Arkansas State has been selected as the preseason favorite to win the 2026-27 Sun Belt Conference men’s basketball championship, according to a vote of the league’s head coaches.
The Red Wolves received 182 points and three first-place votes to earn the preseason distinction for the second time in three seasons.
Arkansas State is coming off a 20-12 season under head coach Ryan Pannone, who guided the Red Wolves to an 11-7 conference record in his first year leading the program. The 20-win campaign marked the third consecutive season Arkansas State reached that milestone.
James Madison finished second in the preseason poll with 176 points despite receiving a league-high nine first-place votes.
Troy was picked third with 143 points, followed by South Alabama (136) and Marshall (125) to round out the top five.
Louisiana was selected sixth with 117 points, while Southern Miss finished seventh with 109 points and two first-place votes.
Arkansas State also placed two players on the preseason All-Sun Belt second team, with guards Tameron Ferguson and Layne Taylor receiving recognition.
Ferguson, a third-year guard from St. Cloud, Minnesota, and Taylor, a third-year guard from Farmington, Arkansas, were among 15 players selected to the league’s three preseason all-conference teams.
James Madison led the conference with three selections, while Arkansas State and South Alabama each placed two players on the teams. Eleven programs had at least one player recognized.
Southern Miss guard Isaac Taveras was named the Sun Belt Preseason Player of the Year.
The fourth-year guard from Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic, averaged 15.3 points, 6.8 rebounds, 2.3 assists and 2.2 steals last season.
Taveras scored in double figures in 19 of his 22 appearances, including five games with at least 20 points. He also helped Southern Miss win three games in the Sun Belt Conference Tournament and advance to the semifinals.
Taveras was joined on the preseason first team by Old Dominion’s Adante’ Holiman, South Alabama’s Peyton Law, Georgia State’s Jacob Meyer and Marshall’s Noah Otshudi.
Arkansas State will begin its regular season Nov. 2, when the Sun Belt opens the fourth year of the MAC-SBC Challenge against Mid-American Conference opponents.
Twelve Sun Belt programs will host MAC opponents in the opening round of the challenge.
Conference play begins in December, with each Sun Belt program scheduled to play an 18-game league slate.
The 2027 Sun Belt Men’s Basketball Championship will return to the Pensacola Bay Center in Pensacola, Florida, March 2-8.
The conference will also conduct its annual men’s basketball media day Wednesday, Oct. 21, via Zoom.
2026-27 Sun Belt preseason coaches poll
First-place votes in parentheses.
Arkansas State (3) — 182
James Madison (9) — 176
Troy — 143
South Alabama — 136
Marshall — 125
Louisiana — 117
Southern Miss (2) — 109
Appalachian State — 105
Georgia Southern — 85
Georgia State — 79
Old Dominion — 76
Louisiana Tech — 64
Coastal Carolina — 58
ULM — 15
Preseason All-Sun Belt teams
Preseason Player of the Year
Isaac Taveras, Southern Miss, guard
First Team
Adante’ Holiman, Old Dominion, guard
Peyton Law, South Alabama, forward
Jacob Meyer, Georgia State, guard
Noah Otshudi, Marshall, guard
Isaac Taveras, Southern Miss, guard
Second Team
Tameron Ferguson, Arkansas State, guard
Preston Fowler, James Madison, forward
Dallas Gardner, Georgia Southern, guard
Gage Lattimore, James Madison, guard
Layne Taylor, Arkansas State, guard
Third Team
Jacoi Hutchinson, Troy, guard
Jamyron Keller, Louisiana, guard
Jalen Langsy, South Alabama, guard
Kyran Tilley, Louisiana Tech, guard
K.J. Windham, James Madison, guard