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Bridgewater, NJ -- NEC men’s basketball squads are set to go on a Shark hunt in 2025-26.
 
With each of the league’s nine head coaches on board, the target has been placed on the back of a hungry LIU program that has been on the up-and-up in recent years. Reeling in nine first-place votes in the annual NEC Preseason Coaches’ Poll, the Sharks were named the unanimous favorite to bring the chip back to Brooklyn for the first time since 2017-18.
 

2025-26 NEC Men’s Basketball Preseason Coaches Poll                      1. LIU (unanimous)                      2. CCSU                      3. Stonehill                      4. Mercyhurst                      5. FDU                      6. Chicago State                      7. Saint Francis                      8. Wagner                      9. Le Moyne                      10. New Haven    First place votes in parentheses

 
Picked to win it all four times prior to this year’s vote, LIU has lived up to those high expectations twice in 2011-12 and 2012-13 during their historic NEC three-peat. Only three other programs have turned the preseason favorite/NEC Tournament champ trick since the first iteration of the projected order-of-finish was conducted in 1987-88.
 
Coming off back-to-back regular season titles and a run to the 2025 NEC Tournament title game, Central Connecticut emerged as the top challenger to the Sharks, landing second in the poll. After a rebound year, Stonehill, which was picked to finish last in 2024-25, looks to make noise in the league after being slotted third in the preseason rankings.

A strong impression in its NEC debut a season ago landed Mercyhurst fourth-place accolades while FDU, a squad that came just shy of making its second tournament championship appearance in the past three years, was voted fifth.
 
Two programs that will embark in new eras with shake ups in regimes were next in the poll, as Chicago State and Saint Francis were ranked sixth and seventh, respectively. Wagner, (8th), Le Moyne (9th) and NEC newcomer New Haven (10th) rounded out the rankings.
 
The NEC revealed the results of the poll, along with the five-member Preseason All-Conference team, as part of #NECMBB Media Week on Monday, October 27.

Conducted annually, NEC coaches have only managed to correctly forecast the eventual league champion three times in the last 26 years. Over the last 38 seasons, their predictions have been accurate on only five occasions, or just 13 percent of the time.
 
Each NEC program will once again play a 16-game double round-robin schedule that begins on Friday, January 2. The 2026 NEC Men’s Basketball Championship will remain an eight-team playoff format with all games taking place at the home of the higher seed. Tournament dates are set for March 4, 7 and 10.
 
Mercyhurst is now eligible for the NEC Tournament, with New Haven set to join the postseason ranks starting in 2026-27.
 
If Le Moyne or Mercyhurst, both reclassifying institutions, wins the NEC Tournament championship, the tournament runner-up will advance to the NCAA Tournament as the NEC's automatic qualifier, per current policy. In instances where two reclassifying members reach an NEC final in men's and women's basketball, the NEC will stage an "AQ Qualifier" game between the two non-advancing semifinal teams. This will serve as a decisive game to determine the team that will secure the NEC's spot in the NCAA Tournament.
 
There’s a buzz building in Brooklyn and LIU fans have every reason to be optimistic with an experienced squad taking on the role as the team to beat in the NEC for the first time since 2019-20. Former NBA all-star and fourth-year head coach Rod Strickland has key weapons in his arsenal to bring a gritty — and hungry — Sharks squad back to the summit of the NEC for the first time since 2017-18. This year’s roster includes a pair of NEC all-stars and preseason All-NEC selections in showstopping guard — and elite scorer — Malachi Davis (Scarborough, Canada/Central Tech (Tallahassee CC/Lake Land College/Arizona State)) and swingman Jamal Fuller (Toronto, Canada/Central Tech (Hill College/Academy of Art)). Six other returnees, including 2024-25 NEC All-Rookie forward Shadrak Lasu (Winnipeg, Canada/Northstar Prep), a rim-runner and shot-blocking force, will also be at Strickland’s disposal, and with 60 percent of the team’s scoring back in the fold from a 12-4 squad that was on the brink of a banner-raising season a year ago, the best may be yet to come for LIU in 2025-26.
 
In took just two short years for Central Connecticut skipper Patrick Sellers and his Blue Devils to get back to their winning ways. After finishing in the second half of the league rankings in his first two years at the helm, Sellers, a two-time Jim Phelan NEC Coach of the Year, has brought the regular season crown to New Britain in back-to-back years to end what was a 17-year title drought for the Blue and White. There’s a void in the roster with the loss of six players that were among the top seven scorers, a group that was moments away from the program’s first NCAA Tournament bid since 2007, but sophomore forward and All-NEC selection Darin Smith Jr. (Springfield, MA/Vermont Academy) along with junior forward Max Frazier (Pittsboro, NC/Northwood (Siena)) and graduate guard Jay Rodgers (Pickerington, OH/Cochise College (New Orleans)) will provide a solid foundation for the Blue Devils. In addition, Roddy Jones (North Babylon, NY/Cheshire Academy/St. John the Baptist), a touted shooter who redshirted last season, and Arkansas transfer Melo Sanchez (San Diego, CA/Veritas Prep (Arkansas)) are expected to inject additional firepower into Central Connecticut’s offense this season.
 
Stonehill hit some speed bumps during an injury-plagued campaign in 2023-24 but bounced back and turned a big corner with an impressive five-win NEC improvement and a sixth-place showing in the league standings. The Skyhawks thrived from long range last season and head coach Chris Kraus’ system will be built around a pair of familiar faces in 2025-26. Senior forward Ethan Meuser (Shavertown, PA/The Hill School/Wyoming Secondary) and All-NEC preseason pick Hermann Koffi (Quebec City, Quebec/Polyvalente de Thetford Mine) — a 2024 All-Rookie Team honoree — accounted for 37.3 percent of their team’s makes from deep, and will serve as the centerpieces to that long distance-reliant offense that went 7-3 in games that they combined to shoot 41.0 percent or better from downtown. 
 
After earning the reputation as a powerhouse at the Division II level, the Lakers made a splash in their NEC and Division I debut in 2024-25, going 15-16 overall and 9-7 against conference competitors for a third-place finish in the standings under the direction of the program’s winningest coach in Gary Manchel. Mercyhurst’s roster features eight returnees from that squad, including graduate student Bernie Blunt III (Morgantown, PA/Peddie School (Edinboro/Quinnipiac)), a seasoned shooting guard who became the second player in as many seasons to grab one of five spots on the All-NEC Preseason Team.
 
The Knights were on the doorstep of an NEC semifinal upset of Central Connecticut, last year’s top-seed, that would have propelled them back to the postseason’s title game for the second time since 2023. Head coach Jack Castleberry, who was a member of an FDU coaching staff that masterminded the second-ever 16-over-1 upset against Purdue two seasons earlier, has brought the Knights to new heights — literally — in his third season at the helm. The skipper has hit the recruiting trail hard to bring in four Division I transfers that have nine seasons and 171 games of combined experience under their belts. In addition, the Knights, who were deemed the smallest of 363 Division I teams in their magical season in 2022-23 with an average height of 6-1, have stretched that length to 6-5 thanks in part to the addition of Eastern Kentucky transfer Cyril Martynov (Barrie, Ontario/Lawrenceville School (Georgia Tech/EasternMichigan/Eastern Kentucky)), the program’s first seven-footer since Oscar Okeke (2018-21).
 
Launching a new era in the Windy City with the hiring of head coach Landon Bussie, it’s not hard to like Chicago State’s chances of ascending the NEC ladder this season. The Cougars’ skipper, who brings 11 years of DI coaching experience to the South Side, is no stranger to program turnarounds. In just his second year at the helm of Alcorn State in 2021-22, he guided the Braves to their first SWAC regular season crown since 2001-02. Bussie has reshaped the roster with a wealth of experienced transfers, including Marcus Tankersley (Chattanooga, TN/Hamilton Heights Christian Academy (Alcorn State)), a seasoned rim-runner who followed a 16.6 point-per-game season at Detroit Mercy in 2023-24 with a 10.6-point scoring average last year at Alcorn State. Veteran big CJ Delancy (Jonesboro, AR/Valley View (LIU)) is back for his senior year to help lead the frontcourt.
 
It will be a new era — but a familiar look — for the 2025 NEC Tournament defending champs this season. Following the retirement of Rob Krimmel, a Red Flash baller who spent 29 years at his alma mater as a student-athlete, assistant coach and men’s basketball coach, Saint Francis grad and 13-year staffer Luke McDonnell (’12) was elevated to head coach for the 2025-26 campaign. Seven players return from last season’s squad, including senior guard Chris Moncrief (Turtle Creek, PA/The Kiski School (Evansville)), who came on strong down the stretch and supplied 15 points in SFU’s comeback semifinal win at LIU to help bring the coveted NEC Tournament trophy back to Loretto for the first time since 1991.
 
Wagner rolls out a team that features 10 newcomers in 2025-26. The Green and White have enjoyed one of the most successful stretches in recent years with a regular season crown in 2021, a trip to the NEC title game in 2022 and an NEC Tournament championship in 2024. This year, a balanced mixture of youth and experience will look to add another piece of hardware to the Seahawks’ trophy case on Grymes Hill. Sophomore forward Zavier Fitch (Chicago, IL/Brother Rice) flashed his athleticism and potential during a promising debut season on Grymes Hill.
 
Le Moyne went 4-12 a year ago but that record was quite deceiving for sixth-year head coach Nate Champion and his Dolphins. The three-point heavy offense, which yielded a league-leading 74.1 points per game, found itself on the wrong end of some tightly contested battles against NEC foes with seven of the team’s 12 setbacks decided by single digits, including a pair of overtime defeats to FDU and eventual tourney champ Saint Francis. Champion has transformed The Heights into a transfer hot bed, attracting five DI ballers to Syracuse from the likes of North Florida, Saint Peter’s, Texas A&M Corpus Christi, Radford and Utah Tech. Redshirt sophomore forward Deng Garang (Syracuse, NY/Bishop Grimes), a local product with an inside-outside game, found his groove in mid-February, averaging nearly 13 points over his final six outings.
 
No stranger to winning with five NCAA Division II Tournament appearances in 16 years at the helm, New Haven longtime head coach Ted Hotaling hopes to continue that success in the program’s first-ever NEC campaign and Division I debut. Sophomore guard Najimi George (Bridgeport, CT/Kolbe Cathedral), a talented local who earned NE10 All-Rookie Team distinction a year ago, along with a trio of Division I transfers — Kheni Briggs (Kennapolis, NC/The Burlington School (UAlbany)), Stefano Faloppa (Portogruaro, Italy/Holy Cross Prep (UT Martin)) and Jagger Bascombe (Franklin Square, NY/St. Mary ((Marist)) — highlight a youthful Chargers’ roster that will field 12 true freshmen in their maiden voyage.
   
NEC Preseason Coaches Poll History (last 37 years)          
          
Year        Preseason Favorite                       NEC Tournament Champion
            (actual regular season finish)           (preseason selection)
 
2024-25     CCSU (1st)/Wagner (7th)                  Saint Francis (8th)
2023-24     Sacred Heart (3rd)                       Wagner (5th)
2022-23     Merrimack (1st)                          Merrimack (1st)
2021-22     Wagner (1st)                             Bryant (2nd)
2020-21     FDU (8th)                                Mount St. Mary’s (tied 3rd)
2019-20     LIU (tie 5th)                            Robert Morris (5th)
2018-19     Saint Francis (1st)                      FDU (2nd)
2017-18     Saint Francis (tie 2nd)                  LIU (6th)
2016-17     FDU (tie 5th)                            Mount St. Mary's (4th)
2015-16     Mount St. Mary’s (5th)                   FDU (9th)
2014-15     St. Francis Brooklyn (1st)               Robert Morris (3rd)
2013-14     Wagner (2nd)                             Mount St. Mary's (6th)
2012-13     LIU (3rd)                                LIU (1st)
2011-12     LIU (1st)                                LIU (1st)
2010-11     Quinnipiac (2nd)                         LIU (3rd)
2009-10     Mount St. Mary’s (3rd)                   Robert Morris (tie 3rd)
2008-09     Mount St. Mary’s (tie 2nd)               Robert Morris (3rd)
2007-08     Sacred Heart (3rd)                       Mount St. Mary’s (4th) 
2006-07     Monmouth (tie 8th)                       CCSU (tie 4th)
2005-06     FDU (1st)                                Monmouth (2nd)
2004-05     Monmouth (1st)                           FDU (2nd)
2003-04     Quinnipiac (10th)                        Monmouth (3rd)
2002-03     CCSU (3rd)                               Wagner (2nd)
2001-02     Monmouth (4th)                           CCSU (4th)
2000-01     CCSU (tie 5th)                           Monmouth (3rd)
1999-00     Mount St. Mary’s (tie 7th)               CCSU (3rd)
1998-99     Mount St. Mary’s (tie 5th)               Mount St. Mary’s (1st)
1997-98     LIU (1st)                                FDU (2nd)
1996-97     Monmouth (3rd)                           LIU (4th)
1995-96     Monmouth/Rider (tie 2nd/4th)             Monmouth (tie 1st)
1994-95     Rider (1st)                              Mount St. Mary’s (3rd)
1993-94     FDU (tie 5th)                            Rider (3rd)
1992-93     Wagner (2nd)                             Rider (3rd)
1991-92     Monmouth (tie 2nd)                       Robert Morris (2nd)
1990-91     Monmouth (4th)                           Saint Francis (3rd)
1989-90     FDU (6th)                                Robert Morris (3rd)
1988-89     Monmouth (3rd)                           Robert Morris (5th)
1987-88     *Marist (tie 1st)                        FDU (2nd)

* Marist was ineligible for the NEC Tournament in 1987-88

About The Northeast Conference
Now in its 45th season, the NEC is an NCAA Division I collegiate athletic association consisting of ten institutions of higher learning located throughout six states. Media coverage of the NEC extends to a number of the largest markets in the United States including New York (#1), Chicago (#3), Boston (#9). Hartford/New Haven (#32) and Syracuse (#88). Founded in 1981 as the basketball-only ECAC Metro Conference, the NEC has grown to sponsor 25 championship sports for men and women and now enjoys automatic access to 16 different NCAA Championships. NEC full member institutions include Central Connecticut, Chicago State, FDU, Le Moyne, LIU, Mercyhurst, New Haven, Saint Francis U, Stonehill and Wagner. For more information on the NEC, visit the league’s official website (www.necsports.com) and digital network (www.necfrontrow.com), or follow the league on Twitter, Facebook, YouTube, Instagram and TikTok, all @NECsports.