INDIANAPOLIS—Great Midwest coaches voted Kentucky Wesleyan as the 2024-25 men’s basketball preseason favorite. Hillsdale and Walsh were voted in the second and third spot in the preseason coaches poll presented by Under Armour.
KWC will shared the regular season title under 23-24 Coach of the Year Drew Cooper. The Panthers return Kennedy Miles, who was a first team all-conference selection last season. Miles was third in the league in assists with 4.8 per game and first in steals with 1.9. Edward Jones Jr. is another top returner for the Panthers. Jones Jr. started 28 games for KWC, averaging 11.7 points per game while averaging a team high 28 blocked shots. The Panthers earned the No. 2 seed in the Midwest Regional before falling short to Upper Iowa in the opening round.
Slotted at No. 2 are the Hillsdale Chargers, led by first team all-conference honoree Joe Reuter. Reuter led Hillsdale in points (15.0), rebounds (7.2), assists (2.8), and blocks (.62) per game. His 7.2 assists was the sixth highest in the league.
The Walsh Cavaliers will look to repeat as conference tournament champions this season. The Cavaliers earned their fourth G-MAC title and the No. 3 seed in the Midwest Region. Coach Jeff Young returns one of the league’s top three-point shooters in Kobe Mitchell. Last season, Mitchell led the conference in three-points made per game with 3.3. He averaged 16.8 points per game while shooting 42.4% from behind the arc.
Ashland and Malone were voted in the four and five spot followed by Findlay and Thomas More, respectively.
The Eagles return Maceo Williams, who had the second-highest field goal percentage last season at .684. Williams averaged 14.5 points and 6.6 rebounds per game.
The 2024-25 season is set to tip-off November 8, with nine programs competing in non-conference contests.
2024-25 Great Midwest Men's Basketball Preseason Poll
| Team |
Points |
| 1. Kentucky Wesleyan (7) |
129 |
| 2. Hillsdale (4) |
121 |
| 3. Walsh (1) |
107 |
| 4. Ashland |
102 |
| 5. Malone |
82 |
| 6. Findlay |
80 |
| 7. Thomas More |
74 |
| 8. Cedarville |
71 |
| 9. Lake Erie |
51 |
| 10. Ohio Dominican |
42 |
| 11. Northwood |
39 |
| 12. Tiffn |
38 |