Former Nansemond River High School basketball standout Dontrell Brite has a strong reputation that precedes him now at the college level.

The University of Mount Olive senior guard was recently named to The Sporting News 2015-16 Preseason Division II All-America Second Team.

“It’s big,” Brite said of the honor. “I feel like I kind of turned a few heads last year, so there’s bigger expectations for me this year.”

Both he and the Trojans experienced some unprecedented success during the 2014-15 season and earned some accolades to go with it.

Brite set the Mount Olive record with 196 assists and came only seven steals short of another school record, with 72, while also averaging 13.8 points per game.

He ranked first in the conference and 21st in the nation with a per-game average of 5.3 assists, and he was named the 2014-15 Conference Carolinas Men’s Basketball Player of the Year, as well as being a Division II Bulletin Fourth Team All-America and National Association of Basketball Coaches All-Southeast Region First Team selection.

Because of the year Brite had and because the Trojans advanced as far as the Elite Eight, Nansemond River coach Ed Young figured Brite would get preseason acclaim like he is receiving now.

“That honor doesn’t surprise me, and I’m very happy for him,” Young said. “He’s a Division I point guard playing at the Division II level.”

Last season, Brite helped the Trojans achieve a 31-4 record, their first-ever 30-win season. They won the Conference Carolinas regular season title and the NCAA Division II Southeast Regional championship, the latter of which gave them their second trip to the Elite Eight in school history.

The Trojans also set schools records during the regular season with their 9-0 start and their 17-game winning streak.

This season, Brite said, “I’m really just focusing on my team goals, for the most part.”

His team goals are ambitious but logical after a season like the one Mount Olive just had.

“With the pieces we’ve got, I feel like we could win a national title this year,” Brite said. “We didn’t win the conference championship game last year, so that’s something we need to do this year. That was one of the few games we had lost. I’m not expecting to go undefeated, but I don’t really see us losing with the team that we have.”