KANSAS CITY, Mo. - The courts are mopped, hoops all have new nets, and the 2025-26 NAIA Men's Basketball season is underway with the release of the Preseason Coaches' Top 25 Poll. The defending national champions of the College of Idaho open the year in the top spot, receiving 11 first-place votes. Arizona Christian, Georgetown (Ky.), and Langston (Okla.) all received first-place votes to start the year, ranking second through fourth.
Oklahoma Wesleyan, the 2024-25 national tournament runner-ups, will open a new campaign at No. 10, while the first-year program, Georgia Gwinnett, received some votes to tip off the inaugural season.
Countable games begin on Oct. 23rd, and with some early invitationals around the nation, teams will be tested right away. One notable top-3 match-up that will take place early is the Firestorm against the Tigers in the Remy Williams Memorial Invite at Park (Mo.) on November 2nd at 1 p.m. CT. The OKWU Eagles will take on the Grizzlies of GGC on Friday, Oct. 31, in The Tulsa Challenge.
Poll Methodology
- The national poll is for publicity purposes only and does not influence the selection process for national championship consideration.
- A panel of head coaches representing each conference and the Continental Athletic Conference (Independents) votes in the poll.
- The Top 25 teams are selected using a points-based system:
- 30 points for a 1st-place vote, 29 for 2nd, 28 for 3rd, and so on.
- The highest and lowest rankings received by each team are discarded before final tallying.
- Teams receiving only one point are not listed as "receiving votes."
- For the Preseason Poll, there is no "previous ranking" column since it is the initial poll and differs from the prior rating system.
To view the complete Top 25 Preseason Poll, click here.
