INDIANAPOLIS—Walsh was projected to finish No. 1 in the Men’s Basketball Preseason Coaches Poll. Lake Erie and Ashland follow Walsh, ranked second and third.
It should be no surprise that Walsh is projected to win the conference this year following a first-place G-MAC regular-season finish, a G-MAC tournament championship, and a Sweet 16 appearance. Just two years ago, Walsh finished at the bottom of the conference, ultimately missing the G-MAC tournament. Coach Jeff Young and the Cavaliers made huge strides from the 24/25 season to the 25/26 season, improving from a ninth-place G-MAC finish to a first-place finish. Walsh finished the season at 29-4 and earned the No. 1 seed in the Midwest region. Walsh received the honors of hosting the region in the NCAA DII National Tournament. The Cavaliers went on to defeat William & Jewel in round one and Northern Michigan in round two. Their season came to an end in round three against the regional champions, Michigan Tech. The G-MAC recognized this fantastic season by awarding Coach Jeff Young Coach of the Year.
This year ,Walsh’s roster looks a little bit different, but still fully capable of topping the G-MAC again. Walsh only returns one starter, Matthew Biddell, but Coach Young’s unique style of play has had up to a 10-man rotation at times. Of those 10, Walsh returns 6. Jr. Matthew Biddell looks to take a leap this season, being the Cavaliers' highest PPG avg (11.7) returning player from last season. Other returners to watch include Jr. Kaleb Schaffer and So. Kyle Monterrubio.
Lake Erie will look to build off their successful 25/26 season. The Storm has now broken the school's DII record for single-season wins two years in a row. Last year, Lake Erie finished 23-9 and made the NCAA DII National Tournament for the first time in school history. Senior guard Amari Williams led the way for the Storm last season, averaging 14.5 PPG and earning all-G-MAC first-team honors. Other notable returners for the Storm include Sr. Gio Moore and Sr. Caelum Ethridge.
Ashland is coming off a national tournament appearance and a 20-11 season, but the question is can they continue their success without two-time G-MAC Player of the Year Maceo Williams?Ashland returns two of their top five scorers from last season, Jason Moore and Max Dawson, as well as Jason Henlon, who averaged just over 3 assists per game.
Findlay finished 5th in the G-MAC last year after placing 1st in the 24-25 season. Notable returners for the Oilers include second-leading scorer Sr. Anthony Johnson and second-leading rebounder Jr. Alex Kendall.
KWC and Hillsdale are projected to finish 5th and 6th followed by Northwood and Thomas More in 7
th and 8
th.
Cedarville, Malone, Tiffin, and Ohio Dominican round out the coaches poll for the 2026-27 season.
Returning PPG Leaders
Amari Williams / Lake Erie / Guard / Senior
14.5 PPG
Jaylen Davis / Cedarville / Guard / Junior
14.4 PPG
Nic Williams / Malone / Guard / Senior
13.7 PPG
Returning RPG Leaders
Ke’Andre Jones / Kentucky Wesleyan / Forward / Senior
5.8 RPG
CJ Yarian / Hillsdale / Forward / Grad Senior
5.6 RPG
Caleb Glaser / Hillsdale / Forward / Senior
5.6 RPG
Returning APG Leaders
Jorge Sanchez-Ramos / Kentucky Wesleyan / Guard / Grad Senior
5.3 APG
Brayden Szamrej / Northwood / Guard / Junior
4.7 APG
Will Gibson / Cedarville / Forward / Junior
3.8 APG
Great Midwest Men's Basketball Preseason Coaches Poll
* Number of First-Place Votes
| School |
Points |
| 1. Walsh *5 |
108 |
| 2. Lake Erie *5 |
106 |
| 3. Ashland *1 |
97 |
| 4. Findlay |
93 |
| 5. Kentucky Wesleyan *1 |
82 |
| 6. Hillsdale |
76 |
| 7. Northwood |
63 |
| 8. Thomas More |
53 |
| 9. Cedarville |
50 |
| 10. Malone |
27 |
| 11. Tiffin |
21 |
| 12. Ohio Dominican |
16 |