220. Robert Morris Colonials- Last Season Ranking: 282
Conference: Horizon League
Player to know: Cam Wilds
The Colonials made the NCAA Tournament last year with a loaded roster, only to have all their players transfer. There was no other team in the sport who were destroyed by the transfer portal like Robert Morris was. The roster is inexperienced at the Division 1 level and might struggle this year.
219. Delaware Blue Hens- Last Season Ranking: 247
Conference: Coastal Athletic
Player to know: Cavan Reilly
Delaware almost completed the dream season but lost in the CAA finals. The Blue Hens finished with 16 wins, but most of those came at the end of the year in the conference tournament. Coach Martin Inglesby lost much of his talent from last year, but did bring in some players with high ceilings from the transfer portal.
218. Fort Wayne Mastodons-Last Season Ranking: 138
Conference: Horizon League
Player to know: Corey Hadnot
Jon Coffman-coached teams have been known to put points on the board at a high clip. The problem arises at the defensive end of the floor. The Mastodons still do enough every year to compete in Horizon League, but it's a one-bid league, so if you don't win the conference tournament, no NCAA tournament. Heading into this season, the Mastodons got a lot younger, and that isn't usually a good thing.
217. Queens Royals- Last Season Ranking: 294
Conference: Atlantic Sun
Player to know: Chris Ashby
The Royals won 20 games last year but struggled, finishing 7th in the Atlantic Sun conference. The 2025-2026 season isn't as good as last year. The roster is young and inexperienced, and Queens lost a lot of talent from last year. I wasn't high on the Queens roster the previous year either.
216. Princeton Tigers- Last Season Ranking: 70
Conference: Ivy League
Player to know: Dalen Davis
Everyone thought Princeton was a lock to run the table in the Ivy League last year. It was only an offseason removed from the Tigers making the Sweet 16. Princeton never got it together, finished third in the Ivy League, and then lost the Ivy League's best player to Florida. Princeton will still make Ivy Madness, but it isn't the team to beat anymore.
215. Quinnipiac Bobcats- Last Season Ranking: 198
Conference: MAAC
Player to know: Amarri Monroe
Tom Pecora has guided his team to over 20 wins and two regular-season MAAC titles over the last two seasons. The only thing missing is the NCAA Tournament, which Quinnipiac has never made. The Bobcats have the best player in the MAAC and a roster that is good enough to make the NCAA Tournament.
214. Louisiana Ragin Cajuns- Last Season Ranking: 155
Conference: Sun Belt
Player to know: Karris Bilal
Quannas White is the new coach for Louisiana, and he is known in the industry for his recruiting prowess. Looking at the current 2025-2026 roster, you can see the influence he had on recruiting. The players on the roster may not have done much yet in their careers, but all were highly ranked and all have tremendous ceilings.
213. Long Beach State 49ers- Last Season Ranking: 261
Conference: Big West
Player to know: Shaquil Bender
Long Beach State enters year 2 under Chris Acker after winning only seven games in 2024-2025. Teams that don't win flip the roster to find anything they can see that might lead to a winning recipe. The 49ers are the next team to flip their entire roster in the transfer portal, hoping to find a winning formula.
212. Northeastern Huskies- Last Season Ranking: 208
Conference: Coastal Athletic
Player to know: LA Pratt
The Huskies had their first winning season since 2020, but it still didn't result in a postseason appearance for Northeastern. The 2025-2026 season looks to be another rebuild for head coach Bill Coen. The Huskies lost their top three scorers and have many new faces.
211. Milwaukee Panthers- Last Season Ranking: 176
Conference: Horizon League
Player to know: Amat Aguillard
Head coach Bart Lundy has turned Milwaukee into a perennial power in the Horizon League. The Panthers have yet to make the NCAA Tournament under Lundy, but they have won 20 games each year and enter the current season as one of the favorites in the Horizon League again. He found a ton of talent in the transfer portal, and the depth may be better than any other team's.
210. North Dakota State Bison- Last Season Ranking: 218
Conference: Summit League
Player to know: Damari Wheeler-Thomas
Don't ever sleep on the Bison. Over the last few seasons, North Dakota State has lost a lot of talent to Power 5 schools and still managed to win enough to finish near the top of the Summit League. This season, the Bison flipped a lot of the roster in the transfer portal, but they are still going to be good enough to finish near the top of the league.
209. Navy Midshipmen- Last Season Ranking: 295
Conference: Patriot League
Player to know: Austin Beningi
The Navy made the Patriot League title game last year before getting blasted by American. The Midshipmen return their entire team from 2024-2025 and enter the 2025-2026 season as one of the favorites in the Patriot League. The Navy is trying to make the tournament for the first time since the 1997-1998 season.
208. Monmouth Hawks- Last Season Ranking: 217
Conference: Coastal Athletic
Player to know: Kavion McClain
Monmouth started last season 0-8 before finishing 13-11, making the record a little more respectable. Head coach King Rice enters the season with a younger roster full of question marks. The Hawks lost one of the best scorers in the country to the transfer portal and are hoping that the returning players can develop quickly and win some games.
207. Campbell Fighting Camels- Last Season Ranking: 306
Conference: Coastal Athletic
Player to know: Cam Gregory
The Fighting Camels have been so close to winning the Big South a lot over the last decade, but have never been able to get over the hump. That led Campbell to bring in John Andrzejak to coach the team. The Fighting Camels were able to retain some key pieces, but they are primarily in a rebuild mode for a few seasons.
206. Colgate Raiders- Last Season Ranking: 214
Conference: Patriot League
Player to know: Jalen Cox
It was odd to see someone else win the Patriot League last year while Colgate finished third. The Raiders didn't have their usual depth, and it showed in a few close games down the stretch. Head coach Matt Langel didn't lose anyone to the transfer portal, and Colgate has an experienced roster that can win the league again this year.
205. Marist Red Foxes- Last Season Ranking: 243
Conference: MAAC
Player to know: Elijah Lewis
Marist was 20-5 and in the driver's seat in the MAAC until they promptly lost their last 5 games of the season. 20-10 is still the best record the Red Foxes have had in the previous 18 years. The 2025-2026 team is running it back, with almost everyone returning from last season's 20-win team. This could be the year for Marist.
204. La Salle Explorers- Last Season Ranking: 168
Conference: Atlantic 10
Player to know: Josiah Harris
Fran Dunphy has retired, and the Explorers decided to hire Darris Nichols, who is now the former coach of the Radford Highlanders. Nichols brought many of his former teammates with him to La Salle to try to compete in the Atlantic 10. It may take a few seasons for the Explorers to start trending upwards, but Nichols will get them to play hard and play smart basketball.
203. Lipscomb Bisons- Last Season Ranking: 143
Conference: Atlantic Sun
Player to know: Mateo Esmeraldo
The Bison ran the table in the Atlantic Sun last season and made the NCAA Tournament. Unfortunately, that was a one-year deal because the roster was gutted by graduation and the transfer portal, and former coach Lennie Acuff is off to Samford. New head coach Kevin Carroll won at Trevecca, but that was Division II. This roster isn't going to win much this year.
202. Western Carolina Catamounts- Last Season Ranking: 258
Conference: Southern
Player to know: Cord Stansberry
It is hard to win at a high level when your team has one of the worst offenses to go along with one of the worst defenses in the country. Head coach Tim Craft needed to fix that quickly, and he went out to the transfer portal and did just that. He adds quality talent from the portal, with two of his top two scorers from last year. The Catamounts will be much improved.
201. Northern Colorado Bears- Last Season Ranking: 193
Conference: Big Sky
Player to know: Brock Wisne
The Bears have been a force under head coach Steve Smiley, and they do it with efficient offense. Northern Colorado made just over half of its shots last season, which was the best rate in the country. Unfortunately, many of those players are no longer on campus, and the Bears have many new pieces.
200. Vermont Catamounts- Last Season Ranking: 92
Conference: America East
Player to know: TJ Hurley
The Catamounts are a powerhouse in the America East. They rarely lose a conference game, and Vermont rarely loses in the Conference Tournament. Those two things happened last year, as they lost in the conference tournament and some conference games to finish in second place behind Bryant. The roster doesn't matter for the Catamounts; they are going to win the America East.
199. UMass Minutemen- Last Season Ranking: 117
Conference: MAC
Player to know: Marcus Banks Jr.
UMass headed into last season as a team ready to take the next step in the Atlantic 10, but then head coach Frank Martin and the Minutemen took a giant step back and only won 12 games. This year, UMass begins play in the MAC for the first time, hoping to be consistently more competitive. This season, the roster has some pieces but not enough, and they are a middle-of-the-pack team in the MAC.
198. Pacific Tigers- Last Season Ranking: 297
Conference: West Coast
Player to know: Elias Ralph
Head coach Dave Smart had a lot of success at Carleton. The first year at Pacific didn't go as anyone in the program had wanted. Smart, like any successful coach, flipped the roster and secured a lot of older talent that should thrive in the WCC. The Tigers will be much better.
197. Omaha Mavericks- Last Season Ranking: 320
Conference: Summit League
Player to know: Tony Osburn
Omaha dominated the Summit League and made its first NCAA Tournament appearance last season. The star players entered the transfer portal; a key addition from the portal passed away in the offseason. The tumultuous offseason has left the Mavericks' roster with many question marks.
196. William & Mary Tribe- Last Season Ranking: 231
Conference: Coastal Athletic
Player to know: Jo’el Emanuel
The Tribe was one of the better teams in the CAA last season, and no one talked about it. William & Mary may have turned a corner by hiring coach Brian Earl and his heavy three-point offense. The Tribe is going to shoot a ton of threes and will make a lot of them. The CAA is loaded at the top, though.
195. Cal Baptist Lancers- Last Season Ranking: 146
Conference: WAC
Player to know: Dominique Daniels
The Lancers have consistently been one of the better teams in the WAC under head coach Rick Croy. Last year was no different as the team finished third in the WAC. Heading into the current season, coach Croy has a good crop of players returning who will put them near the top of the league again. Daniels will be the WAC player of the year.
194. Appalachian State Mountaineers- Last Season Ranking: 122
Conference: Sun Belt
Player to know: Jalen Tot
Head coach Dustin Kerns will make sure to get the best out of his players, and they are always a threat to make a deep run in the Sun Belt and make the NCAA Tournament. This year, the Mountaineers will have to do it with some lower-division transfers and freshmen. Either way, they are going to defend and play very deliberate offense.
193. Bowling Green Falcons- Last Season Ranking: 257
Conference: MAC
Player to know: Javon Ruffin
Bowling Green hired Todd Simon to get them back to the tournament. After a 20-win first season and 14 wins last year, things have not worked out as planned. That might be until this year, coach Simon has a roster built to win this year. He loaded up on talented transfers and has built a deep MAC roster. The Falcons are a MAC sleeper.
192. Marshall Thundering Herd- Last Season Ranking: 151
Conference: Sun Belt
Player to know: Matt Van Komen
Corny Jackson guided his team to 20 wins and a top-half finish in the Sun Belt, but the offseason was unkind. The Thundering Herd lost a ton of talent from last season and is going to need some transfers to hit the 20-win plateau. The roster doesn't have the firepower that past Marshall rosters have had.
191. Charlotte 49ers- Last Season Ranking: 129
Conference: American
Player to know: Damoni Harrison
The second year under head coach Aaron Fearne did not go nearly as well as the first. The team was too reliant on a single player to carry the scoring load, and there was no depth. Coach Fearne scoured the transfer portal and got guys who put up good offensive numbers last year to score more points and win games.