Ohio Valley Basketball: Preseason power rankings for 2024-25

Preston Spradlin is gone. So ho is the new king of the Ohio Valley Conference? After winning two straight OVC regular season titles, the former Morehead State coach has left for James Madison. While three teams tied for last season’s top spot, there has been no question which program in recent years has been the OVC’s best.

During the last four seasons the Eagles were 58-16 in league play and advanced to postseason play three times. Spradlin took two of those teams to the NCAA Tournament and one participated in the National Invitation Tournament. 

Morehead, Little Rock and UT Martin finished in a three-way tie for the regular season championship and the Eagles claimed the league’s tournament title. UT Martin head coach Ryan Ridder also took a new job. He moved to Mercer, so the OVC may be more wide open than ever before. 

Or is it? 

Little Rock and fourth place Western Illinois are chomping at the bit to become to OVC’s new powers. Seventeen of the league’s top-20 scorers and sixteen of its top-20 rebounders are gone. Eleven of its top15 distributors have also left by graduation or transfer. 

Little Rock’s K.K. Robinson was scheduled to return as the OVC’s top returning scorer, assist leader and second in returning rebounds. He was the unquestioned, preseason, player of the year, but a knee injury has clouded his season.

In a league with this much turnover, deciding power rankings is difficult, but in a league destined to be led by its talented point guards, there are some outstanding OVC floor generals. 

Those top three returning scorers are Robinson, Western Illinois’ Ryan Myers and Southern Illinois Edwardsville’s Ray’Sean Taylor. SIUE’s Taylor is the tallest of the three at 6’1. Robinson and Taylor are joined by Southern Indiana’s Jack Campion and Southeast Missouri’s Rob Martin as the four top returning assist men, who stand a shade under 6 feet tall. 

Talented newcomers will be the difference makers in this year’s OVC race.