High Point Voted 2026-27 Men's Basketball Preseason Favorite
JOHNSON CITY, Tenn. (www.BigSouthSports.com) – Two-time defending champion
High Point University has been chosen as the favorite in the Big South Conference’s annual preseason men’s basketball poll for the 2026-27 season, it was announced this morning.
The Panthers are the preseason favorite for the third consecutive year, as the voting panel of head coaches bestowed seven of the nine first-place votes and 79 of the possible 81 points upon HPU. The reigning Big South Regular-Season and Conference Champions return six players from a squad that set the Big South single-season record with 31 wins, as well as becoming just the second conference member to reach the Round of 32 in the NCAA Tournament. This is the fifth time the Panthers are the Big South’s men’s basketball overall preseason favorite, as the four previous times were 2007-08, 2015-16, 2024-25 and 2025-26 (High Point was the top North Division pick in 2013-14).
Presbyterian College followed in second-place with 69 points and received the two remaining first-place votes -- the program’s highest preseason ranking since becoming Big South members in 2008-09, as PC’s previous best was fourth in 2010-11.
Winthrop followed in the third spot with 57 points, just ahead of
Longwood at 54 points.
UNC Asheville landed in the fifth position with 43 points, with
Radford in the sixth spot with 34 points.
Charleston Southern finished seventh in the ranking at 33 points, followed by
USC Upstate (eighth, 21 points) and
Gardner-Webb (ninth, 15 points) to round out the men’s preseason predictions.
The college basketball season tips off Monday, Nov. 2. The first conference date is Friday, Jan. 1, 2027, as the teams will play a 16-game schedule this year. The season culminates with the 2027 Big South Men’s Basketball Championship March 3-7 at Freedom Hall Civic Center in Johnson City, Tenn.
2026-27 MEN'S BASKETBALL PRESEASON POLL
| Rk - School (first-place votes) |
Points |
| 1 - High Point (7) |
79 |
| 2 - Presbyterian College (2) |
69 |
| 3 - Winthrop |
57 |
| 4 - Longwood |
54 |
| 5 - UNC Asheville |
43 |
| 6 - Radford |
34 |
| 7 - Charleston Southern |
33 |
| 8 - USC Upstate |
21 |
| 9 - Gardner-Webb |
15 |
Note: points are based on a weighted system. First-place votes received 9 points, followed by 8 points for second-place, and so on.