Newtown, Pa. (Men's Basketball) - The Middle Atlantic Conference (MAC) Commonwealth coaches have released their preseason poll ahead of the 2026-27 men's basketball season, and defending conference champion Hood is the unanimous choice to repeat.
Hood claimed all eight possible first-place votes and totaled 64 points to top the preseason poll. The Blazers enter the season looking to defend the MAC Commonwealth title they won last February with a 103-98 double-overtime victory over York.
Alvernia was picked second with 54 points, followed by York in third with 40 points. Albright rounds out the top four at 36 points, with Eastern fifth at 34.
The full preseason order: Hood (64 points, 8 first-place votes), Alvernia (54), York (40), Albright (36), Eastern (34), Neumann (32), Stevenson (31), Widener (24) and Messiah (9).
Hood finished 2025-26 atop the standings as the No. 1 seed, going 13-1 in conference play. Albright took the No. 2 seed at 12-2, with York and Alvernia earning the No. 3 and No. 4 seeds, respectively, to complete the tournament field.
2026-27 MAC Commonwealth Season Preview
Hood enters the season as the clear favorite and brings back the heart of the team that won the title. Jevon Yarbrough, the 2025-26 MAC Commonwealth Player of the Year, returns for his senior season after scoring 44 points in the championship game. He is joined by fellow seniors Kullen Robinson, who scored 20 points in the Blazers' NCAA first-round win over Vassar, and Huseby, along with graduate student Garrett Cox. Hood won two games in the 2026 NCAA Division III Tournament, beating Vassar 84-71 and Redlands 114-104, before falling to top-seeded Trinity (Conn.) in the Sweet 16. Head coach Chad Dickman, the 2025-26 MAC Commonwealth Coach of the Year, returns to lead the group.
Alvernia jumps to second in the poll behind a pair of All-MAC Second Team returners: Elijah Hamilton, a senior this season, and guard Robert Cottrell, now a junior. The Golden Wolves were the No. 4 seed in last year's tournament and are looking to move further up the standings. York, the 2025 conference champion and last year's runner-up, is picked third and returns All-MAC First Team selection Jayden Rowe. Albright is picked fourth after a 12-2 conference season, and the Lions will be looking to build on that mark with two-time MAC Commonwealth Defensive Player of the Year Phanique Dupree among their top names.
Eastern is picked fifth, with Olise Onyeka, a First Team forward and senior a year ago, now moving on. Widener returns the 2025-26 MAC Commonwealth Rookie of the Year, TJ Bryson, who will be a sophomore. Further down the poll, Neumann, which is new to the Commonwealth, and Stevenson will be looking to climb, while Messiah was picked ninth with 9 points.
2025-26 MAC Commonwealth Championship Notes
Hood entered the 2026 MAC Commonwealth Tournament as the No. 1 seed and won the title on February 28 with a 103-98 double-overtime win over No. 3 seed York. Yarbrough poured in 44 points in the championship game to lead the way, and the victory earned Hood the conference's automatic bid to the NCAA Division III Tournament. York had won the title the year before.
2026-27 Schedule
- Season opener: November 6, 2026
- Conference play begins: December 2, 2026
- Postseason format: The top five teams in the MAC standings will qualify for the conference tournament
- Play-In Game (No. 4 vs. No. 5): February 22, 2027
- Semifinals: February 24, 2027
- Championship: February 27, 2027