jabbar Award will be narrowed to 10, and then in late February, to just five.

In March, the five finalists will be presented to Abdul-Jabbar and the Hall of Fame's selection committee, where winners will be selected.

The Selection Committee is composed of top college basketball personnel, including media members, head coaches, sports information directors, and Hall of Famers.

The winner of the 2026 Abdul-Jabbar Award will be presented on a to-be-determined date, along with the other four members of the Starting Five. Additional awards being presented include the Bob Cousy Award (Point Guard), Jerry West Award (Shooting Guard), Julius Erving Award (Small Forward) and the Karl Malone Award (Power Forward).

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ABOUT CHRIS CENAC Jr.
Cenac – whose last name is pronounced Suh-Nack – was a consensus 5-star recruit by 247Sports, on3, Rivals and ESPN. He was a Top-10 recruit by all national recruiting organizations and was listed as the No. 1 center in the country by 247Sports and ESPN100.

As a senior in 2024-25, he was named to the McDonald's All-American Game and scored 11 points on 5-of-9 shooting with seven rebounds and an assist in win for Team West. He scored 17 points in win over Wasatch Academy to lead Link Academy to EYBL Scholastic Conference Tournament Semifinals and posted 16 points on 6-of-10 shooting with a pair of 3-pointers and eight rebounds in the Bass Pro Tournament of Champions Title Game against Oak Ridge (Orlando).

In the summer of 2024, Cenac was impressive at the NBPA Top 100 Camps, taking home Most Valuable Player honors. He also led Team USA National Team to the Gold Medal at the FIBA Under-17 World Cup in Istanbul and was named the Most Valuable Player of Puma's PRO16 league.

Prior to playing with Link Academy, Cenac spent two seasons at Isidore Newman High School under Coach Randy Livingston in his hometown of New Orleans.

As a junior in 2023-24, Cenac led Isidore Newman High School to its third straight state championship and received All-State Second Team recognition after averaging 13.9 points, 10.2 rebounds, 1.9 steals, 1.7 assists and 1.3 blocks per game.

That year, Cenac posted 19 points with eight assists, four rebounds and three blocked shots in the state championship game against University High School. For that impressive performance, he was named the State Championship Most Outstanding Player.

KAREEM ABDUL-JABBAR CENTER of the YEAR AWARD TOP 20 PRESEASON WATCH LIST

Player	School
Chris Cenac Jr.	Houston
Malique Ewin	Arkansas
Moutstapha Thiam	Cincinnati
Owen Freeman	Creighton
Patrick Ngongba	Duke
Alex Condon	Florida
Tomislva Ivisic	Illinois
Flory Bidunga	Kansas
Jayden Quaintance	Kentucky
Ernest Udeh Jr.	Miami (Fla.)
Aday Mara	Michigan
Rienk Mast	Nebraska
Henri Versaar	North Carolina
Nate Bittle	Oregon
Oscar Cluff	Purdue
Robbie Avila	Saint Louis
Zuby Ejiofor	St. John's
Magoon Gwath	San Diego State
Felix Okpara	Tennessee
Tarris Reed Jr.	UConn

UP NEXT
Cenac and the Cougars begin their 2025-26 regular-season schedule when they play host to Lehigh on Monday, Nov. 3, inside Fertitta Center. Houston will unveil its 2024-25 NCAA Final Four banner on the Fertitta Center concourse, and Sampson looks to make history as he goes for the 800^th win of his career.

Single-game home tickets for all games inside Fertitta Center are now on sale, and fans are encouraged to purchase quickly while supplies last. The two-time defending Big 12 Conference Champions, Houston will play host to 16 home games inside Fertitta Center with seven in non-conference play and nine in Big 12 action in 2025-26.

Fans can purchase single-game tickets by clicking here.

Fans interested in purchasing group tickets may complete this form to be contacted by a member of the Houston Athletics Tickets Sales staff.

BUY SEASON TICKETS
Non-season ticket holders interested in purchasing season tickets are invited to place their names on the Season Ticket Wait List by clicking here.

ABOUT the COUGARS
Houston returns three starters and seven lettermen in 2025-26.

The Cougars will be boosted with the addition one of the nation's top recruiting classes with Cenac, freshman guard Isiah Harwell, freshman point guard Kingston Flemings, freshman guard Bryce Jackson and senior forward Kalifa Sakho.

In 2024-25, the Cougars set a school single-season record with 35 wins and advanced to the NCAA Tournament National Championship Game inside Alamodome in San Antonio, Texas.

Houston, which finished #2 in both national polls, won 31 of its final 33 games to end the season and advanced to the NCAA Final Four for the seventh time in program history – and the second time under Sampson – with a resounding 69-50 win over #6/6 (2) Tennessee during the NCAA Elite Eight in Indianapolis on March 30.

The Cougars swept the Big 12 regular-season and tournament championships in their second year in the league and set school and league records with a 19-1 mark in conference games. Houston became the first school to join a major conference and win the regular-season title in each of its first two years in the league in more than 100 years.

Houston posted a perfect 10-0 record in road games in Big 12 play, becoming the first program in NCAA Division I history to accomplish that feat in a season, and enter the 2025-26 season with the nation's longest active road winning streak at 14 straight games.

SUPPORT YOUR COOGS
Fans can make a direct impact on the success of Houston Men's Basketball by providing NIL opportunities and by joining the 50-50 Club, which provides financial support directly to Houston Men's Basketball for needs beyond its operating budget.

Fans who join the 50-50 Club will receive embroidered Jordan Brand team apparel, invitations to exclusive events, regular updates about the program and much more.

STAY CONNECTED
Fans can receive updates by following @UHCougarMBK on X and catch up with the latest news and notes on the team by clicking LIKE on the team's Facebook page at UHCougarMBK or by visiting the team's Instagram page at UHCougarMBK.

– UHCougars.com –