Greenville, SC – The men's basketball coaches have picked UNC Pembroke as champions in the 2025-26 Conference Carolinas Men's Basketball Preseason Poll, the conference office announced on Thursday.
UNC Pembroke captured the east division crown each of the last two seasons following two straight regular season titles. The Braves have won the last two tournament titles and collected all 15 first-place votes (schools can't vote for themselves) for 225 points to claim the top spot in the poll. Young Harris College received the final first place vote and is picked second with 199 points. Emmanuel University came in third with 188 points while Chowan University wasn't far behind in fourth with 182 points. Barton College rounded out the top five with 156 points.
King University came in sixth with 153 points and were followed by the University of Mount Olive's 143 points and Francis Marion University's 133 points. Lees-McRae College and Converse University rounded out the top 10 with 103 and 101 points, respectively. Belmont Abbey College (95), North Greenville University (74), Southern Wesleyan University (57), Shorter University (44), Erskine College (40) and Ferrum College (27) completed the poll.
The Warriors wrapped up the 2024-25 season with an overall record of 9-19 and went 5-15 in Conference Carolinas action. They swept the Belmont Abbey Crusaders during the season and took down the Barton Bulldogs (102-98) as some of their highlights of the season. Southern Wesleyan will bring back Jamarras McCray (83 points and 83 rebounds) who led the team with 12 blocks. They will also welcome back Bobby Taylor who was third on the team in assists in the season. Taylor also posted 79 points during the 2024-25 season. The Warriors will welcome ten new faces to the court including Malachi Cooper, Jaquay Randolph and Will Little.
Southern Wesleyan will open up the season on the road as they travel to Mars Hill, NC to take part in the CC/SAC Conference Challenge. They will face the Columbus State Cougars on November 14 before taking on the Mars Hill Lions on November 15. The Warriors will host their home opener on November 19 as they welcome the Georgia College Bobcats to Historic Tysinger Gymnasium. Southern Wesleyan's first Conference Carolinas match-up of the season will be on the road as they travel to Rome, GA to take on the Shorter Hawks on November 25. They will then host their first conference game of the season on December 16 as they take on the North Greenville Trailblazers.
The 2026 Conference Carolinas Men's and Women's Basketball Championships will get underway on Sunday, March 1 and Monday, March 2. The fourth, fifth and sixth seeds in men's and women's basketball will host two games over the two days. The 12th-seeded team will battle the seventh-seeded team on March 1 at the sixth seed for the right to face the sixth seed on March 2. The 11th-seeded team will battle the eighth-seeded team on March 1 at the home of the fifth seed for the right to face the fifth seed on March 2, while the 10th-seeded team will take on the ninth-seeded team at the home of the fourth seed on March 1 for the chance to take on the fourth seed on March 2.
The 2026 Conference Carolinas Men's and Women's Basketball Championships quarterfinals are set for Friday, March 6 at Jerry Richardson Indoor Stadium. The semifinals will be contested on Saturday, March 7, while the men's and women's basketball finals are scheduled for Sunday, March 8.
