WICHITA, Kan. - For the first time since joining the American Conference, Wichita State men's basketball is the preseason favorite to win the conference according to the league's coaches.
Wichita State grabbed nine first place votes in the preseason coaches poll, edging out Memphis who was picked to finish second. South Florida, Tulsa and Charlotte round out the top five. The Shockers were picked second in the 2017-18 preseason poll, the highest ranking prior to this season.
William Berg, one of three Shockers on the preseason all-conference teams, was voted Preseason First Team All-Conference. The reigning American Sixth Man of the Year makes it back-to-back seasons with a Shocker on the preseason first team, joining
Kenyon Giles in 2025-26.
Dillon Battie and
Jordan Frison receive Preseason Second Team All-Conference honors, making it the first season with multiple preseason honorees since becoming a member of the American.
North Texas' Je'Shawn Stevenson was named the Preseason American Player of the Year.
The Shockers officially open the season on Wednesday, Nov. 4 vs. CSUN.
For the second straight season, the 2027 American Men's Basketball Championship will feature the top 10 teams in a 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 2027 Championship will run Wednesday through Sunday, March 10-14 at the Yuengling Center in Tampa, Fla.
2026-27 American Men's Basketball Preseason Coaches Poll
|
Preseason Poll |
Points |
| 1 |
Wichita State (9) |
140 |
| 2 |
Memphis (4) |
131 |
| 3 |
South Florida |
118 |
| 4 |
Tulsa |
99 |
| 5 |
Charlotte |
95 |
| 6 |
UAB |
89 |
| 7 |
North Texas |
84 |
| 8 |
Florida Atlantic |
75 |
| 9 |
Temple |
61 |
| 10 |
Tulane |
52 |
| 11 |
East Carolina |
34 |
| 12 |
Rice |
22 |
| 13 |
UTSA |
14 |
First-place votes in parenthesis
Preseason Player of the Year
Je'Shawn Stevenson, Jr., G, UNT
Preseason Freshman of the Year
Felipe Quinones, Fr., G, Florida Atlantic
Preseason First Team All-Conference
Kanaan Carlyle, Sr., G, Florida Atlantic
Jayden Reid, Sr., G, Memphis
Je'Shawn Stevenson, Jr., G, UNT
Sonny Wilson, Sr., G, South Florida
Will Berg, R-Sr., C, Wichita State
Preseason Second Team All-Conference
Justyn Fernandez, Sr., G, UAB
Deuce Jones, Jr., G, UAB
Tylik Weeks, Sr., F, Memphis
Derrian Ford, 5
th, G, Temple
Gavin Griffiths, Sr., G, Temple
Dillon Battie, Jr., F, Wichita State
Jordan Frison, Sr., G, Wichita State
