KANSAS CITY, Mo. – Loyola's great start to the season is starting to be noticed nationally, as the Wolf Pack men's basketball team made an appearance in the receiving votes category of Wednesday's NAIA Coaches' Top 25 Poll. Loyola received just eight votes, needing 76 votes to break into the Top 25, but it's the first time the program has received votes in the national rankings since November 2023.
The Trey Lindsey era is off to a great start with a 10-2 overall record and a 3-0 mark in SSAC play. The Wolf Pack's only two losses came to then-No. 14-ranked LSU Alexandria on the road and a hiccup at Dillard. Otherwise, Loyola has two wins over Xavier, a revenge win at home against Dillard, and road SSAC wins at William Carey, Blue Mountain Christian and Tennessee Southern.
The Pack capped off 2025 with a win over the College of Biblical Studies on Tuesday in The Den, and they'll be back in action on Monday, Jan. 5, against SUNO. Tip-off in The Den for the non-conference matchup is scheduled for 7 p.m. They'll return to SSAC play at 7:30 p.m. on Thursday, Jan. 8, at home against Mobile.
Life University is the only SSAC team in the Top 25, falling to No. 18, as Dalton State dropped out of the rankings.
Kameron Johnson (16.8 points per game), Zachary Lee (15.8), Eain Mowat (11.9) and Kosta Bjelicic (11.5) make it four scoring in double figures for Loyola, with Leonard Jackson (8.4), Cameron Williams (6.8) and Jaylen Peters (5.5) giving the team a well-rounded scoring attack. Lee leads the team in rebounding, pulling down 7.2 per game, followed by Bjelicic (6.6), Williams (5.3) and Johnson (5), and Johnson has a team-high 6.2 assist-per-game average. Defensively, Johnson has notched 29 steals while Peters leads the way with 13 blocks.
Lee and Johnson have both been named SSAC Offensive Player of the Week this season, as Johnson also picked up the National Offensive Player of the Week title. Bjelicic was named SSAC Defensive Player of the Week once this season as well.
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