The Atlantic 10 Conference returned to multi-bid status last season when both VCU and Saint Louis booked tickets to March Madness. As the Billikens danced into the First Round and decimated Georgia, and the Rams outwitted North Carolina in overtime, the A10 took center stage.
With VCU and Saint Louis both welcoming back plenty of talent, and a plethora of returners around the league, including Amaël L’Etang, Jaiden Glover-Toscano, Rikus Schulte, and more, this conference has a real opportunity to build on last season’s success.
It means the Rams and the Billikens will be hard to shake from atop the A10’s standings, but it should help the conference as a whole prove even more competitive.
Dayton will always contend under head coach Anthony Grant. A healthy George Mason might be even better than last season while George Washington looks to turn expectations into reality after falling short the past few years. Saint Joseph’s and Steve Donahue try to carry on the momentum of 2025-26 after surprising many and Mike Magpayo has Fordham trending up like we haven’t seen since 2023. Even the bottom feeders of last season in Loyola Chicago, St. Bonaventure, La Salle and Richmond are looking so much stronger.
Ultimately, the field looks as talented as it has in recent memory. With storylines abounding, only one really matters: Can the Atlantic 10 finally return to three bids in March?
A10 Men’s Basketball Preseason Poll
- VCU (11)
- Saint Louis (10)
- Dayton (2)
- George Mason
- George Washington
- Saint Joseph’s
- Fordham
- Davidson
- Richmond
- Duquesne
- Loyola Chicago
- Rhode Island
- La Salle
- St. Bonaventure
*Number in parenthesis indicates first-place votes received*
The A10 Favorite(s)
VCU
A year removed from winning a co-regular-season title, the conference tournament, and beating North Carolina in an overtime March Madness upset for the ages, VCU is picked atop the preseason poll for a third straight offseason. Between VCU and Saint Louis, there certainly isn’t much to differentiate the two as the rosters currently stand, but it’s hard to pick against a Rams team returning 59.4% of its minutes and an all-conference first-team selection in Lazar Djokovic.
The 6-foot-11 Serbian forward was utterly dominant for stretches last season, averaging 13.2 points, 5.2 rebounds and 1.2 blocks per game while Terrence Hill paced the offense from the backcourt. With Hill now transferring to Tennessee, Djokovic will be relied upon as the foundational returner from that championship squad and VCU’s catalyst on both ends of the floor.
All that lost production though, will allow opportunities for other returners to slide up the rotation after being seen more as secondary contributors this past season. 6-foot-8 senior wing Michael Belle heads into his fourth season with the program and continues to be an elite glue guy whose off-ball impact, athletic skillset and rebounding ability often goes unnoticed.
Junior guard Brandon Jennings is back after starting 35 out of 36 games for VCU in 2025-26 and will resume that same starting role. Not only would he be a good preseason pick for A10 Defensive Player of the Year given he was in the 96th percentile for Defensive Win Share according to CBB Analytics, but Jennings likely takes over the lead ball-handling duties too.
2025-26 A10 Rookie of the Year Nyk Lewis is back as well after starting 35 times himself, averaging 8.7 points per game and shooting 36% from three in his first year at the college level. Aided by a major sophomore jump reportedly brewing, Lewis is the early favorite to help fill that spot vacated by Hill and was selected to the preseason all-conference first team to prove it.
Even the returning reserves like Tyrell Ward, Ahmad Nowell and Jordan Tillery are bolstering with potential and would probably start for other teams around the conference. Not long ago Ward was averaging 9.1 points per game in the SEC, he could see an uptick in minutes. Nowell was a former top-100 prospect and is projected to be VCU’s secondary point guard off the bench. Tillery showed flashes in 12 games as a freshman, like when he had 10 points and three assists against Samford, and has impressed throughout the spring and summer.
Bringing back so much talent sets the baseline for the Rams in 2026-27 but it’s the work that head coach Phil Martelli Jr. and his staff did in recruiting and the transfer portal that takes this team over the top.
Junior guard Blake Harper was the best freshman in the nation back in 2024-25, picked as MEAC Rookie of the Year and Player of the Year while averaging 19.5 points per game. He struggled at times with a move to Creighton this past season but the A10 could be the perfect level for him to land at.
Junior forward Torey Alston, who arrives from Middle Tennessee State where he was All-CUSA Third Team in 2025-26, might just be the ideal counterpart to Djokovic in the frontcourt. Djokovic is stout on the defensive interior but Alston is in the top 3% nationally for rebounding rate. He’ll keep opponents off the glass, smother out second chance opportunities and will even create some for the Rams down the other end.
Add in a pair of highly-ranked freshmen with four-star guard Sammy Jackson and 6-foot-11 four-star forward Collin Ross and VCU is brimming with talent, depth and potential. It’s easy to see why the Rams were picked top-two in Martelli’s second year at the helm and it feels like the only thing that could slow this team down would be the return of an A10 Player of the Year…
Saint Louis
Following a 19-win season in his first year as head coach of Saint Louis, Josh Schertz didn’t disappoint in Year 2. The Billikens went on to win 29 games in his second year, were crowned co-regular-season champions, received an at-large bid to the NCAA Tournament, and orchestrated a dominant win over Georgia in the First Round.
Though there were rumblings in the spring that Schertz was coveted by high-major programs across the country, Saint Louis managed to retain him for at least a little longer with a six-year contract extension. Sure, VCU might have an All-A10 First Team selection and a large portion of its minutes returning, but with Schertz back too, the Billikens aren’t far behind.
Trey Green, Amari McCottry and Kellen Thames were all picked to the 2025-26 All-A10 Third Team for a Billikens group that had an incredible combination of depth and talent. All three are returning with Green being touted as a Player of the Year candidate, McCottry coming off a breakout two-way season and Thames likely to slide in as a starter if he can stay healthy. And all three were honored with preseason nods, with Green and Thames on the first team and McCottry on the second.
6-foot-5 junior wing Ishan Sharma too returns a year after shooting 42% from three on more than 190 attempts and will resume his role as the sharpshooting sixth man in Schertz rotation. Not only did he finish last season in the 93rd percentile for three-point percentage and was 34th in the nation in offensive rating, but Sharma squeaked onto the A10’s Preseason All-Conference Third Team as well.
It doesn’t even end there with 6-foot-5 senior guard Quentin Jones back and bringing his elite two-way skillset to Schertz’s scheme. Often overlooked in a nine-man rotation that could hurt opponents in multiple ways but Jones averaged 9.1 points and 3.0 assists per game with 45/36/80 shooting splits, and all while was in the 96th percentile for Defensive Win Share. Between Green, McCottry, Thames, Sharma and more, Jones is once again flying under-the-radar; opponents must not forget about him in a sea of Billikens blue offensive prowess.
However, the biggest question mark for Saint Louis this offseason was trying to replace 2025-26 A10 Player of the Year Robbie Avila who played all four years under Schertz. 6-foot-11 sophomore forward Jax Kerr is heading into his second season with the program after making 18 appearances as a freshman. His rebounding metrics were particularly impressive in limited minutes, he’s familiar with Schertz’s system, but he’s also reportedly made a big leap since the end of last season.
Sophomore forward and Colorado transfer Alon Michaeli arrived this offseason to battle with Kerr for minutes and looks set to be the first man off the bench behind him. In 31 appearances for the Buffaloes, he averaged 7.1 points and 3.9 rebounds per game but plays more like a guard or wing than a traditional big man.
Boston College transfer Elijah Strong and Marquette signing Sheek Pearson are both in contention for playing time within Schertz’s typical nine-man rotation as well in hopes of bolstering the frontcourt.
However, the positional battle might not even matter in the end with Avila just recently granted a temporary restraining order allowing him to play in 2026-27. If the restraining order for the A10’s reigning Player of the Year does in fact hold, it’s easy to imagine the Billikens leapfrogging the Rams as favorites for the title. He’s been practicing with the team but Schertz remains firm on waiting until his case is officially resolved before letting him play again.
Avila would undoubtedly make a huge difference but even without him actually on the current roster, this group is as talented one through nine as almost any mid-major in the country. It should give Schertz a strong chance at securing yet another at-large bid. Will it be enough to dethrone Martelli and VCU for Saint Louis’ first A10 Championship since 2019?
The Double-Bye Contenders
Dayton
Anthony Grant has led Dayton to more than 20 wins in all but two of his nine seasons as head coach of the Flyers. Those two were his very first season with the program and the shortened 2020-21 campaign. Of course, we can’t forget the 2019-20 season when the Flyers were ranked third nationally and would have been a No. 1 seed at the NCAA Tournament were it not for a pandemic.
However, with Dayton only having actually qualified for the NCAA Tournament once during that stretch some would argue Grant’s tenure has been marked by underperforming. Just one regular-season title between 2018-2026 and a handful of disappointing performances at the league’s championship tournament to show for it.
Junior forward Amaël L’Etang has dealt with the weight of those expectations for the last two years. Billed as a potential NBA prospect when he left France and arrived in the Gem City, it would be fair to say L’Etang hasn’t quite reached those early projections yet either. We finally saw flashes of that potential last season: an 18-point effort to upset Georgetown in overtime, dropping 21 points to defeat George Mason on the road, a 26-point, 10-rebound double-double to upset ranked Saint Louis. This feels like the year L’Etang finally makes good on that potential.
The Flyers figured something out late last February when Grant started playing 6-foot-6 senior forward Jaiun Simon at the five spot as the counterpart to L’Etang. Simon’s stats don’t jump off the page but Dayton had a +13.1 differential in its overall net rating with those two on the floor together. He’s back, taking a lot of the pressure and physicality off L’Etang and providing a level of comfort as the 7-footer looks to take that next step.
With six major contributors lost to the transfer portal or graduation though, Grant and Co. had a lot of work left to do this offseason. 6-foot-8 graduate senior forward Jalen Haynes should ring a bell. He spent this past year at Cincinnati and went down with a season-ending injury just weeks before opening tip-off. However, it wasn’t long ago that Haynes was dominating A10 frontcourt’s on his way to a 2024-25 all-conference first team pick at George Mason. He is still recovering from two knee surgeries and has missed each of the Flyers preseason exhibitions but would be in line for a big role should he return healthy.
The playmaking in this offense will likely be by virtue of a committee featuring Travis Perry, Landen “Dunk” Joseph, Tristian Ford and Zaide Lowey who all arrived in the portal. Perry is a former four-star prospect, Kentucky’s all-time leading high school scorer and just joined from Mississippi where he had a 2.18 assist-to-turnover ratio. Joseph comes from Marshall where he shot 41% from three on 92 attempts while also sitting in the 86th percentile for his assist rate.
Ford redshirted at Murray State as a freshman due to a coaching change but has had some very solid exhibition performances. Lowery, though maybe more of a wing, made 73 appearances at Marquette and averaged 8.1 points and 1.7 assists per game as a junior. The backcourt is definitely the weakest link of Grant’s rotation and lacks experience but the potential is there.
Do not forget about 6-foot-6 freshman guard and top-100 recruit Aiden Derkack either because the early reports on him have not disappointed. In an offense with a lot of uncertainty, the brother of former Flyer Jordan Derkack might just carve out a productive spot right beside L’Etang during his first year of college.
There are more pieces to mention who will play roles like Quinnipiac transfer Grant Randall, returner Malcolm Thomas, maybe even former three-star Jaron McKie. Point being this Dayton team is talented, has depth and should have its rotation better sorted out once conference play arrives. It will be difficult for the Flyers to get into the at-large conversation behind VCU and Saint Louis but L’Etang showed that he can compete with the league’s best. Is this the year Grant finally wins three games at the A10 Championship?
George Mason
When 2025-26 preseason all-conference first team pick Brayden O’Connor went down with a broken foot just minutes into the opening game of last season, it felt like George Mason’s chances of a fourth straight 20-win season were in jeopardy. However, head coach Tony Skinn was able to right the ship and led the Patriots to nine straight wins to start the campaign, opening with a 19-2 record by the end of January. Even though the Patriots came up short late in the season, rumors began to circulate that Skinn might be next up for a high-major coaching opportunity. Though he’s back at George Mason again, another 20-win season would surely cement him as an attractive candidate for a promotion.
With Skinn’s focus firmly in Fairfax ahead of the 2026-27 season, he doesn’t return the most minutes in this league but has the transfer talent to maintain the status quo. But can this group help to secure the double-bye that alluded George Mason last season, to win three games in March, and to finally get this program back to the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 2011?
Literally, the only two returners on this roster who played more than six games last season are 6-foot-9 sophomore forward Emmanuel Kanga and 6-foot-6 senior wing Malik Presley. Kanga is flying under the radar because he missed out on the all-freshman team but in an offense that predicates the center spot he feels like a surefire breakout candidate.
The Gabon native closed last season with a pair of double-doubles, one in an upset of Saint Louis and another at the NIT versus Liberty, quietly filing into the 97th percentile for his efficiency rating. Don’t count out Presley’s breakout potential either as a former Vanderbilt and Texas transfer who got lost in a plethora of contributors last season but could be in line for a bigger role.
Oh and O’Connor is back too, fully healthy heading into his final season of eligibility and while the projections might not be as high as they once were he still earned a preseason all-conference third team nod.
There is still one more key player back for Skinn, albeit, with a caveat. 6-foot-3 senior guard Baraka Okojie was a 2023-24 A10 All-freshman selection at George Mason during Skinn’s first year in charge. He departed for Memphis shortly after and rode the bench before ultimately emerging at Mercer this past season, averaging 19.7 points and 5.3 assists per game. He returns to Fairfax and will be the Patriots most dominant on-ball player at both ends of the floor and just maybe, the best scoring point guard in the entire conference.
With Kanga, O’Connor and Okojie likely to make up three-fifths of the starting lineup, there is plenty of transfer talent on this roster to help fill in some of the major gaps. 6-foot-3 sophomore guard Makhai Valentine averaged 13.3 points per game and took almost 200 three’s while at Northern Illinois. He will play the No. 2 beside Okojie. 6-foot-8 senior forward Elijah Jones is the other probable frontcourt starter after averaging 13.1 points and 5.4 rebounds per game while shooting 39% from deep at UTEP. He’s the perfect spacing complement to Kanga’s downhill dominant skillset.
In fact, between Kanga, Jones, 6-foot-9 Michael Marcus Jr., 6-foot-9 Emmett Adair, 7-foot James Nnaji, 6-foot-9 Ryan-Preston Mendy and 6-foot-8 four-star freshman Shane Pendergrass, there is so much size for a head coach who is adept at using it.
It felt like George Mason had plenty of size and depth last season given how players like Kory Mincy and Ryan Allenspach really stepped up in the wake of O’Connor’s injury. Well, it feels like the Patriots might have even more size and depth this season and we haven’t even mentioned Butler transfer Efeosa Oliogu-Elabor or reported breakout candidate Lilian Marville. Skinn might have lost a lot of talent this offseason but the incoming group he’s built has the potential to take last season’s performance up a notch and finally power through in February and March.
George Washington
Despite steadily hovering around or above .500 during his first four years as head coach at George Washington, Chris Caputo is yet to return the Revolutionaries to conference relevancy. With Rafael Castro back last season, GW was picked fourth in the A10 and Caputo led the way to a respectable 19-16 record overall. But the Revs fell short of the league’s expectations as Castro tried to battle through an early February injury while his team managed just five wins from its last 14 games and finished tied for eighth in the standings.
With Castro, Trey Autry, Garrett Johnson, Luke Hunger and more all departing for the portal themselves, 6-foot-3 senior guard Jean Aranguren is literally the only returner who played more than four games. Even still, the expectations are high once again with George Washington selected fifth in the A10’s 2026-27 Preseason Men’s Basketball Poll. The major difference being Caputo and Co. took a ton of high upside international and transfer swings to match those lofty expectations.
Aranguren as the real lone returner isn’t necessarily the worst thing either. He really shined from late February on when the Revolutionaries let him have the keys to their offense, exemplified by his triple-double against Duquesne or a 16-point, 10-rebound, 6-assist performance to help upset George Mason. He also quietly climbed into the 91st percentile for assist rate and now brings back a level of comfortability with Caputo’s system.
Though Aranguren is set to run the offense, that means this Revolutionaries rotation will be entirely consistent of newcomers who the point guard desperately has to bring up to speed. When you look at the roster it’s hard to ignore the potential though thanks to a plethora of high-major signings in Omari Witherspoon, Dylan James, Terrance Arceneaux, Andrija Vukovic, Ryder Frost, Felix Kossaras and Aidan Shaw.
Between Ricky Lindo Jr., Brendan Adams, Babatunde Akingbola, and of course Castro, it’s clear Caputo has found a niche in recruiting underappreciated high-major talent and developing them at the A10 level. Well he bought a whole lottery ticket worth this offseason with those seven high-major additions, but there’s reasoning behind each acquisition made.
Witherspoon could be the ideal off-ball pair with Aranguren after starting 25 games in 33 appearances as a freshman at Pitt. He was forced to play a really big role in his first season of college and that inexperience showed in his efficiency but the A10 will allow him space to work out the kinks. James is listed at 6-foot-9 and managed to carve out a decent role over three seasons at Georgia where he played 87 games, was in the 90th percentile for offensive rebounding and graded out well defensively. Arceneaux spent last season at NC State but was once a defensive menace for a Houston team that went to the National Championship in 2025.
The 6-foot-11 Vukovic is an absolutely massive human who takes up a ton of space, has a good defensive IQ, is really strong on the glass and should rotate with James. Frost is a former top-100 prospect who spent his freshman season at Notre Dame and shot almost exclusively three’s for the Irish. Kossaras arrives from Colorado where he made 57 appearances and looks like the prototypical 3-and-D wing that thrives in this era of basketball. Shaw never quite found his footing between stints at Missouri and Boston College but was always a steadily decent high-major contributor.
6-foot-8 graduate senior forward Lovro Urbiha too will battle for minutes in the frontcourt after arriving from Slovenia’s Liga OTP banka and adding 15 points in GW’s preseason exhibition with Georgetown.
Long story short there is a lot of uncertainty around who will play what roles and for how many minutes outside of Aranguren but the ceiling on this team’s potential feels sky high. How will each of the new acquisitions translate to this level is yet to be seen but Caputo has seemingly found his recruiting niche and is going all in on what’s brought him past success. But it undoubtedly makes George Washington one of the conference’s hardest teams to gauge this offseason.
Saint Joseph’s
Last season seemed like it was over before it started on Hawk Hill as former head coach Billy Lange walked out weeks before opening day and left Steve Donahue to pick up the pieces. Saint Joseph’s struggled through the first two months which ultimately culminated with Deuce Jones’ departure before the end of December. From there on in, Donahue spearheaded one of the greatest turn arounds in recent A10 memory. The Hawks won 13 of their last 16 games in conference play, grabbed the third seed at the league’s championship, earned a bid to the NIT, and eventually, Donahue won A10 Coach of the Year.
A major reason for that late season resurgence was the development of 2025-26 all-conference first teamer Derek Simpson who excelled once handed the lead offensive role. He’s now gone, at Providence fighting for a fifth-year of eligibility, and leaves a young core of returners behind in his place.
6-foot-6 junior wing Jaiden Glover-Toscano arrived from St. John’s last offseason having played less than 150 minutes of college basketball. He surpassed all expectations by starting 34 games for the Hawks, averaging 15.7 points per contest and earning an All-A10 Second Team selection. Glover-Toscano is still relatively young and inexperienced which offers him more room to grow but even returning an all-conference nominee in general is a big deal and sets the baseline in Philadelphia.
2025-26 All-A10 Freshman and 6-foot-4 sophomore guard Austin Williford is back as well and expected to make a pretty significant sophomore leap. He already played 26.3 minutes per game in his first year at the college level and showed some strong two-way ability but will be given even more offensive freedom in year two. He’ll likely average double-digits this season as the development comes through but Donahue and his staff have spent the offseason promoting Willford’s All-Defensive Team potential instead.
After initially entering the transfer portal earlier this spring, 5-foot-10 junior guard Khaafiq Myers announced his return to Hawk Hill on April 23. He’s listed as a junior but this will actually be Myers’ second season after redshirting as a true freshman and he too is reportedly on the verge of a year two jump. Myers averaged 5.1 points and 2.3 assists per game last season with an assist-to-turnover ratio in the 91st percentile while primarily coming off the bench. Now, he’ll be the starting point guard and lead facilitator.
St. Joe’s had the 55th most efficient defense in the nation last season and Donahue has made it clear with his incoming signings he intends to maintain that defensive identity. Davidson transfer and 6-foot-11 graduate senior forward Sean Logan is one of the best shot blockers in the country when healthy and is an ideal replacement for Co-Defensive Player of the Year Justice Ajogbor. Maine transfer and 6-foot-3 senior guard Logan Carey looks the perfect two-way role player for the Hawks, sitting in the 90th percentile for assist rate and the 96th for steals per game.
There’s been a lot of talk surrounding 6-foot-3 freshman guard and former three-star recruit BJ Ranson as well who committed from Mount St. Joseph’s High School in Baltimore, Md. The son of St. Joe’s associate head coach Bino Ranson, BJ was the Baltimore Catholic League Player of the Year, MaxPrep’s Maryland State Player of the Year, and figures to fill some of the minutes beside Carey.
That’s just six players though and leaves a pretty massive gap in the Hawks frontcourt where Donahue desperately needs another newcomer to step up. 7-footer and Oregon State transfer Gavin Marrs is an interesting candidate while Division II signee and CIAA Rookie of the Year Donovan Flamer is a bully, but both are inexperienced.
It feels like there’s so much that could go wrong on Hawk Hill this season. What if Glover-Toscano, Williford or Myers don’t make that jump? What if Sean Logan can’t stay healthy? What if Carey doesn’t translate from the America East or nobody steps up in the frontcourt? There is bound to be adversity again this season, but rest assured with Donahue in charge, he’s probably going to get more right than wrong.
The Mushy Middle
Fordham
Fordham head coach Mike Magpayo breathed some life into this program once again during his first year at Rose Hill. With the Rams picked to finish dead last in the A10’s 2025-26 Preseason Men’s Basketball Poll, Magpayo led his team to a 17-15 record and its second-highest finish in the A10 in almost 20 years. He did so with a defense that ranked as the 80th most efficient in the nation according to KenPom, while decimating opponents on the boards. But with an offense that often struggled to keep up.
With the majority of Fordham’s frontcourt from a season ago returning to The Bronx for year two the playstyle will look fairly similar with a strong defensive interior and the conference’s best rebounding unit. Support is quietly building around 6-foot-9 senior forward Rikus Schulte as a potential A10 Player of the Year candidate if Fordham’s growth is as significant as some seem to think. He almost averaged a double-double last season, was in the 97th percentile for his rebounding percentage, the 98th for his defensive win share and earned a spot on the preseason all-conference second team.
6-foot-11 junior center Jack Whitbourn only played 11 games last season due to a back injury but might have been the league’s top rebounder when healthy, exemplified by his 99th percentile rebounding rate. 6-foot-10 senior forward Akira Jacobs essentially plays on the wing and is this group’s closest thing to a stretch four or floor spacer having shot 33% from deep last season on 132 attempts. 6-foot-10 sophomore forward Abass Bodija and 6-foot-7 sophomore forward Roor Akhuar are both young but flashed potential as freshmen and have plenty of room for growth.
That’s almost half of last season’s minutes back and probably the strongest overall frontcourt unit in the entire A10. But Magpayo knew he would have to try and improve on last season’s 257th ranked offense especially with the departure of Dae Dae Reaves and Christian Henry. In comes Albany transfer and 5-foot-11 junior guard Amir Lindsey joined by Stepehen F. Austin transfer and 6-foot-2 senior guard Lateef Patrick Jr.
Lindsey plays with a game similar to Reaves in that he’s capable one-on-one and likes to get to the mid-range but isn’t afraid to shoot threes or attack the rim. The major difference being Lindsey also has a little Henry in him with more than enough playmaking to run the offense. Patrick is coming off a historic season for a Lumberjacks team that just set a program record with 20-wins in conference thanks to his eccentric scoring all over the floor. He is a two-way pest and doesn’t shy away from having the ball in his hands for the most important moments of the game.
But there’s also tons of potential waiting in the wings for Magpayo like St. John’s transfer Kelvin Oidh, former Miami recruit JJ Laboy and local three-star product Hassan Koureissi. Odih is a 6-foot-4 athletic freak who brings a ton of length and jumps out of the gym. Laboy has been heralded for his court vision and defensive tenacity after making a couple appearances for the Hurricanes. While seemingly nobody around this Fordham program can stop themselves from talking about the freshman Koureissi and his early impact over the summer.
It feels like people forget the Rams ended last season tied for eighth-place in the A10 with George Washington after winning seven of their last 11 regular-season games. Well returning a large portion of minutes from last season, getting fully healthy and improving on your team’s deficiencies feels like a recipe for success. It’s why seeing Fordham picked as low as 10th or 11th in some A10 Conference previews or rankings feels out of touch and almost criminal. The Rams are going to smother opponents out with physicality and rebounding just like last season but should have a healthy and more well rounded offense to match this time around.
Davidson
Head coach Matt McKillop had managed an overall record just below .500 over his first three years after taking over for his father, Wildcats legend Bob McKillop, and had never finished better than eighth in conference. That all changed last season when Davidson defied its 11th place preseason ranking with 20 wins, finished sixth in the A10 and garnered a bid to the NIT. Not only was it the Wildcats first postseason appearance since 2022, but a major step in the right direction for an inexperienced head coach still learning the ropes in an ever changing landscape.
Davidson found its success with a balanced attack of three-point offense and the 85th most efficient defense in the nation while McKillop maintained a deep rotation. Well a key portion of that rotation will return in 2026-27 with all the experience they gained during the trials, tribulations and triumphs of last season. The Wildcats welcome back 45% of their minutes, three starters, two key bench pieces and one double-digit scorer in 6-foot-6 senior forward Josh Scovens.
Scovens has shown an ability to shoot the three before and averages 31% from deep but it’s not what’s made him so successful in McKillop’s offense. He’s extremely well built for 6-foot-6 and will bully similar sized opponents down low but he’s also quicker off the dribble than your average 6-foot-9+ defender. He created so much perimeter space for Roberts Blums, Parker Friedrichsen and Hunter Adam who combined for 182 made three’s last season, but with all three now gone that production will be hard to replicate.
6-foot-3 senior guard Sam Brown shot 39% from three over two years at Penn and was even in the 92nd percentile for his three-point offense as a freshman but struggled upon moving to Davidson. He shot a career low 27% on three’s last season with 125 attempts and McKillop is desperately hoping his veteran two guard has a bounce back campaign on the horizon.
6-foot-2 redshirt sophomore guard Nick Coval will likely be thrust into a bigger role this season after primarily coming off the bench and shooting 37% from three on 74 attempts. McKillop trusts Coval who was quietly in the 87th percentile for his true shooting percentage, and needs him to take a significant step with more responsibility in his second year actually on the floor.
7-foot sophomore center Ian Platteeuw has been billed for a big breakout by all who were around to watch him practice this past summer. He already started 26 games for the Wildcats as a freshman, is a very solid defender on the interior, is fantastic on the boards and has great offensive touch around the rim. A second year Platteeuw breakout would absolutely see Davidson surpass its preseason expectations once again.
But that still leaves a lot of three-point production leftover from the loss of Blums, Friedrichsen and more, so St. Thomas transfer and 6-foot-4 redshirt sophomore guard Nick Janowski was brought in. The 2025-26 Summit League’s Rookie of the Year averaged 16.1 points per game on 34% from three and typically took more than five shots a night from behind the arc with an ability to finish at the rim too.
6-foot-4 graduate senior guard John Carter Jr. is an incredible story having last played at Navy where he was a 2021-22 All-Patriot League pick before serving for four-years in the Marine Corps and just now returning to college basketball. Butler transfer and 6-foot-5 sophomore wing Jackson Keith will be one to keep an eye on too after making 26 appearances as a freshman in the Big East.
This Davidson team certainly isn’t as deep as last season’s when McKillip was running 11-12 different players in his rotation and there are legitimate questions about the development of Brown, Coval and Platteeuw. However, returning as many pieces as this program did while adding shooting, experience and potential from the portal makes it hard to see a major fall off in the future at Belk Arena barring any injuries. Will it be enough to get the Wildcats above .500 for a second straight season and finally put together a competitive run at the A10 Tournament?
Richmond
An unexpected A10 regular-season championship back in 2023-24 brutally ended by an early bow out in the quarterfinals of the conference tournament felt like it cursed Richmond. The Spiders haven’t been above .500 since, have twice gone 5-13 in league play, and maybe most damning, have failed to win another game at the A10 championship.
With the banks of the James River seemingly closing in on head coach Chris Mooney as the Richmond faithful become restless, the Spiders are going to have to show some growth this season. Returning 6-foot sophomore guard Aiden Argabright is a great place to start after an All-Freshman campaign. He arguably should have been the A10’s Rookie of the Year having averaged 10.8 points per game and really ran Richmond’s offense in his first year of college.
Back too is Collin Tanner who has made 67 career appearances for the Spiders, Will Harper III who dropped 17 points at Saint Louis, and Donovan Richardson and Dylan Homenick who both redshirted last season. None will be nearly as important as Argabright but the continuity is useful.
Lots of the offseason conversation surrounding this team has been on the signing of three transfers from respected high-major programs in Jamie Kaiser Jr., Jack McCaffery and Dominick Stewart. Both Kaiser and McCaffery joined from Butler with varying levels of experience. Kaiser started 29 times and averaged 9.5 points per game while McCaffery, the son of Penn’s Fran McCaffery, just finished his freshman season. Kaiser’s potential at the A10 level feels gigantic and he very well could be the next all-star transfer Mooney hits on. McCaffery obviously brings a pretty big pedigree and just had 14 points in a preseason exhibition with James Madison.
Stewart started 24 out of 32 games at Penn State last season, shot 35% from deep on over 110 attempts from behind the arc and was in the 88th percentile for his assist-to-turnover ratio. It’s hard to imagine his game not translating to the A10 level as a standup three-point shooter and a floor spacer for Argabright.
6-foot-5 senior guard Derin Saran is the perfect alternative to Stewart at the two guard spot as a two-way transition scorer and off ball cutter who started 35 games at UC Irvine last season. Maybe the biggest contingency point though for an offense that’s dependent on playmaking and connecting at the center spot is 6-foot-11 sophomore forward Amon Dörries. The German native averaged 16.2 points per game at Bucknell and spent the summer with his nation at the U20 European Championship. Richmond remains optimistic that his game will translate up from the Patriot League.
And even if the Dörries experiment doesn’t quite work out, 6-foot-9 graduate senior, Monmouth transfer and experienced veteran Andrew Ball will be there to pick up some of the slack. He was never really a starter or a highly productive contributor in the CAA but has good length and athleticism, is a versatile defender and can be a decent offensive role player.
Much like this Richmond team has been overlooked in the early preseason, three-star recruit and 5-foot-9 freshman guard Sam Simmons Jr. was overlooked because of his height. Despite holding an offer from Tennessee, Kansas’ Gatorade Player of the Year chose the Spiders and a head coach who has tons of experience with undersized guards.
In a rotation that’s likely to feature seven or eight newcomers to the roster, the importance of that continuity from Argabright can’t be understated. He already led all A10 freshman in scoring and steals last season but Richmond will need him to take another step up in order to run Mooney’s offense and wrangle the recent arrivals. If Keiser is as good as some are projecting, Stewart and Saran rotate off each other well, Dörries brings value in the A10 and Argabright makes that leap, the Spiders will finally break the curse and get back above .500.
Duquesne
Taking over for the legendary Keith Dambrot in the wake of an NCAA Tournament appearance was no easy task but Duquesne head coach Dru Joyce III has shown steady progress. He led the Dukes to 13 wins during his first year in charge and returned for year two with 18 and a seventh-place finish in the A10’s standings. However, most of the talent that helped elevate Duquesne last season like Tarence Guinyard, Jimmie Williams, Alex Williams and more, were expected to be out of eligibility.
So, Joyce and his staff went about rebuilding their roster with ambitions of taking another jump in year three at the helm. A few staples remain like former walk-on turned key contributor Jake DiMichele, Brandon Hall who started 14 games last season, even 6-foot-10 Frederik Jellum who redshirted his true freshman year. But Duquesne’s initial rotation was really developed by the work Duquesne’s staff did in recruiting transfers and freshmen with 11 new additions arriving in Pittsburgh.
6-foot-6 junior wing Yoav Berman might be one of the most interesting players in the conference. He did a little bit of everything on the offensive end at Queens in that he uses his size and physicality well inside, can play on the perimeter where he’s shot 34% for his career, and is not afraid to be an initiator with his passing. But he’s not the best defender given a lack of traditional speed and athleticism for his position.
That said, Berman’s skillset fits well with 6-foot-3 senior guard Josh Smith who just transferred in from West Georgia and is particularly offensive minded too. As the 2025-26 ASUN Sixth Man of the Year, he averaged 16.1 points per game on 35% from three, albeit, in one of the worst defensive conferences by KenPom. But he is still a proven scorer and somebody not afraid to play off the ball to the other primary pieces in this Dukes rotation.
6-foot-5 junior guard Izaiah Pasha was initially brought in to help run the offense. He really struggled with a move to Virginia Tech last season but not long ago was the CAA’s Rookie of the Year when he averaged 11.9 points and 3.9 assists per game at Delaware. Pasha was in the 93rd percentile for his assist rate and shot 60% on attempts at the rim that season as an athletic, downhill, scoring point guard.
6-foot-9 junior forward Kerem Konan joined from Creighton and has reportedly showcased some all-league potential throughout the summer and fall. 6-foot-11 senior center Ege Demir is a fantastic rebounder and graded out well defensively in his limited minutes at Oregon. 6-foot-8 senior forward Stephen Olowoniyi didn’t get on the floor much at Oregon State but averaged 13.9 points per game and shot 59% as a sophomore at Southern Indiana.
Even with all the new pieces in place, it still felt like Duquesne was missing something as one open scholarship opportunity remained. That is, until August 10 when the Dukes finally unveiled to the world that there would be once more All-A10 First Team selection back for the 2026-27 campaign: Tarence Guinyard. The 6-foot-2 graduate senior was granted a fifth-year eligibility injunction as a member of the class of 2022 and opted for a return to UMPC Cooper Fieldhouse.
This team looks entirely different than it did a season ago when Guinyard thrived. Gone is his sidekick in Jimmie Williams, the roles are varied, even a couple of the assistant coaches are new. But if his eligibility is upheld for the season’s duration, Guinyard’s re-addition undoubtedly makes the Dukes’ potential way higher than anybody around the conference initially thought.
Of course Guinyard will provide his typical scoring and playmaking but he allows Pasha to play more off ball, he can feed Konan down low who will attack the rim and draw fouls, all the while Demir is one of the conference’s premier cleanup men inside. Maybe that’s the vision Joyce had all along and it might just be good enough to get this program back to 20 wins.
The Rest
Loyola Chicago
Loyola Chicago legitimately might have been the biggest disappointment in the country last season. After receiving multiple first-place votes and being picked fifth overall in the A10’s 2025-26 Preseason Men’s Basketball Poll, the Ramblers won just nine games the entire season.
Head coach Drew Valentine’s team needed a buzzer-beater on opening night to escape with a win against Cleveland State at home and it was all downhill from there as Loyola lost nine of its next 11 games. All the while the program’s KenPom ranking dropped from 99th on opening day to 301st by regular-season’s end as the Ramblers finished tied for last in the A10’s standings with St. Bonaventure.
Whether by choice or not Valentine essentially started from scratch this offseason in hopes of quickly moving on from a historically bad year in Chicago. With nine pieces from last season portaling elsewhere, Loyola returns just two players: 6-foot-5 sophomore guard Nic Anderson who made 27 appearances as a freshman, and 6-foot-8 graduate senior forward Xavier Amos who was one of the Ramblers better players last season after recovering from injury. Amos is a likely lock for a starter role given his familiarity with the system but you would like to see some more offensive consistency from a player who shot just 39%.
That opening night against Cleveland State might have felt like the spark for a catastrophic season at Gentile Arena but if some good did come out of it, look to 6-foot-8 junior wing Dayan Nessah. He had a double-double of 25 points and 11 rebounds against Loyola on that fateful night, undoubtedly caught the attention of Valentine, and is now on the other side in a Ramblers jersey. Nessah had trouble getting established in the A10 as a freshman at George Washington but maybe his high-usage game translates better the second time around a year stronger and wiser.
6-foot-5 graduate senior guard Donald Hand Jr. was the best player on an absolutely abysmal Boston College team last year, but he was also incredibly inefficient with shooting splits of 33/23/71. He’s likely to progress back to the mean for a career 36% three-point shooter at high volume and the A10 might just be the perfect level to help Hand rediscover his shooting form, but this too feels like a major gamble.
He did just announce himself with a team-leading 20 points and five assists in an exhibition versus DePaul, but how will 6-foot-5 senior guard and France native Guillaume Grotzinger translate to the college game? Will a move down from the Big East help to unlock the talent of 6-foot-3 sophomore guard and former top-100 prospect Chris Jeffrey? Which Ryan Agarwal are we going to see in Chicago: the one that shot 35% from three last season or the one that made just 29% of his 146 three-point attempts as a junior?
Even in the frontcourt we’re left asking how will 6-foot-10 senior center Jason Schofield translate up from the Metro Conference? Will either 6-foot-9 senior forward Elias Rapieque or 6-foot-9 junior center Malick Diallo be able to compete for minutes after both really struggling at the high-major level?
Maybe the biggest gamble of them all is with the return of 6-foot-4 graduate senior guard Jayden Dawson who’s back on the roster after receiving a fifth-year eligibility injunction. He left to spend his senior season at Kansas and struggled but Dawson knows how to win in this league given he helped win 20+ games twice. If his injunction holds, he could single handedly pull Loyola out of the bottom four.
Evidently the key word here is gamble. For this team to be most successful it feels like almost every Rambler newcomer has to meet a lofty potential, or translate up a level, or have a bounce back season, or in the case of Dawson, just stay eligible. Each leg added to the parlay only makes it more difficult to win that illustrious payout. Unless, you just happen to hit on every pick. Good news is that at the very least, Loyola will be much better than last year with that nine-win disaster behind the program.
Rhode Island
The Archie Miller-era at Rhode Island has been nothing short of a disappointment. The Rams have only managed a record above .500 once during his four years at the helm, have never finished better than 10th in the A10’s standings and have failed to win a single game at the conference championship. Many questioned if Miller should even return for the final season of his five-year contract.
With new athletic director Pat Lyons only getting the job in March it would have been a hasty decision to fire Miller and so he’s back, desperately trying to get this program going in a better direction. Well, Miller has something his team’s have lacked over the last four years: continuity. Rhode Island has been 212th or lower in KenPom’s minutes continuity every year under Miller except 2024-25 when he returned a quartet of contributors.
In fact, the Rams were able to bring back two of their top three scorers from last season starting with 6-foot-6 senior wing Jahmere Tripp. Tripp began his career in-conference with Fordham but really took off this past season when he arrived in Kingston with aspirations of becoming a lead contributor. There were rumblings of his potential while at Fordham but Tripp surpassed any preconceived expectations, averaging 12.0 points per game while in the 88th percentile for player efficiency rating and the 85th for defensive win share.
He is joined by 6-foot-3 graduate senior guard Jonah Hinton, another inter-conference transfer from St. Bonaventure who really skyrocketed when given more playing time. He started 27 out of 29 games for the Rams, averaging 12.6 points and 2.1 assists per contest. There have been reports that he’s made some strides this offseason with both Tripp and Hinton selected to the A10’s preseason all-conference third team as proof.
6-foot-3 sophomore guard Jalen Harper is back after making 26 appearances as a freshman, including an eight-point, six-rebound, two-assist performance in an upset of Saint Louis. He’s likely to grow into a bigger role with a potential second year leap brewing.
6-foot-9 graduate senior Mouhamed Sow joined from Saint Peter’s last offseason and made just five appearances before a lower leg injury forced him to miss the remainder of the season. He too is back, expected to play a significant role as a starter in the Rams frontcourt if healthy and was a valuable defender during his time with the Peacocks.
Though that’s more production than Miller has typically returns, it still leaves plenty of gaps to fill within his rotation. Credit to the Rams staff for finding a couple high upside, mid-major additions who should translate well to the A10 level.
6-foot-1 graduate senior guard Dylan Williamson joins from Towson and is an easy plug and play into the point guard spot. He almost single handedly beat Rhode Island last year when he dropped 25 points and dished three assists on the Rams, which evidently caught the attention of Miller.
Lithuania native and 6-foot-9 sophomore forward Matas Deniusas might be the team’s most interesting offensive weapon as a stretch four who made 34% of his three’s, can rebound, but isn’t afraid to create opportunities for teammates either. He’s maybe not a true forward at the A10 level but his offensive-centric skillset makes him a solid fit beside Sow.
UC Santa Barbara transfer and 6-foot-6 senior wing Jason Fontenet II took a big leap from his freshman to sophomore year before missing the majority of last season with injury. Rhode Island will try to recapture some of what worked so well for him in 2024-25 when he was a two-way rebounding machine who could play either on or off the ball.
This isn’t the most talented roster or even the deepest in this league but this group might give Miller his best shot at finishing outside the A10’s bottom five. Will it be enough to earn him a one-year contract extension on a prove it deal? I don’t know. But there’s potential for growth and progress here, and that should excite Rhody fans heading into the 2026-27 campaign.
La Salle
Sure, there are potentially seven all-conference players back in the A10 give or take a few pending fifth-year injunctions. One returner who’s not getting enough credit though: Rob Dockery. He was a borderline all-conference selection last season and led the Explorers in scoring after exploding late but was first cut when the league released its awards in March. His return, along with 35% of last season’s scoring production, gives head coach Darris Nichols a great opportunity to build heading into his second year with this program.
The importance of Dockery’s return can’t be understated. He’s a 6-foot-6, 210-pound guard who uses his physicality to get downhill and dominate defenders at the rim where he shoots 62%. There truly aren’t a lot of guards in the A10 who will be able to stop Dockery from getting to the basket.
But he won’t have to go in alone, joined by 6-foot-9 graduate senior Jerome Brewer Jr. who, despite dealing with his own consistent injuries, stepped into a big offensive role for the Explorers last season. According to CBB Analytics, there was a +6.1 differential in La Salle’s overall net rating and a 3.7% increase in its effective field goal percentage when Brewer was on the floor. The Explorers desperately need him to stay healthy.
Lead playmaker Jaden Johnson is back too after his own injury plagued campaign in which he made just 19 appearances but averaged 4.1 assists per game. Not only was he in the 95th percentile for assist rate and the 97th for assist-to-turnover ratio, but La Salle turns the ball over 4.2% less when he runs the offense.
With a plethora of downhill scoring and the lead point guard back, if there is one thing the Explorers desperately needed it was three-point shooting. In fact, they were the 341st worst three-point offense in the nation by KenPom’s metrics and shot just 29.8% from behind the arc last season. So Nichols and Co. scoured for transfers with three-point offense clearly at the forefront of La Salle’s newly acquired portal class.
6-foot-3 senior guard Kam Burton started all 34 games at Stephen F. Austin and helped power the Lumberjacks to a historic 28-win campaign with his Southland-leading three-point shooting. He connected on 43% from deep with just under 180 attempts, was 128th in the country in offensive rating and is exactly what this Explorers offense needed.
Niagara transfer and 6-foot-8 senior forward Vice Zanki fits into a similar category having averaged 8.1 points per game while shooting 39% from three on more than 110 attempts. Nichols loves versatility from his frontcourt group and Zanki’s ability to stretch the floor will make it easy for him to carve out a role in La Salle’s rotation.
6-foot-7 senior forward Anthony Finkley dealt with a last second coaching change at Saint Joseph’s this past season and his production took a major hit. Prior to that, he was playing 24.6 minutes per game and shooting 40% from three on over 100 attempts beyond the arc. La Salle is hopeful it can recapture some of Finkley’s sophomore year form, but even so, the Philadelphia native plays with a physical toughness that’s emblematic of the city and fits Nichols style.
This staff spent the summer building on last season’s deficiencies but adding all this offensive talent begs the question of who will lead the frontcourt and keep opponents off the glass? It’s why the return of 6-foot-9 graduate senior Noah Collier feels so important. He played just three games last due to injury but is easily the closest thing to a true Division I big man the Explorers have.
There is a running theme here. Last season hinged on injuries for La Salle as only two players featured in all 32 games. This season too could hinge on health between Brewer, Johnson, Collier and more who’ve all spent extended time on the trainer’s table. If the Explorers can keep the vast majority on the court for the entire season, it’s hard to imagine a roster that’s returning all this talent and adding even more offensive weapons doesn’t at least take a step in 2026-27.
St. Bonaventure
The early tenure of general manager Adrian Wojnarowski has been met with disdain from St. Bonaventure fans and it seemingly all came to a head late last season with the announcement of Mark Schmidt’s retirement. Though some feel their legendary head coach was forced out, hope springs anew as the program tries to get back on track under newly acquired head coach Mike MacDonald.
MacDonald has spent his entire career in the western half of New York State. After graduating from St. Bonaventure, he initially took a graduate assistant job at Canisius and eventually worked his way up to head coach of the Golden Griffins. He struggled with his first lead opportunity though, failed to make the NCAA Tournament in nine years and only won 20 games once.
However, a stop at Division III Medaille allowed him the opportunity to refine his approach on the sidelines before ascending to Division II Daemen. There, he posted a winning percentage of 76%, won three conference championships and qualified for six NCAA Tournaments.
There is always bound to be growing pains for a recently hired head coach in a new conference, and one getting his first taste of Division I basketball since 2006 at that. But it’s hard to deny the success MacDonald has had over the past 20 years. With continuity, size, breakout potential and the right system in place, the Bonnies might just have a chance to surpass their limiting preseason expectations.
Now, no, St. Bonaventure isn’t returning a ton of production from last season with Joe Grahovac, Achille Lonati and Ilia Ermakov the only players back who featured in more than three games. But continuity in that, MacDonald is bringing over two of his top veteran pieces from a Daemen team that just won 33 games and advanced to the Elite Eight.
6-foot-4 senior guard Zach Philipkoski is coming off a 2026-27 ECC Player of the Year campaign in which he finished in the 99th percentile for player efficiency rating prior to joining the Bonnies. 6-foot-10 redshirt senior forward Benjamin Bill too arrives in Allegany after averaging a career-high 17.0 PPG and was actually selected ECC Player of the Year the season before Philipkoski. Transitioning to the Division I level is no small task and particularly in a conference like the A10, but Bill and Philipkoski have potential to be two of the nation’s top Division II signings.
Of course, you’ve got the 6-foot-10 Bill and the 6-foot-10 Grahovac, but there is legitimately positional size everywhere for St. Bonaventure. 6-foot-9 Ryan Kalambay was in the 97th percentile for block percentage at Detroit Mercy and will help form a tough defensive interior. 6-foot-7 Ari Fulton from NJIT is an athletic, downhill scorer if his game translates up to the A10 level. 6-foot-6 Ermakov is being touted as a breakout candidate in his sophomore season and reportedly spent the summer training with fellow Russian and current Brooklyn Nets guard Egor Demin.
Even the transfer acquisitions coming from the high-major ranks are brimming with size and potential between 6-foot-7 Mason Blackwood from Penn State and 6-foot-6 Akbar Waheed III of Boston College. Blackwood is already showing his capabilities with a 15-point effort in a preseason exhibition against his former program, even though he will now miss some time to a foot injury. Waheed seemingly isn’t there quite yet himself but offers room to grow as a former three-star prospect and the son of current Bonnies’ assistant Akbar Waheed.
Is this realistically a potential top-half roster? Probably not. There is a lot of development, experience and offensive consistency missing here. However, MacDonald’s history of success combined with the work of Wojnarowski and Co. in the transfer portal gives this St. Bonaventure team a higher ceiling than most expected if all goes right in 2026-27.