Men's Basketball | 11/4/2026 2:00:00 PM
TRAFFORD, Pa. (pacathletics.org) - The Presidents' Athletic Conference (PAC) men's basketball preseason coaches' poll was released Wednesday afternoon, along with the Players to Watch list, with defending PAC champion Washington & Jefferson College tabbed as the South Division favorite and Westminster College pick first in the North Division.
This is the second season the PAC will have a divisional format. Each team will play 16 games in the regular season against conference foes, with programs playing their divisional opponents twice and teams from the opposite division one time each.
Saint Francis University, who was not counted in the 2026-27 poll, is beginning its first season of conference competition while reclassifying from Division I to Division III. Saint Francis, whose results will not count in the conference standings during SFU's reclassifying process, will play South Division opponents twice this year and North teams once.
Last year's PAC champions, W&J earned seven first-place votes and 67 points to finish first in the South Division polling. In addition to winning the conference, head coach Ethan Stewart-Smith and the Presidents recorded their first NCAA Tournament win in 32 years during an 82-77 win over Mount Union in the first round and concluded the campaign with a 23-7 record, the second-most wins in a season in program history.
Just behind W&J in the South voting was Franciscan University with six first-place votes and 63 points. Head coach Joe Wallace, the 2025-26 PAC Coach of the Year, and the Barons completed last season with a 21-7 record, the program's first 20-win season since 1972-73. Franciscan also reached the PAC Tournament semifinals for the first time and earned an ECAC Tournament bid.
Finishing atop the North Division poll was Westminster College with 12 first-place votes and 72 points. Starting his second year at his alma mater, head coach David Richards guided the Titans to a first-place finish in the North last year with a 12-4 mark in the PAC and a 19-9 overall record after Westminster reached the PAC title game before falling to W&J.
Ranking second in the PAC North poll was Grove City College with 56 points, with Allegheny College claiming a first-place vote and scoring 53 points to rank third. Complete poll results for both divisions are below.
Only four All-PAC selections from last year return on this year's Players to Watch list, but that includes the 2025-26 PAC Player of the Year, Franciscan senior guard Sawyer Butler, and the now two-time PAC Defensive Player of the Year, W&J senior forward Nathan Plotner.
Butler became the first Baron to earn PAC Player of the Year after leading the conference in scoring with 21.9 points per game, the highest scoring average by a PAC scoring champion since 2022-23 (24.5 by Geneva's Lyle Tipton). Butler also led the conference in steals (67) and free throw percentage at 84.7. In addition to his nearly 22 points and 2.5 steals, he also averaged 5.7 rebounds and a team-leading 2.2 assists per game.
Plotner led the conference in blocked shots with 83, which was fourth in Division III, while his 2.77 rejections per game was eighth in the nation. Plotner also tied for fourth in the PAC with 2.0 steals per game. Due to Plotner's defensive work, W&J as a team ranked seventh nationally with 12.4 steals per game and ninth with 5.1 blocked shots a game. In addition, Plotner led the PAC-champion Presidents in scoring with 14.0 points per game, grabbed 6.7 rebounds a contest and shot a PAC-best 60.6 percent from the floor, which ranked 16th nationally.
The eight-team PAC Tournament will get underway with quarterfinals on Tuesday, Feb. 23rd, with semifinal games to be played Thursday, Feb. 25th and the PAC Championship Game is scheduled for Saturday, Feb. 27th. All PAC Tournament match-ups will be played at campus sites. For a full breakdown of the PAC Tournament format, check the PAC Championships page.
This year's championship tournament winner will receive the league's automatic qualifying bid to the Division III Championship. Team selections for the Division III Championship are scheduled to be released Monday, March 1st, with first and second round match ups scheduled for Friday-Saturday, March 5-6.
| 2026-27 PAC Men's Basketball Preseason Coaches' Poll (North Division) |
| School (first-place votes) |
Points |
2025-26 record (conference) |
| 1. Westminster College (12) |
72 |
19-9 (12-4 PAC) |
| 2. Grove City College |
56 |
11-15 (8-8 PAC) |
| 3. Allegheny College (1) |
53 |
10-16 (8-8 PAC) |
| 4. Geneva College |
39 |
10-16 (7-9 PAC) |
| 5. Thiel College |
24 |
6-18 (3-13 PAC) |
| 6. Hiram College |
23 |
6-20 (2-14 PAC) |
| 2026-27 PAC Men's Basketball Preseason Coaches' Poll (South Division) |
| School (first-place votes) |
Points |
2025-26 record (conference) |
| 1. Washington & Jefferson College (7) |
67 |
23-7 (12-4 PAC) |
| 2. Franciscan University (6) |
63 |
21-7 (12-4 PAC) |
| 3. Chatham University |
47 |
18-8 (12-4 PAC) |
| 4. Saint Vincent College |
44 |
16-10 (11-5 PAC) |
| 5. Bethany College |
27 |
10-15 (6-10 PAC) |
| 6. Waynesburg University |
19 |
7-18 (3-13 PAC) |
| Saint Francis University* |
--- |
7-24 (5-13 NEC) |
* - Ineligible for PAC Championship as school reclassifies from Division I
2026-27 PAC Men's Basketball Players to Watch
| 1 = 2025-26 First Team All-PAC / 2 = Second Team / HM = Honorable Mention |
| Allegheny |
| Name |
Yr. |
Pos. |
Ht. |
Hometown/High School |
| Jayson Perry |
Sr. |
G |
6-1 |
Tampa, Fla./Sickles |
| Eli Teslovich |
Jr. |
G |
6-1 |
Belle Vernon, Pa./Shady Side Academy |
| Bethany |
| Name |
Yr. |
Pos. |
Ht. |
Hometown/High School |
| Jayden Jackson (HM) |
Jr. |
F |
6-6 |
Columbia, S.C./A.C. Flora |
| Semaj Marshall |
So. |
G |
5-10 |
Washington, D.C./Parkside |
| Chatham |
| Name |
Yr. |
Pos. |
Ht. |
Hometown/High School |
| Marcel Gardner |
Sr. |
F |
|
Potomac, Md./St. Andrew's Episcopal |
| Rocco Spadafora |
Jr. |
G |
|
Pittsburgh, Pa./Our Lady of Sacred Heart |
| Greg Taylor |
Fr. |
G/F |
|
Baltimore, Md./St. Vincent Pallotti |
| Drew Vizenor |
Sr. |
G |
6-3 |
Eureka, Cali./St. Bernards Academy/The Kiski School |
| Tajh Williams |
Sr. |
G |
|
Warner Robins, Ga./Veteran |
| Franciscan |
| Name |
Yr. |
Pos. |
Ht. |
Hometown/High School |
| Sawyer Butler (1) |
Sr. |
G |
6-2 |
Beaver, Pa./Beaver |
| Zach Oliver (HM) |
Sr. |
F |
6-7 |
Beaver Falls, Pa./Blackhawk |
| Zach Pollaro |
So. |
G |
6-3 |
Pittsburgh, Pa./North Hills |
| Karl Yonkeu |
Sr. |
F |
6-4 |
Manchester, N.H./Bridgton Academy |
| Geneva |
| Name |
Yr. |
Pos. |
Ht. |
Hometown/High School |
| Tommy Coletti |
Jr. |
G |
6-3 |
Dover, Ohio/Dover |
| Ryan Edwards |
Sr. |
G |
5-9 |
North Huntingdon, Pa./Norwin |
| Austin Matthews |
Jr. |
F |
6-5 |
West Newton, Pa./Yough |
| Grove City |
| Name |
Yr. |
Pos. |
Ht. |
Hometown/High School |
| Austin Johncour |
Sr. |
C |
6-10 |
Sewickley, Pa./Avonworth |
| Hiram |
| Name |
Yr. |
Pos. |
Ht. |
Hometown/High School |
| DJ Niles |
Sr. |
F |
6-6 |
Maple Heights, Ohio/Cornerstone Christian |
| Saint Francis |
| Name |
Yr. |
Pos. |
Ht. |
Hometown/High School |
| Josh Gamarra |
Fr. |
F |
6-6 |
Oceanside, N.Y./Oceanside |
| Alex Griggs |
Grad. |
G |
6-1 |
Wexford, Pa./First Love Christian Academy |
| Damian Harrison |
Fr. |
G |
6-4 |
New Castle, Pa./New Castle |
| Noah Prosser |
So. |
G |
6-2 |
Jefferson Hills, Pa./Thomas Jefferson |
| Trey Weiand |
Sr. |
G |
6-4 |
Mechanicsburg, Pa./Trinity |
| Saint Vincent |
| Name |
Yr. |
Pos. |
Ht. |
Hometown/High School |
| Terek Crosby |
Jr. |
G |
6-2 |
West Newton, Pa./Yough |
| Maxwell Gordon |
Sr. |
G |
5-10 |
Weston, Fla./Cypress Bay |
| Jaden Payne |
So. |
F |
6-7 |
Youngstown, Ohio/Ursuline |
| Thiel |
| Name |
Yr. |
Pos. |
Ht. |
Hometown/High School |
| Kahmari Accusio-Harris |
Sr. |
F |
6-4 |
Jupiter, Fla./Jupiter |
| John DiCecco |
Grad. |
G |
6-6 |
Indianapolis, Ind./Harper |
| W&J |
| Name |
Yr. |
Pos. |
Ht. |
Hometown/High School |
| Quinton Burlenski |
Jr. |
G |
6-2 |
Bridgeport, Ohio/Central Catholic |
| Matthew Carte |
Sr. |
G |
6-2 |
Ravenswood, W.Va./Ravenswood |
| Michael Plasko |
Jr. |
G |
6-1 |
McDonald, Pa./South Fayette |
| Nathan Plotner (2) |
Sr. |
F |
6-6 |
Parkersburg, W.Va./Parkersburg South |
| Cameron Rowell |
Jr. |
G/F |
6-4 |
Murrysville, Pa./Franklin Regional |
| Waynesburg |
| Name |
Yr. |
Pos. |
Ht. |
Hometown/High School |
| Jonah Biggers |
So. |
P |
6-5 |
Cockeysville, Md./Calvert Hall |
| Aiden Blake |
Sr. |
W |
6-1 |
Parkersburg, W.Va./Parkersburg South |
| Teegan Finucan |
Fr. |
G |
6-2 |
Cabot, Pa./Knoch |
| Justin Gilmore |
So. |
G |
6-1 |
Alexandria, Va./Jackson-Reed |
| LeBarron Gordon |
Jr. |
W |
6-4 |
Temple Hills, Md./Gwynn Park |
| Westminster |
| Name |
Yr. |
Pos. |
Ht. |
Hometown/High School |
| Jonathan Anderson |
Sr. |
G |
6-0 |
New Castle, Pa./New Castle |
| Trey DePietro |
Grad. |
F |
6-7 |
Boardman, Ohio/Boardman |
| Lucas Stanley |
So. |
G |
6-2 |
New Castle, Pa./Union |
| Xavier Vann |
Sr. |
G |
6-5 |
Euclid, Ohio/Euclid |
| Drew Weir (2) |
Grad. |
F |
6-6 |
Salem, Ohio/Salem |