Men's basketball picked first in SSAC Preseason Poll

MONTGOMERY, Ala. – The Southern States Athletic Conference released its 2026-27 Men's Basketball Preseason Poll on Wednesday, and the Loyola Wolf Pack gathered the most votes for the first time since the 2021-22 season. The Pack collected 181 total votes and six of the 14 first-place votes to beat out William Carey's 168 total votes. 
 

"We're honored to be picked first in the SSAC by the coaches in this league," Wolf Pack head coach Trey Lindsey said. "It means a lot coming from people we respect and compete against every year. The SSAC is one of the best basketball conferences in the NAIA, and there are no easy nights. We're excited about where we're starting, but preseason rankings don't win games. What we want to accomplish this year is still a long way off, and we'll have to earn it in this league."
 

Loyola hasn't been picked better than third since that national championship season. 
 

The team returns SSAC Player of the Year and NAIA All-American Kameron Johnson for his senior year, coming off a season in which he averaged 18.4 points per game, 6.4 assists, 4.5 rebounds, and 1.8 steals. The New Orleans native also won SSAC Player of the Week three times as a junior and was named NAIA Offensive Player of the Week once. His 185 total assists were a program record. 
 

SSAC All-Conference second teamer Zachary Lee is also back for the Wolf Pack, and Kosta Bjelicic's return gives the Pack three returners who scored in double figures a season ago. Lee averaged 14.1 points and 6.2 rebounds per game, and Bjelicic added 11.7 points and seven rebounds. Reece Seicshnaydre (6.8 points per game), Jaylen Peters (5.9), and Georgios Vassilakis (4.1) all also averaged double-digit minutes last season, and all are back to add depth to the roster. 
 

The Wolf Pack also welcomed seven newcomers to the team. Curtis Blair III (Cedarville University), O'Neill Connolly (Montevallo) and Michael Mouton (Louisiana) all transferred into the program, while  Markuss Sipko, Jackson Kinzig, Frankie Greenberg and Langston Adams Jr. make up the freshman class. 
 

Loyola opens up the season at 6:30 p.m. on Thursday, Oct. 22, at LSU Alexandria, and it'll play its first home game against Texas College on Monday, Oct. 26 at 7 p.m.
 

2026-27 SSAC Men's Basketball Coaches' Preseason Poll

1. Loyola - 181 (6)
2. William Carey - 168 (5)
3. Faulkner - 165 (2)
4. Dalton State - 159 (1)
5. Life - 140
6. Brewton-Parker - 130
7. Xavier - 121
8. UT Southern - 94
9. Mobile - 90
10. Point - 64
11. Thomas - 62
12. Blue Mountain - 46
13. Abraham Baldwin - 33
14. Andrew - 17
 

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