Senior guard Hayden Doyle will be back to lead the WashU Bears men’s basketball team in 2024-25. (Photo: Primo Greenway)
Cedric Williams
Senior Editor
D3Hoops.com, the No. 1 website for NCAA Division III men’s basketball news and coverage, released its preseason Top 25 on Thursday.
Washington University was ranked No. 4 in the country, after receiving one first-place vote and 517 total points. The Bears went 20-8 last season and advanced to the NCAA Tournament Sweet 16, before being eliminated by eventual national champion, Trine University.
WashU expects to have its full squad back this season. The Bears lost several players to injury last year, including standout forward Drake Kindsvater, who was leading the team in scoring (16.2 points) and rebounding (7.1 rebounds) last year.
The Bears will begin the new season on Friday, November 8, with a home game at the WashU Field House against Rhodes College. That contest is scheduled to tip off at 7 p.m.
WashU went 20-8 and advanced to the NCAA Tournament Sweet 16 last season. (Photo: Primo Greenway)
After winning the national title last year, Trine was an easy choice to be the preseason No. 1 this year. The Thunder went 29-4 last year and received 14 of a potential 25 first-place votes to finish with 597 total points.
Wisconsin-Platteville got the other nine first-place votes and totaled 589 points to finish No. 2. John Carroll had 540 points to earn the No. 3 spot, while Christopher Newport had 502 points to round out the top five.
Other schools in the Top 25 that WashU will play this season include, Emory (No. 8), Illinois Wesleyan (No. 16), Carnegie Mellon (No. 18), and NYU (No. 22).
2024-25 D3Hoops.com Men’s Basketball Preseason Top 25
| Ranking Spot | School (No. 1 votes) | W-L | Total Points |
| 1. | Trine (14) | 29-4 | 597 |
| 2. | Wisconsin-Platteville (9) | 26-5 | 589 |
| 3. | John Carroll | 26-3 | 540 |
| 4. | WashU (1) | 20-8 | 517 |
| 5. | Christopher Newport | 24-7 | 502 |
| 6. | Trinity (Conn.) | 30-2 | 462 |
| 7. | Randolph-Macon | 25-5 | 337 |
| 8. | Emory | 15-10 | 333 |
| 9. | Calvin (1) | 25-5 | 332 |
| 10. | Keene State | 26-4 | 314 |
| 11. | Trinity (Texas) | 23-4 | 294 |
| 12. | St. John’s | 20-6 | 293 |
| 13. | Tufts | 21-8 | 292 |
| 14. | Nebraska Wesleyan | 26-5 | 268 |
| 15. | Wisconsin Lutheran | 24-5 | 261 |
| 16. | Illinois Wesleyan | 19-8 | 233 |
| 17. | Guilford | 26-5 | 216 |
| 18. | Carnegie Mellon | 16-10 | 187 |
| 19. | Mount Union | 20-7 | 183 |
| 20. | Maryville (Tenn.) | 22-5 | 162 |
| 21. | Hope | 23-7 | 152 |
| 22. | New York University | 21-6 | 122 |
| 23. | Hampden-Sydney | 31-3 | 118 |
| 24. | Cal Lutheran | 23-5 | 92 |
| 25. | Williams | 23-7 | 91 |
Others receiving votes: TCNJ 62; Claremont-Mudd-Scripps 60; Loras 56; Case Western Reserve 55; UW-Stevens Point 37; Coe 37; Pomona-Pitzer 32; Illinois College 29; Swarthmore 29; Widener 25; Oswego 21; Hardin-Simmons 20; Gettysburg 19; Rowan 19; Bethany Lutheran 18; Drew 18; St. Joseph (Conn.) 13; UW-Whitewater 11; Whitworth 11; Utica 9; Redlands 9; WPI 9; Wooster 6; Carthage 4; Clark 4; Gustavus Adolphus 4; Catholic 4; Johns Hopkins 4; Stevens 3; Babson 3; Heidelberg 2; Stockton 2; UW-La Crosse 2; SUNY New Paltz 1.
The D3Hoops.com Top 25 is voted on by a panel of 25 coaches, Sports Information Directors and media members from across the country, and is published weekly. Points are awarded on a 25-24-23-22-etc. basis.
2024-25 WashU Bears Men’s Basketball Schedule
| Date | Time | At | Opponent | Location | Tournament |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| November 8, 2024 (Friday) | 7 p.m. | Home | Rhodes College | WashU Field House | |
| November 15, 2024 (Friday) | 7 p.m. | Home | Rose-Hulman | WashU Field House | |
| November 19, 2024 (Tuesday) | 7 p.m. | Away | Webster University | Webster Groves, Mo. / Grant Gymnasium | |
| November 23, 2024 (Saturday) | 2 p.m. | Away | Carroll University | Waukesha, Wis. / Van Male Fieldhouse | |
| November 30, 2024 (Saturday) | 1 p.m. | Neutral | Colorado College | Memphis, Tenn. / Mallory Gymnasium | Rhodes Classic |
| December 1, 2024 (Sunday) | 4 p.m. | Away | Rhodes College | Memphis, Tenn. / Mallory Gymnasium | Rhodes Classic |
| December 6, 2024 (Friday) | 7 p.m. | Home | Colby College | WashU Field House | 40th Annual Lopata Classic |
| December 7, 2024 (Saturday) | TBD | Home | TBD | WashU Field House | 40th Annual Lopata Classic |
| December 10, 2024 (Tuesday) | 8 p.m. | Away | Fontbonne | St. Louis, Mo. / Mabee Gymnasium | |
| December 19, 2024 (Thursday) | 7 p.m. | Away | #16 Illinois Wesleyan | Bloomington, Ill. / Shirk Center | |
| January 4, 2025 (Saturday) | 1 p.m. | Away | Wabash | Crawfordsville, Ind. / Allen Athletics and Recreation Center | |
| January 11, 2025 (Saturday) | 1 p.m. | Home | University of Chicago | WashU Field House | |
| January 17, 2025 (Friday) | 5:30 p.m. | Home | Case Western Reserve | WashU Field House | |
| January 19, 2025 (Sunday) | 1 p.m. | Home | #18 Carnegie Mellon | WashU Field House | |
| January 24, 2025 (Friday) | 5:30 p.m. ET | Away | Rochester | Rochester, N.Y. / Louis Alexander Palestra | |
| January 26, 2025 (Sunday) | 1 p.m. | Away | #8 Emory | Atlanta, Ga. / Woodruff P.E. Center | |
| January 31, 2025 (Friday) | 5:30 p.m. | Home | Brandeis | WashU Field House | |
| February 2, 2025 (Sunday) | 2 p.m. | Home | #22 New York University | WashU Field House | |
| February 7, 2025 (Friday) | 4:30 p.m. | Away | Brandeis | Waltham, Mass. / Red Auerbach Arena | |
| February 9, 2025 (Sunday) | 1 p.m. | Away | #22 New York University | New York, N.Y. / John A. Paulson Center | |
| February 14, 2025 (Friday) | 4:30 p.m. | Away | Case Western Reserve | Cleveland, Ohio / Adelbert Gymnasium | |
| February 16, 2025 (Sunday) | 1 p.m. | Away | #18 Carnegie Mellon | Pittsburgh, Pa. / Wiegand Gymnasium | |
| February 21, 2025 (Friday) | 5:30 p.m. | Home | Rochester | WashU Field House | |
| February 23, 2025 (Sunday) | 1 p.m. | Home | #8 Emory | WashU Field House | |
| March 1, 2025 (Saturday) | 1 p.m. | Away | University of Chicago | Chicago, Ill. / Ratner Athletics Center |