190. Wright State Raiders- Last Season Ranking: 191
Conference: Horizon League
Player to know: Bryan Etumnu
The Raiders struggled under first-year head coach Clint Sargent; they still had one of the country's best offenses. Unfortunately, the defense was one of the worst in the country. The 2025-2026 season is a full-on rebuild for Wright State with zero double-digit scorers on the roster and six freshmen.
189. Missouri State Bears- Last Season Ranking: 207
Conference: Missouri Valley
Player to know: Michael Osei-Bonsu
The Bears underachieved last year, winning only 9 games. I know that Cuonzo Martin was in his first year, but no one expected them to be as bad as they were. Coach Martin flipped the roster to try to find the right recipe for wins in the Valley. It could be another rough year for Missouri State, but they should be better.
188. Fordham Rams- Last Season Ranking: 161
Conference: Atlantic 10
Player to know: DeJour Reeves
Fordham hired Mike Magpayo from UC Riverside to turn the program around. Magpayo has been in the league long enough for some conclusions to be made, and those are that the Rams are going to be an elite rebounding team, play extremely fast, and not turn the ball over. Those will all lead to wins. The Atlantic 10 is tough, but Fordham is going to be much improved in year 1.
187. Oakland Golden Grizzlies-Last Season Ranking: 169
Conference: Horizon League
Player to know: Khoi Thurmon
Head coach Greg Kampe has been at Oakland since the school moved to Division 1. That means it is easy to tell how his teams are going to play: as fast and as physical as possible, while letting it fly from deep as many times as necessary to win a game. The Golden Grizzlies will live by the three and die by the three. This year looks like a live year.
186. Florida Gulf Coast Eagles- Last Season Ranking: 204
Conference: Atlantic Sun
Player to know: Rahmir Barno
Florida Gulf Coast made the postseason last year, but it wasn't the postseason tournament that head coach Pat Chambers or the Eagles fans wanted. The Eagles have yet to make the NCAA Tournament under coach Chambers, and the window may be closed for a while. Florida Gulf Coast looks like they are entering a rebuild period for 2025-2026.
Conference: Sun Belt
Player to know: Robert Davis
Old Dominion hired Mike Jones with the hope that he would turn the program around, as he did at Radford. The Monarchs loaded up in the transfer portal and come into the 2025-2026 season as a team that should have a ton of scoring and be one of the favorites to win the Sun Belt.
184. Samford Bulldogs- Last Season Ranking: 148
Conference: Southern
Player to know: Jadin Booth
The Bulldogs are in for some regression this year, considering that former head coach Bucky McMillon left to take a power conference job. Samford hired Lennie Acuff from Lipscomb to take over, and he will keep Samford competitive in the Southern Conference even if there is some regression this year. The roster has a lot of new pieces to Samford, but not to coach Acuff, as they followed him from Lipscomb.
183. Southern Jaguars- Last Season Ranking: 248
Conference: SWAC
Player to know: Michael Jacobs
Southern ran through the SWAC last season but came up short in the SWAC tournament. The Jaguars are running it back, but the roster is arguably better this year after they added a lot more talent from the transfer portal. The SWAC is much better this year, so the Jaguars will face some competition at the top of the league.
182. Portland State Vikings- Last Season Ranking: 225
Conference: Big Sky
Player to know: Terri Miller Jr.
There were not many people who likely watched Portland State play much last year, me included, but what I did see was exciting basketball. The Vikings play fast and run an efficient offense that is run mostly inside the three-point arc. The defense is exceptional, and they have two of the best players in the Big Sky. They are a favorite in that league this year.
181. Sam Houston Bearkats- Last Season Ranking: 115
Conference: Conference USA
Player to know: Po’Boigh King
Sam Houston, which experienced a coaching change, has undergone a rebuild over the last two seasons. The positives are that they were one of the best offensive teams in the country last year. Unfortunately, their defense was among the worst in the country. The roster will score, but the defense still has questions to answer.
180. San Diego Toreros- Last Season Ranking: 288
Conference: West Coast
Player to know: Kjay Bradley Jr.
San Diego finally has a competitive roster for head coach Steve Lavin. Do the Toreros have enough to finish in the top half of the West Coast Conference? Probably not, but they have enough to strike fear into teams and keep games much closer. They are a middle-of-the-pack team in the WCC.
179. Texas State Bobcats- Last Season Ranking: 165
Conference: Sun Belt
Player to know: Kaden Gumps
Head coach Terrence Johnson will turn Texas State into a Summit powerhouse. He needs to start getting talented players and building depth. The roster this season has a lot of talent, but much of it came from the transfer portal. The team will have to gel to be successful, but they will knock off some teams they are not supposed to beat.
178. Eastern Kentucky Colonels- Last Season Ranking: 280
Conference: Atlantic Sun
Player to know: Juan Cranford Jr.
There is a lot to like with the Colonels. They play the fastest 40 minutes in basketball, love to run, and have a roster that thrives in those situations. Eastern Kentucky may have the best starting five in the Atlantic Sun, but the overall depth outside of those five is questionable at best. The Colonels are the favorite for the Atlantic Sun.
177. Rice Owls- Last Season Ranking: 237
Conference: American
Player to know: Nick Anderson
Rice is trending up under current head coach Rob Lanier. He will be able to bring in a new type of player for the Owls and, hopefully, take the program to new heights. The roster was in desperate need of star power and depth. Those two things were accomplished in the portal, and Rice might surprise this year.
176. Texas Arlington Mavericks-Last Season Ranking: 163
Conference: WAC
Player to know: Miles Goodman
KT Turner took over the UT Arlington program, intending to turn them into a power in the WAC, and given how the first year went, that is a possibility. The Mavericks still had a losing record, but player development and competitiveness were back. The roster this year is full of quality transfers and high-ceiling players who will make the Mavericks better quickly.
175. South Alabama Jaguars- Last Season Ranking: 236
Conference: Sun Belt
Player to know: Chaze Harris
Richie Riley has turned the Jaguars into a consistent power in the Sun Belt Conference. They haven't made the tournament under coach Riley yet, but he's a good coach who will get a team there. South Alabama has a new roster from the transfer portal and won't win the league, but they won't be a slouch either.
174. Abilene Christian Wildcats- Last Season Ranking: 162
Conference WAC
Player to know: Bradyn Hubbard
Abilene Christian finished in the top half of the WAC last year with a .500 record at 16-16. That says more about the overall depth of the WAC than it does about the Wildcats. Abilene Christian plays an aggressive defense that forces teams to slow down to a snail's pace and led the country in turnovers last season. The only problem was that they couldn't score.
173. Youngstown State Penguins- Last Season Ranking: 180
Conference: Horizon League
Player to know: Bryson Dawkins
The Penguins have been trending up over the last few seasons, and it has been due in large part to their ability to get a lot of big-time transfers. Youngstown State has a lot of big-time transfers on the roster this season, who are all going to contribute. The Penguins shoot threes, rebound, and protect the rim. They are one of the favorites in the Horizon.
172. Incarnate Word Cardinals- Last Season Ranking: 329
Conference: Southland
Player to know: Davion Bailey
Incarnate Word finished with 19 wins last year, doing so with exceptional three-point shooting and efficient offense. The Cardinals were much improved, but still couldn't get over the hump in the Southland. Head coach Shane Heirman improved this roster on both ends of the floor, and Incarnate Word has to be one of the favorites in the Southland for 2025-2026.
171. Cornell Big Red- Last Season Ranking: 158
Conference: Ivy League
Player to know: Cooper Noard
Cornell finished second in the Ivy League last year behind Yale, which dominated the league. Let me bring you up to speed if you have never watched the Big Red play basketball: three's, three's, and more three's. Cornell, under head coach Jon Jaques, has consistently been one of the better three-point shooting teams in the country. They now have the talent to compete near the top of the Ivy League consistently.
170. Indiana State Sycamores- Last Season Ranking: 159
Conference: Missouri Valley
Player to know: Sterling Young
The Sycamores had one of the best offenses in the country; they were a high-volume, three-point-shooting team that was highly efficient. The problem was that Indiana State also had one of the worst defenses in the country. Head coach Matthew Graves brought in a ton of talent from the transfer portal. I know the Sycamores will score, but can they defend?
169. South Dakota State Jackrabbits- Last Season Ranking: 185
Conference: Summit League
Player to know: Joe Sayler
168. Montana Grizzlies- Last Season Ranking: 171
Conference: Big Sky
Player to know: Money Williams
Montana won the Big Sky regular season and tournament championship and headed back to the NCAA Tournament for the first time since the 2018-2019 season. Last season, the Grizzlies showed why they are the premier program in the Big Sky. They are a consistent top-of-the-league performer every year, and everyone is always chasing them. The Grizzlies have the Big Sky Player of the Year this year.
167. Radford Highlanders- Last Season Ranking: 263
Conference: Big South
Player to know: Jaylon Johnson
Radford enters the Zach Chu era, and with that comes a rebuild. The 2025-2026 roster features a single player who earned a minute for the Highlanders last season. Coach Chu has built a talented roster, but there is no experience playing in the Big South. Radford is a couple of years away from returning to the Big South.
166. Brown Bears- Last Season Ranking: 182
Conference: Ivy League
Player to know: Landon Lewis
Brown finished 6th in the Ivy League last year, which shows the league's overall depth, especially at the top. The Bears and head coach Mike Martin lost a lot of talent in the offseason to graduation and the transfer portal, and given the overall strength of the Ivy League, it isn't ever a good time to be young and rebuilding.
165. Bethune-Cookman Wildcats- Last Season Ranking: 308
Conference: SWAC
Player to know: Daniel Rouzan
The Wildcats won 17 games for the second season in a row and played power conference schools tough. This year, head coach Reggie Theus has assembled arguably one of the best rosters in SWAC history. Bethune-Cookman is the overwhelming favorite to win the SWAC this year, and they will beat the rest of the field by a lot of games. The Wildcats are going to get somebody — or somebodies-in non-conference play this year.
164. Wyoming Cowboys- Last Season Ranking: 221
Conference: Mountain West
Player to know: Leland Walker
Wyoming didn't have a good first season under head coach Sundance Wicks, winning only 12 games. Don't get used to that because the Cowboys will likely never be that bad again under coach Wicks. He has significantly upgraded the talent at Wyoming, and the Cowboys will be much improved.
163. Hofstra Pride- Last Season Ranking: 175
Conference: Coastal Athletic
Player to know: Cruz Davis
It was strange to see a Speedy Claxton-coached team struggle so badly on the offensive end of the floor last year, but that is precisely what happened. Hofstra finished among the worst offensive teams in the country. Coach Claxton went out and brought in some scorers from the transfer portal, hoping to see the Pride take their place near the top of the league.
162. High Point Panthers- Last Season Ranking: 102
Conference: Big South
Player to know: Rob Martin
High Point qualified for its first NCAA Tournament in school history last year, and then head coach Alan Huss left the Panthers to go back to Creighton. That prompted the star players to enter the transfer portal, leaving new coach Flynn Cayman scrambling to fill the roster. He was able to find some stars in the portal, but I do question the depth. High Point takes a step back this season.
161. Ohio Bobcats- Last Season Ranking: 120
Conference: MAC
Player to know: Jackson Paveletzke
Some things are always going to be true for the Bobcats under head coach Jeff Boals. The first is that they will score points at a high clip. The second is that they are never out of the MAC race. They are always competitive in the league and are always a threat to win it. If the defense improves, they are a threat to make the tournament.