WICHITA, Kan. - Wichita State senior guard Kenyon Giles was named to the American Preseason All-Conference First Team, as selected by the league's coaches.

The Chesapeake, Va. native is a UNC Greensboro transfer who averaged better than 15 points per game on 40 percent shooting from beyond the arc last season for the Spartans. 

Giles is just the fourth Shocker to earn American Preseason All-Conference honors, and first since Tyson Etienne in 2021. Three of the four Shockers who have collected preseason American honors have been named to the first team (Giles, Etienne and Landry Shamet). Markis McDuffie was a second team pick in 2018.

He is joined on the first team by East Carolina's Jordan Riley, Memphis' Aaron Bradshaw and Dug McDaniel and Tulane's Rowan Brumbaugh. Brumbaugh is the preseason favorite to win Player of the Year.

Wichita State was picked to finish fifth in the American Preseason Coaches Poll, while Memphis is the preseason pick to repeat as regular season champions. South Florida, Tulane and UAB slide in just ahead of Wichita State.

Wichita State welcomes Drake to Charles Koch Arena this Saturday, Oct. 11 at 1 p.m. for a charity scrimmage. For the first time, NCAA rule changes allow Division I program to host preseason charity scrimmage and WSU is seizing the opportunity to give back to the 316 community. Tickets for the charity scrimmage are $20 with proceeds benefiting Cheese Johnson's uJump Junior Mentoring Program and the Wichita Children's Home. Youths 18 and under and all Wichita State students and faculty will receive FREE admission. Seating is all general admission. The scrimmage is not included in the season ticket package.

The Shockers officially open the season on Tuesday, Nov. 4 vs. UNC Asheville.

Beginning this season, the 2026 American Men's Basketball Championship will feature the top 10 teams in a new five-day bracket format. The No. 1 and No. 2 seeds will advance directly to the semifinals, while the No. 3 and No. 4 seeds will maintain byes to the quarterfinals. The No. 5 and No. 6 seeds will receive byes to the second round. The 2026 Championship will run Wednesday through Sunday, March 11-15 at the Legacy Arena at the BJCC in Birmingham, Alabama.

2025-26 American Men's Basketball Preseason Coaches Poll

	Preseason Poll	Points
1	Memphis (11)	143
2	South Florida (2)	128
3	Tulane	122
4	UAB	98
5	Wichita State	93
6	Florida Atlantic	80
7	North Texas	77
8	Tulsa	74
9	Temple	65
10	East Carolina	53
11	UTSA	32
12	Rice	27
13	Charlotte	22

First-place votes in parenthesis
 
Preseason Player of the Year
Rowan Brumbaugh, R-Jr., G, Tulane
 
Preseason Freshman of the Year
Josiah Parker, G, Florida Atlantic
 
Preseason All-Conference First Team
Jordan Riley, Sr., G, East Carolina
Aaron Bradshaw, Jr., F, Memphis
Dug McDaniel, Sr., G, Memphis
Rowan Brumbaugh, R-Jr., G, Tulane*
Kenyon Giles, Sr., G, Wichita State
 
Preseason All-Conference Second Team
Daimion Collins, R-Sr., F, South Florida
Izaiyah Nelson, Sr., F, South Florida
Vasean Allette, Jr., G, UTSA
Asher Woods, Sr., G, Tulane
David Green, Gr., F, Tulsa
* denotes unanimous selection