KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Three teams from the Kansas Collegiate Athletic Conference were recognized in the
Gared NAIA Men's Basketball Preseason Coaches' Poll, the national office announced Wednesday.
Oklahoma Wesleyan University was the highest ranked team from the conference, coming in at a tie for No. 11. Friends University and McPherson College joined the Eagles in the preseason poll, with both teams featured as part of the "Receiving Votes" category of the poll.
This mirrors the final KCAC men's basketball regular-season standings from the 2025-26 season, as Oklahoma Wesleyan took home the regular-season title, their fifth consecutive KCAC regular-season title in men's basketball. OKWU was followed by Friends in second place and McPherson in third in the final regular-season standings from a year ago. The Eagles also took home last season's KCAC conference tournament title, their third conference tournament title in the last five years.
The coaches’ poll will run through the fall semester, with the final poll on Dec. 16, before switching to a Top 25 poll voted on by the NAIA Men’s Basketball National Selection Committee (NSC). Beginning Nov. 11, the coaches’ Top 25 poll will be released on a biweekly schedule.
2026 GARED NAIA MEN'S BASKETBALL PRESEASON COACHES' POLL
| RANK |
INSTITUTION [FIRST-PLACE VOTES] |
2025-26 RECORD |
| 1 |
Grace (Ind.) [14] |
31-4 |
| 2 |
Freed-Hardeman (Tenn.) [4] |
35-1 |
| 3 |
Arizona Christian [1] |
25-8 |
| 4 |
Rocky Mountain (Mont.) |
31-4 |
| 5 |
Indiana Wesleyan |
28-6 |
| 6 |
Nelson (Texas) |
26-6 |
| 7 |
Georgetown (Ky.) |
24-8 |
| 8 |
Langston (Okla.) |
29-8 |
| 9 |
LSU Shreveport (La.) |
28-6 |
| 10 |
Cumberlands (Ky.) |
24-9 |
| 11 |
Keiser (Fla.) |
25-6 |
| 11 |
Oklahoma Wesleyan |
30-4 |
| 13 |
Ave Maria (Fla.) |
29-6 |
| 14 |
Loyola (La.) |
22-8 |
| 15 |
Eastern Oregon |
22-9 |
| 16 |
College of Idaho |
21-11 |
| 17 |
The Master’s (Calif.) |
21-10 |
| 18 |
Georgia Gwinnett |
25-7 |
| 19 |
Concordia (Neb.) |
19-12 |
| 20 |
Hope International (Calif.) |
26-7 |
| 21 |
Pikeville (Ky.) |
27-5 |
| 22 |
Madonna (Mich.) |
24-8 |
| 23 |
William Carey (Miss.) |
28-5 |
| 24 |
Wayland Baptist (Texas) |
24-8 |
| 25 |
Morningside (Iowa) |
22-8 |
Receiving Votes: Bellevue (Neb.), Benedictine Mesa (Ariz.), Bethel (Ind.), Columbia (Mo.), Dalton State (Ga.), Embry-Riddle (Ariz.), Faulkner (Ala.),
Friends (Kan.), Graceland (Iowa), Grand View (Iowa), Huntington (Ind.), Indiana Tech, IU Kokomo (Ind.), IU South Bend (Ind.), Lewis-Clark State (Idaho), Life (Ga.), LSU Alexandria (La.),
McPherson (Kan.), Mid-America Christian (Okla.), Montana Tech, Northwestern (Iowa), Olivet Nazarene (Ill.), Southeastern (Fla.), Taylor (Ind.), William Penn (Iowa), Williams Baptist (Ark.).
About the NAIA
The National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA), headquartered in Kansas City, Mo., is a governing body of small college athletics programs dedicated to character-driven, education-based athletics. Since 1937, the NAIA has balanced high-level competition with holistic student-athlete development through its commitment to The Right Way to Play®. Each year more than 87,000 NAIA student-athletes compete in college athletics, earn over $1.3 billion in financial aid, and pursue opportunities to participate in 30 national championships. naia.org | @NAIA | #TheRightWayToPlay
—KCAC—