The WashU Bears went 20-8 and made it to the Division III Sweet 16 last season. (Photo: Primo Greenway)
ST. LOUIS, MO — The NCAA college basketball season will begin in less than two weeks, but the preseason excitement for the new season has already begun.
Teams all over the country are more than a month into preseason training camp and teams like Mizzou and SLU have already played exhibition games and full-squad scrimmages against other teams from other parts of the country.
The preseason hype also includes teams at the Division III level, where Washington University plays, and on Friday, a big part of the D3 hoops hype came alive when D3Hoops.com released its preseason Top 25.
Defending national champion, the University of Mary Washington, is the preseason No. 1. That’s not a surprise after the Eagles went 30-3 on their way to the national title last season and with a roster that brings back 13 players from last year, this season.
The team UMW played in last year’s title game, Emory University, is ranked No. 4.
The big news locally is WashU, which went 20-8 and made it to the D3 Sweet 16 last season, is ranked No. 10 in this year’s preseason poll. Head coach Pat Juckem returns a veteran-heavy squad alongside an exciting young freshman class many believe can dominate in the University Athletic Association this season.
2026-27 NCAA DIVISION III MEN’S BASKETBALL PRESEASON TOP 25
| Rank | School (No. 1 votes) | W-L | Pts. |
| 1. | Mary Washington (21) | 30-3 | 607 |
| 2. | Christopher Newport (2) | 25-6 | 569 |
| 3. | Hood | 26-4 | 484 |
| 4.. | Emory (1) | 27-4 | 472 |
| 5. | Gustavus Adolphus | 27-3 | 438 |
| 6. | Illinois Wesleyan | 26-5 | 430 |
| 7. | Randolph-Macon | 27-4 | 383 |
| 8. | Wisconsin-Stevens Point (1) | 19-8 | 376 |
| 9. | Wesleyan | 23-7 | 331 |
| 10. | WashU | 20-8 | 328 |
| 11. | Trinity (Conn.) | 29-3 | 313 |
| 12. | Trinity (Texas) | 22-7 | 307 |
| 13. | Elmhurst | 19-9 | 300 |
| 14. | Tufts | 23-6 | 289 |
| 15. | Roanoke | 23-7 | 286 |
| 16.. | Claremont-Mudd-Scripps | 23-5 | 260 |
| 17. | St. Thomas (Texas) | 29-2 | 243 |
| 18. | Wisconsin-La Crosse | 24-7 | 206 |
| 19. | Babson | 22-7 | 203 |
| 20. | Endicott | 28-2 | 197 |
| 21. | Amherst | 19-8 | 168 |
| 22.. | Johns Hopkins | 20-8 | 107 |
| 23. | New York University | 18-9 | 94 |
| 24. | Chicago | 24-5 | 80 |
| 25. | Willamette | 16-12 | 74 |
Others receiving votes: Maine-Farmington 73; Montclair State 57; John Carroll 53; Olivet 53; UW-Whitewater 45; Washington & Jefferson 40; St. Joseph’s (Maine) 37; Otterbein 25; Cortland 20; Rhodes 18; UW-Platteville 17; St. John’s 16; Redlands 16; Mount Union 13; Grinnell 11; Denison 10; UW-Oshkosh 10; WPI 9; Catholic 7; Mary Hardin-Baylor 6; Stevens 6; Vassar 6; Hampden-Sydney 5; RPI 5; Union 5; Bates 4; Trine 4; Yeshiva 4; TCNJ 3; Wheaton (Ill.) 3; Wheaton (Mass.) 2.
The Bears will feature four senior leaders in guards Ryan Cohen and Lucas Vogel, and forwards Jake Davis and George Gale, along with grad student guard Coleson Messer.
WashU’s returning underclassmen include Lleyton Thomas-Johnson, Anthony Przybilla, Josh Kim and Theo Rocca, with incoming freshmen Barron Linnekens, Ledger Kincaid, and Stryckland Whittley-Ligon.
WashU will open its season by hosting the annual Lopata Classic at the WashU Field House on Friday, November 6 and Saturday, November 7. The Bears will play Bethany Lutheran on Friday, with an opponent to be determined on championship Saturday.
Tip off for opener against Bethany Lutheran is set for 7 p.m., and the game will be streamed live on FloCollege.com.
2026-27 WASHU BEARS MEN’S BASKETBALL SCHEDULE
| Date | Time | At | Opponent | Location | TV | Tournament |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| November 6, 2026 (Friday) | 7 p.m. | Home | Bethany Lutheran | WashU Field House |  | 42nd Annual Lopata Classic |
| November 7, 2026 (Saturday) | TBD | Home | Lopata Classic Championship | WashU Field House | | 42nd Annual Lopata Classic |
| November 13, 2026 (Friday) | 7 p.m. | Home | Millikin | WashU Field House | ||
| November 21, 2026 (Saturday) | 5 p.m. | Neutral | Hanover | Cincinnati, OH | Lauren Hill Classic | |
| November 22, 2026 (Sunday) | 1 p.m. | Away | Mount St. Joseph | Cincinnati, OH | Lauren Hill Classic | |
| November 28, 2026 (Saturday) | 1 p.m. | Away | Colorado College | Colorado Springs, CO | All-Academic Classic | |
| November 29, 2026 (Sunday) | 1 p.m. | Neutral | UC-Santa Cruz | Colorado Springs, CO | All-Academic Classic | |
| December 5, 2026 (Saturday) | 3 p.m. | Away | Webster University | Webster Groves, MO | ||
| December 18, 2026 (Friday) | 2 p.m. | Away | #6 Illinois Wesleyan | Bloomington, IL | ||
| January 1, 2027 (Friday) | 5 p.m. | Neutral | Clarkson | San Antonio, TX | NABC Division III Tournament | |
| January 2, 2027 (Saturday) | TBD | Neutral | #12 Trinity (Texas) | San Antonio, TX | NABC Division III Tournament | |
| January 9, 2027 (Saturday) | 3 p.m. | Home | University of Chicago* | WashU Field House | | |
| January 15, 2027 (Friday) | 6:30 p.m. | Away | Rochester* | Rochester, NY | | |
| January 17, 2027 (Sunday) | 11 a.m. | Away | #4 Emory* | Atlanta, GA | | |
| January 22, 2027 (Friday) | 7:30 p.m. | Home | Brandeis University* | WashU Field House | | |
| January 24, 2027 (Sunday) | 12 p.m. | Home | #23 New York University* | WashU Field House | | |
| January 29, 2027 (Friday) | 6:30 p.m. | Away | Case Western Reserve* | Cleveland, OH | | |
| January 31, 2027 (Sunday) | 11 a.m. | Away | Carnegie Mellon* | Pittsburgh, PA | | |
| February 5, 2027 (Friday) | 7:30 p.m. | Home | Case Western Reserve* | WashU Field House | | |
| February 7, 2027 (Sunday) | 12 p.m. | Home | Carnegie Mellon* | WashU Field House | | |
| February 12, 2027 (Friday) | 7:30 p.m. | Home | Rochester* | WashU Field House | | |
| February 14, 2027 (Sunday) | 12 p.m. | Home | #4 Emory* | WashU Field House | | |
| February 19, 2027 (Friday) | 6:30 p.m. | Away | Brandeis* | Waltham, MA | | |
| February 21, 2027 (Sunday) | 11 a.m. | Away | New York University* | New York City, NY | | |
| February 27, 2027 (Saturday) | 3 p.m. | Away | University of Chicago* | Chicago, IL | |
* – denotes UAA league game