Following a regular season title in 205-26, Claremont-Mudd-Scripps Colleges has been selected to stay atop the conference in the 2026-27 SCIAC Men's Basketball Preseason Poll, as voted on by the league's head coaches.
The Stags collected six first-place votes en route to 77 points, while last year's SCIAC Tournament Champion Redlands earned 71 points, including two first-place votes. Whittier garnered the final first-place vote and finished in third with 55 points, followed by Chapman in fourth with 53 points.
Four players from last year's starting five are set to return to the court for CMS in Will Householter, Reid Jones, Joey Kennedy, and Brady Karich. The quartet accounted for over 60% of last year's scoring and nearly 50% of the rebounding. Householter was the team's leading scorer with 18.8 points per game, while Kennedy led the group in rebounding with 8.3 boards per contest, as both players earned an All-SCIAC selection. Jones also made Second Team All-SCIAC after posting 15.2 points and 4.9 rebounds per game. The Stags earned a win in their first round matchup of the NCAA Tournament last season, marking their first victory on the National stage since 2018.
Though the Bulldogs will look to fill the roles of several graduating starters, including last year's David Wells Athlete of the Year Lucas Gordon, they will still be bolstered by Derek Sangster and Donovan Ware, both of whom appeared in all 29 games last season. Sangster made 11 starts and finished averaging 10.8 points and 4.7 rebounds per game, while Ware was a key bench piece for Redlands and scored double-digits in six contests. The Bulldogs are fresh off of a SCIAC Tournament Championship, which clinched a second consecutive trip to the NCAA Tournament for them. They once again won their first game of the tournament, as they previously did in 2025.
The Poets will be led by a strong group of seniors in Tochi Onyeador, Jonathan Duley, Brandon Andrews, and Sean Cervantes, all of whom made at least 10 starts last season. Onyeador claimed a spot on the First Team All-SCIAC after he averaged a near double-double with 9.2 points and 11.1 rebounds. His defense was also amongst the very best in the league, with a conference-best 72 blocks. Both Duley and Andrews averaged double-figures in scoring, while Cervantes was right behind them with 8.1 points per game. Duley led the team with an average of 18.6 points, scoring over 20 points in 10 contests.
Rounding out the top-four in voting, the Panthers are bringing back the duo of Scott Schulz and Joe Keegan for the upcoming season. Both players made at least 20 starts with Keegan averaging 9.1 points per game and leading the team in blocks with 22. Schulz is the top returning rebounder after posting 4.9 boards per contest in 2025-26, good for second on the team.
This season will also include Azusa Pacific University, who is currently in the reclassification process from Division II to Division III. The Cougars are set to play each SCIAC member once, although games will not count towards conference standings.
2026-27 SCIAC Men's Basketball Preseason Poll
1. Claremont-Mudd-Scripps, 77 points (six first-place votes)
2. Redlands, 71 pts (2)
3. Whittier, 55 pts (1)
4. Chapman, 53 pts
5. California Lutheran, 49 pts
6. Pomona-Pitzer, 45 pts
7. Occidental, 23 pts
8. La Verne, 21 pts
9. Caltech, 11 pts
Azusa Pacific*
* - Ineligible for SCIAC Championship as school transitions from Division II