NCAA Division II men’s basketball preseason polls

These conferences have published their 2026‑27 men’s basketball preseason polls.

• Central Atlantic Collegiate Conference (CACC) – Thomas Jefferson University was selected first in the preseason Coaches Poll.
• Central Intercollegiate Athletic Association (CIAA) – Reigning champion Fayetteville State University is the preseason favorite. The reigning champion Broncos placed Travon Cooper II and Joseph Allen III on the Preseason All-Conference Team. Bluefield State also earned two selections with Ellija Preddy and Anthony Davenport.  Avery Huggins of Shaw University and Malachi Dark of Virginia Union University return to the preseason team after earning All-CIAA honors last season.
• East Coast Conference (ECC) – After back-to-back championship runs and a spot in the 2026 Elite 8, the Daemen Wildcats were named preseason favorites.  The Wildcats’ frontcourt leader, Phil Nwugwo, was named Preseason Player of the Year.
• Great Midwest Athletic Conference (G‑MAC) – Walsh was projected to finish No. 1 in the polls, followed by Lake Erie and Ashland.  Lake Erie senior guard Amari Williams is the top returning scorer with 14.5 points per game.
• Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (GLIAC) – Grand Valley State and Lake Superior State each totaled 89 points in the vote and share preseason favorite status in the rankings. GVSU has five first-place votes and LSSU three. Grand Valley will be headlined by forward Shamus Thompson, the team’s returning rebounding leader (6.5 rpg); forward Dylan Smith, who averaged 10.3 points and 6.8 rebounds for Davenport last year; and guard Antuane Allen. Lake Superior State will be led by three returnees — guard/forward Harrison Sorrelle (12.6 ppg, 3.4 rpg), guard Karter Richards (10.2 ppg, 2.8 rpg), the 2025-26 GLIAC Freshman of the Year, and forward Tyler Jamison (8.0 ppg, 4.6 rpg).
• Great Northwest Athletic Conference (GNAC) – After emerging with the 2025-26 title, Saint Martin’s was tabbed the favorite in the preseason coaches poll released.  Senior forward Sylas Williams from Alaska Anchorage was voted preseason player of the year.
• Gulf South Conference (GSC) – Coming off its third regular season title in the last five seasons, West Alabama topped the 2026-27 GSC Men’s Basketball Preseason Poll.  Preseason All-GSC honors went to UAH sophomore forward Jordan Mabe, Lee senior forward Zach Gray, Trevecca Nazarene sophomore point guard Fred Bailey, Valdosta State senior forward Blaise Wallace, and West Alabama junior point guard BJ Brown Jr.
• Lone Star Conference (LSC) – Dallas  Baptist, which lost 76-62 to Black Hills State in the NCAA Division II Sweet 16 last March at home, is predicted to win its third consecutive title.   Oklahoma Christian senior guard Miles Gibson claimed the preseason player of the year honors.
• Mid-American Intercollegiate Athletic Association, Washburn, the defending regular-season and tournament champion, was the easy favorite in the preseason polls.
• Mountain East Conference (MEC) – West Liberty received 11 of 12 total first-place votes, the maximum allowed since league head coaches cannot vote for their own team.
• Northeast‑10 (NE10) – Saint Michael’s will enter the season as the league favorite.  The Purple Knights will return three of their top four scorers from a year ago: Latiek Briscoe, Jr., Quintin Floyd, and Greg Kenney. Floyd was selected to Third Team All-Conference in his rookie season, and he and Kenney were both named to the NE10 All-Championship Team.
• Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference (NSIC) – League coaches selected Minnesota State Mankato as the overall preseason favorite. Caleb Siwek of Minnesota Duluth and Wyatt Hawks of St. Cloud State were projected as the top players.
• PacWest (PWC) – Point Loma is the five-time defending champion and favored to make that six.  The Sea Lions have two starters back from that team and nine returnees overall. The starters are Third Team All-PacWest picks Tyce Paulsen and Andrew Hommes. Downer also added four solid transfers: Kaden Minter (Concordia), Marcellus Edwards (Concordia), Otto Landrum (Boston), and Jaden Karuletwa (Arkansas). Minter was a Second Team All-PacWest selection last year for the Golden Eagles.  Those new pieces will attempt to cover the loss of PacWest Player of the Year Andrew Nagy.
• Peach Belt Conference (PBC) – The Lander Bearcats are the preseason favorites.  Lander had a historic 2025-2026 campaign, as the Bearcats claimed the PBC Regular-Season and Tournament titles, the NCAA Southeast Region title, and advanced to the NCAA Division II National Championship game. Lander finished 17-3 in PBC play and 30-6 overall, winning 15 consecutive games before falling in the national championship game. The Bearcats’ returning class is led by Navaughn Maize, while the roster welcomes several new faces, including Jameel Rideout and Amir Reaves.
• Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference (RMAC) – Defending champion Black Hills State, who advanced to the NCAA Division “Elite 8” before losing 76-66 to Nova Southeastern, is the favorite.  The nine-member preseason team includes two returners from the 2025-26 First Team All-RMAC roster, with Jaeton Hackley and Alex Romack leading the charge. Three Second-Team All-RMAC honorees also feature on the preseason team: Marzouq Abdur-Razaaq (CSU Pueblo), Jason Lee (South Dakota Mines), and Jonathan Moore (Colorado School of Mines).
• Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (SIAC) – Morehouse College is the preseason favorite, and senior Tuskegee guard Kalil Genwright is projected as the player of the year.
• Sunshine State Conference (SSC) – Preseason favorite Nova Southeastern enters the season seeking its sixth consecutive regular-season and tournament championships. The Sharks finished the 2025-26 campaign 19-1 in conference play and 35-2 overall, capturing both league titles for the fifth straight season.

Six conferences have not posted a preseason men’s basketball poll.

• California Collegiate Athletic Association (CCAA)
• Conference Carolinas
• Great American Conference (GAC)
• Great Lakes Valley Conference (GLVC)
• Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC)
• South Atlantic Conference (SAC)